Category Archives: blog-home

New vaccine programme for gay men is introduced in Wales

April 6, 2017blog, blog-home, Sexual HealthSRH Matters

New vaccine programme for gay men is introduced in Wales

2017-04-06

HPV infections which persist can lead to some forms of cancers or cause genital warts

A new vaccination programme for men who have sex with other men has been rolled out across Wales.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is now being offered to all gay men up to 45 years old who attend sexual health clinics.

The rollout comes after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which provides independent advice to governments across the UK, recommended the introduction of a targeted programme of this type.

HPV infections which persist can lead to some forms of cancers or cause genital warts. Experts claim the HPV vaccine is very effective in reducing these risks.

Public Health Minister Rebecca Evans said: “A HPV vaccine programme for adolescent girls has been in place since 2008.

“Vaccinating the majority of girls in the UK means that their future male partners get some protection too. However boys who become men who have sex with men will get far less of this protection.

“I am pleased that a new targeted HPV vaccination programme for gay men up to the age of 45 has been introduced across Wales.

“Gay men attending clinics for sexual health services will now be offered the vaccine.”

Rhian Edwards, director of research and support at Tenovus Cancer Care, said the Welsh Government hadn’t gone far enough.

She said: “We know that four in 10 cancers are preventable and HPV cancers make up 5% of all cancers worldwide, so this is a very important step in the right direction.

“However it is vital that the Welsh Government make the HPV vaccination free for both boys and girls of school age so that they are protected against the virus before they become sexually active.

“We encourage parents to consider vaccinating their sons at the same time as girls receive the vaccination in school, although at present they would need to pay for this privately.

“This reinforces the inequalities that already exist between the most affluent and most deprived communities in Wales and must be addressed.”

Health needs of men who have sex with men neglected in SA

April 6, 2017blog, blog-home, Sexual HealthSRH Matters

Health needs of men who have sex with men neglected in SA

In South Africa, men who have sex with men (MSM) are at higher risk of contracting HIV as they are ‘stigmatised and discriminated against’ in health facilities.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Africa are twice as likely as the general population to be HIV positive – partly because their health needs are not being met.

Although, South Africa has made great strides in the provision of HIV-related healthcare services, the health needs of MSM are often misunderstood by healthcare practitioners and neglected in HIV service programmes, according to the Anova Health Institute.

Sensitising health facilities

Gordon Khoza, Anova’s outreach ambassador, said that the MSM community is stigmatised and discriminated against in health facilities.

“The MSM community is stigmatised in a way that they cannot access the health services fully like other populations, but we have started sensitising the health facilities so they can be MSM friendly,” Khoza told an MSM forum in Johannesburg attended by representatives from southern and eastern African countries.

Nine years ago, Anova established a model called Health4Men (H4M) to lead South Africa’s response to HIV among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM).

This model provides direct health care services at two centres of excellence in MSM sexual health care, and also by building support networks of MSM competent sites.

H4M’s David Motsoagae said that they are training public health facilities to become MSM friendly and provide services that ensure people’s dignity. “We are actually a bridge between H4M and the public health facilities,” said Motsoagae.

Not very competent

Anova’s Dr Kevin Rebe said that even when clinics were friendly towards MSM they were usually not asked about anal sex, and, as a result, they were not screened for their health care needs.

“You find that the clinic can be very friendly to the MSM but it is not very competent to meet their health care needs,” said Rebe.

In contrast, the H4M centres offered health interventions aimed at protecting men who have sex with men, such as offering antiretroviral drugs as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreP).

“It is absolutely clear from multiple clinical trials that PreP will prevent HIV in MSM if used correctly even if they have high risks of sexual exposure to the virus,” said Rebe.

PrEP, for HIV prevention, involves the use of ARVs by HIV-negative people to reduce the risk of becoming infected. Daily TDF/FTC (a combination ARV marketed as Truvada) has been approved for use in populations at high risk of HIV by a number of national regulatory agencies. In late-2015, the World Health Organization recommended PrEP as an additional prevention option for HIV- negative people at substantial risk of HIV. According to a previous Health24 article, PrEP should not be viewed as the first line of defence against HIV, but in conjunction with other preventative measures, and should be taken daily.

According to Rebe H4M currently has two sites that are providing PreP for MSM, one in Cape Town and one in Johannesburg. He added that the Department of Health will also be increasing access of PreP to MSM as they will be opening new sites starting from April 2017.

How having more sex can improve your health, mood and even your career

March 13, 2017blog, blog-home, Sexual HealthSRH Matters

How having more sex can improve your health, mood and even your career

2017-03-13

Want to give your career a boost? Try having more sex .

Workers who get intimate the night before heading into the office are better at their jobs, an Oregon State University study revealed this week.

Sexpert Dr Lori Beth Bisbey says: “There is lots of evidence that having a good sex life gives people more energy and means they have lower stress, making it easier to concentrate.

“Good sex lowers stress and good sex means good relationships which also means less attention and energy spent worrying about the relationship and less distraction at work.

“Also when you are sexually satisfied you have lower levels of frustration – so you have more energy to put towards work.”

And becoming a fantastic employee is just the start when it comes to the benefits we can get from jumping between the sheets.

Dr Lori says: “I would say it’s essential to have a good sex life – lower stress, improved immunity, lower blood pressure, greater self-confidence and self-esteem, improved sleep and pain relief are just a few of the reasons why.

“And of course people with good sex lives are happier – and happiness provides loads of health benefits.”

Here’s why making love really is good for your health…

NO MORE HEADACHES

It is the famous reason we give when we don’t fancy doing the deed but having sex can actually help ease painful headaches. Making love causes a surge in “love” hormone oxytocin and other feel-good endorphins.

This can also help to reduce the symptoms of arthritis and many women find period pains ease when they climax, thanks to the contractions relieving tension in muscles of the uterus.

SLEEP BETTER

Sex could be a cure for insomnia according to the Berman Center for Women’s Sexual Health in the US. Our bodies change chemically after making love. Oestrogen levels rise in women, encouraging a better night’s sleep. The male anatomy releases prolactin, which causes fatigue.

PREVENT DISEASE

One in eight British men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer . A Harvard study found a daily orgasm could reduce the risk. Research at Queen’s University Belfast found having sex three times a week could halve the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

In Australia, scientists found people who climaxed at least three times a week had a 50% lower chance of dying from any illness than those who only climaxed once a month.

LOSE WEIGHT

Sex is a great fat burner and a 30-minute session can shed up to 150 calories. Moderately active sex twice a week can help burn an extra 5,000 calories a year.

Varying positions can help tone up muscle groups – try the scissors pose to work your hip flexors. Or trim your glutes in the missionary position.

FIGHT FLU

Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with boosting immunity to colds and flu. One study found higher levels of immunoglobulin A – a substance found in saliva that is thought to help fight off bugs – in those who made love more often.

SMOOTH WRINKLES

Oestrogen is pumped out when women have sex and this can have a plumping effect on the skin, smoothing out fine lines. This can be particularly effective after the menopause, when levels of the hormone drop. One US study found menopausal women who have sex every week had oestrogen levels twice as high as those who abstained.

BOOST YOUR BRAIN

Scientists in Italy found people who have regular sex, especially those in new relationships, showed an improvement in cranial nerve growth, which is crucial to mental alertness. This was backed up by a Princeton University study, where researchers divided rats into two groups and found those who mated more often experienced greater nerve growth.

LESS INCONTINENCE

It is a problem that affects nearly a quarter of us as we get older – and women can benefit from sex. Making love is a great workout for pelvic floor muscles, which control orgasms and urine flow. Pelvic floor exercises can have the same effect – but are less fun.

RELIEVE STRESS

Workers might perform better after a night of sex because of its positive impact on stress levels. A study in Psychology Journal found people who were intimate in the previous 24 hours coped better with stressful scenarios. Touching and cuddling during and after making love reduces the levels of cortisol, the hormone people secrete when stressed.

FEEL HAPPY

Like any cardio workout, sex releases feel-good chemicals that boost your levels of serotonin, the happy hormone. One US study found sexually active women in long-term relationships were less likely to feel depressed than those who went without.

GET THE GLOW

We often say people who had sex the night before are “glowing” – and it is not our imaginations. Making love pumps more oxygen around the body, increasing the flow of blood and nutrients to the skin. This gives us the lovely glow.

Sex coach Dr Lori Beth Bisbey has these top tips to bring more passion back into your life.

“Start by being clear about what you enjoy sexually. If you aren’t sure, it’s time to explore.

“Make time to spend with your lover. Often couples don’t leave enough time and space for sex. If sex has been a battleground, make time to be affectionate without the expectation this will lead to sex.

“If you have sex but it is routine, try something new – watch a hot movie together, read each other some erotica, there are apps (such as Pillow Play and Desire Game) that can add some excitement.

“Good communication is the key to great encounters so work on your communication about sex and what you enjoy. If you are still having difficulty, get some sex and relationship coaching or therapy.”

When a Partner Dies, Grieving the Loss of Sex

March 7, 2017blog, blog-home, Psycological HealthSRH Matters

When a Partner Dies, Grieving the Loss of Sex

2017-03-07

After Alice Radosh’s husband of 40 years died in 2013, she received, in addition to the usual condolences, countless offers of help with matters like finances, her car and household repairs. But no one, not even close friends or grief counselors, dared to discuss a nagging need that plagues many older women and men who outlive their sexual partners.

Dr. Radosh, 75 and a neuropsychologist by training, calls it “sexual bereavement,” which she defines as grief associated with losing sexual intimacy with a long-term partner. The result, she and her co-author Linda Simkin wrote in a recently published report, is “disenfranchised grief, a grief that is not openly acknowledged, socially sanctioned and publicly shared.”

“It’s a grief that no one talks about,” Dr. Radosh, a resident of Lake Hill, N.Y., said in an interview. “But if you can’t get past it, it can have negative effects on your physical and emotional health, and you won’t be prepared for the next relationship,” should an opportunity for one come along.

Yes, dear readers of all ages and the children of aging parents, many people in their golden years still have sexual urges and desires for intimacy that go unfulfilled when a partner becomes seriously ill or dies.

“Studies have shown that people are still having and enjoying sex in their 60s, 70s and 80s,” Dr. Radosh said. “They consider their sexual relationship to be an extremely important part of their lives. But when one partner dies, it’s over.”

In a study of a representative national sample of 3,005 older American adults, Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau and co-authors found that 73 percent of those ages 57 to 64, 53 percent of those 65 to 74 and 26 percent of those 75 to 85 were still sexually active.

Yet a report published by the United Kingdom’s Department of Health in 2013, the National Service Framework for Older People, “makes no mention of the problems related to sexual issues older people may face,” Dr. Radosh and Ms. Simkin wrote in the journal Reproductive Health Matters. “Researchers have even suggested that some health care professionals might share the prejudice that sex in older people is ‘disgusting’ or ‘simply funny’ and therefore avoid discussing sexuality with their older patients.”

Dr. Radosh and Ms. Simkin undertook “an exploratory survey of currently married women” that they hope will stimulate further study of sexual bereavement and, more important, reduce the reluctance of both lay people and health professionals to speak openly about this emotionally and physically challenging source of grief.

As one therapist who read their journal article wrote, “Two of my clients have been recently widowed and felt that they were very unusual in ‘missing sex at my age.’ I will use your article as a reference for these women.”

Another wrote: “It got me thinking of ALL the sexual bereavement there is, through being single, through divorce, through disinterest and through what I am experiencing, through prostatectomy. It is not talked about.”

Prior research has “documented that physicians/counselors are generally uncomfortable discussing sex with older women and men,” the researchers noted. “As a result, such discussions either never happen or happen awkwardly.” Even best-selling memoirs about the death of a spouse, like Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Thinking,” fail to discuss the loss of sexual intimacy, Dr. Radosh said.

Rather than studying widows, she and Ms. Simkin chose to question a sampling of 104 currently partnered women age 55 and older, lest their research add to the distress of bereaved women by raising a “double taboo of death and sex.”

They cited a sarcastic posting from a woman who said she was not a good widow because “a good widow does not crave sex. She certainly doesn’t talk about it…. Apparently, I stink at being a good widow.”

The majority of survey participants said they were currently sexually active, with 86 percent stating that they “enjoyed sex,” the researchers reported. Nearly three in four of the women thought they would miss sex if their partner died, and many said they would want to talk about sex with friends after the death. However, “76 percent said they would want friends to initiate that discussion with them,” rather than bringing it up themselves.

Yet, the researchers found, “even women who said they were comfortable talking about sex reported that it would not occur to them to initiate a discussion about sex if a friend’s partner died.” The older the widowed person, the less likely a friend would be willing to raise the subject of sex. While half of respondents thought they would bring it up with a widowed friend age 40 to 49, only 26 percent would think to discuss it with someone 70 to 79 and only 14 percent if the friend was 80 or older.

But even among young widows, the topic is usually not addressed, said Carole Brody Fleet of Lake Forest, Calif., the author of “Happily Even After” who was widowed at age 40. In an interview she said, “No one brought up my sexuality.” Ms. Fleet, who conducts workshops for widowed people, is forthright in bringing up sex with attendees, some of whom may think they are “terrible people” for even considering it.

She cited “one prevailing emotion: Guilt. Widows don’t discuss the loss of sexual intimacy with friends or mental health professionals because they feel like they’re cheating. They think, ‘How can I feel that?’ But you’re not cheating or casting aspersions on your love for the partner who died.

“You can honor your past, treasure it, but you do not have to live in your past. It’s not an either-or situation. You can incorporate your previous life into the life you’re moving into. People have an endless capacity to love.”

However, Ms. Fleet, who remarried nine years after her husband died, cautioned against acting precipitously when grieving the loss of sexual intimacy. “When you’re missing physical connection with another person, you can make decisions that are not always in your best interest,” she said. “Sex can cloud one’s judgment. Maybe you’re just missing that. It helps to take sex out of the equation and reassess the relationship before becoming sexually intimate.”

Dr. Radosh urges the widowed to bring up grief over the loss of sexual intimacy with a therapist or in a bereavement group. She said, “Even if done awkwardly, make it part of the conversation. Let close friends know this is something you want to talk about. There is a need to normalize this topic.”

Chaps, is your blood type letting you down in bed? Men with A, B or AB four times more likely to suffer impotence

March 7, 2017blog, blog-home, Reproductive HealthSRH Matters

Chaps, is your blood type letting you down in bed? Men with A, B or AB four times more likely to suffer impotence

Scientists have discovered a link between sexual performance and blood type
Research suggests that those of A, B or AB blood type are less likely to perform
Those with blood type O are four times less likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction or impotence
Roughly 44% of men have blood type 0, less than half the population

Millions of men in the UK suffer problems in the bedroom due to ageing, obesity and illnesses like diabetes.

But now scientists have discovered there could be another surprising reason why so many struggle to perform – their blood type.

A new study shows men with blood types A, B or AB are up to four times more likely to suffer impotence – or erectile dysfunction – than men who have blood type O.

The findings are potentially significant as it’s estimated more than half of all men carry A, B or AB blood.

Roughly 44 per cent have type O.

Scientists who made the discovery say it supports earlier research showing blood type also influences the risk of developing heart disease.

One in ten men suffers erectile dysfunction at some point in their lives.

Some studies suggest more than a third of those over 40 are affected.

Although drugs like Viagra have revolutionised treatment, around 30 per cent of men who take them see no improvement.

Until now, doctors thought lifestyle-related factors such as smoking, being overweight and having high blood pressure were the key triggers.

But the latest study, by a team at Ordu University in Turkey, suggests many may be at risk of erection problems simply because of the blood type they were born with.

Researchers recruited 350 men in their sixties and split them into two groups according to whether they suffered problems getting or maintaining erections.

Each one gave a blood sample to check which type they had.

The results, in the Archives of Italian Urology and Andrology, revealed men with types A, B or AB were three to four times more likely to flop in the bedroom than those with blood type O.

Just 16 per cent of O blood types had problems getting aroused, compared to 42 per cent of A types.

Even when researchers accounted for whether the men smoked, or had high blood pressure, the differences were still substantial.

It’s not clear how blood type might affect sexual performance but the theory that it can influence health first emerged nearly 100 years ago.

Since then, studies have claimed it determines the risk of numerous conditions, including heart disease, cancer, infertility and stomach ulcers.

Heart problems, for example, are much less likely to be found in men with O-type blood than other groups.

One theory is people with type O have a lower genetic risk of some illnesses.

Research suggests, for example, that they are less likely to have dangerously high cholesterol levels that harm blood flow to both the genitals and the heart.

In a report on their findings researchers said: ‘In our study, A, B and AB blood groups were related to the risk of erectile dysfunction.

‘We believe this study is very important.

‘It’s the first to show such a relationship.’

Dr David Goldmeier, sexual medicine expert at Imperial College London, said men with blood types A, B or AB should take extra care of their health in order to ensure healthy hearts and sex lives.

‘They need to be more assiduous about getting the right amount of exercise and eating healthily,’ he said.

Obese Men Are Better in Bed – New Study Explains Why

February 28, 2017blog, blog-home, Sexual HealthSRH Matters

Obese Men Are Better in Bed – New Study Explains Why

2017-02-28

Research explains in great details how obese people are at risk. Health risks involve susceptibility to diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure issues, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and stroke. However, a new study has revealed that there are some benefits of being obese, especially for men. One of the benefits of being obese is related to the sexual performance of the man.

Turkey’s Erciyes University conducted the research. Their results are noted in a study titled “Insight on pathogenesis of lifelong premature ejaculation: inverse relationship between lifelong premature ejaculation and obesity.” According to their findings, there is a direct co-relation between a man’s weight and his performance in the bedroom. It adds that men with excess weight last longer than healthy and lean men.

Benefits Of Being Obese

Researchers claim that obese men with oodles of fat around their stomachs have better stamina for sex, states an article in Mail Online. Scientists reveal that obese men last 90 seconds longer than the leaner or skinnier guys. They attribute this to the presence of a female sex hormone called estradiol, which inhibits male orgasm.

An article in Sun UK adds that the average time before a man climaxes is generally five and a half minutes. However, men with a higher body mass index (BMI) and stomach fat could last for around 7.3 minutes in bed. The study also revealed that many of the patients experiencing premature ejaculation were in fact leaner men with lower BMIs.

However, leaner men may not be suffering only from premature ejaculation. Another Mail Online report explains that leaner, skinnier and healthy men, who indulge in high intensity work outs end up with lower libidos.

Lean Men, Lower Libidos?

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted this research which tried to find a link between men’s work out and their sex lives. The study interviewed around 1,100 men including experienced athletes. Answers to a thorough questionnaire, filled by respondents, revealed that men, who indulged in moderate or light intensity workouts or those that were moderate in duration had moderate or high libidos. However, those undergoing long or intense workouts had lower libidos.

Healthy Women Have Better Sex?

Another interesting study reveals that it is not just heavy men, who have all the fun. Women, who eat healthy too enjoy a better sex life than those who don’t. An article in Elite Daily quotes a study conducted by Santa Chiara Regional Hospital in Trento, Italy in 2014. The study monitored women who ate healthy.

It found that most of women, who ate healthy consumed apples regularly. It further revealed that from the healthy women, those who ate apples regularly had better sex drives. They also had increased arousal and frequent orgasms when compared to those who rarely ate them. This is because apples contain a chemical called polyphenol, which helps oxygen-rich blood reach the genitals during sex.

McGill graduate spearheads PornHub’s new sex ed initiative

February 23, 2017blog, blog-home, Sexual HealthSRH Matters

McGill graduate spearheads PornHub’s new sex ed initiative

2017-02-23

Pornhub, the largest online provider of pornography, launched a new initiative website on Feb. 1. Called the Sexual Wellness Center, it is the first sexual education website undertaken by a pornographic website.

“At the Pornhub Sexual Wellness Center, we are fully dedicated to your health and education, and to create a place where information pertaining to the physical, psychological, and even the most intimate aspects of sex is available to all,” Dr. Laurie Betito, 1988 McGill University graduate in psychology and Montreal-based clinical psychologist, explained.

Betito is the creator of Pornhub’s new initiative and the author of the majority of its content. The Sexual Wellness Center also brings in experts to contribute articles about reproductive health, anatomy, and sexually-transmitted infections, including Dr. Zhana Vranglova, an associate professor of psychology at New York University.

Pornhub had an estimated 21.2 billion visits in 2015, which, according to Betito, is an enormous population who the Sexual Wellness Center would be able to reach.

“Pornography, is […] all just fantasy,” Betito said. “But, unfortunately, it is sometimes the only sort of sexual education people receive and if it’s possible that this website could potentially reach millions of people, it would be a step in the right direction.”

The Sexual Wellness Center also encourages visitors to send in questions regarding any aspect of sex. Betito’s latest responses answer questions regarding the female orgasm and male virginity.

“In just a few weeks, we have received hundreds of questions, telling us that the site has already gained some traction,” Betito said.

According to statistics published by the Guttmacher Institute, a U.S. sexual and reproductive health think tank, 76 per cent of public and private U.S. schools taught abstinence as the best method of avoiding pregnancy. Furthermore, 88 per cent of all U.S. schools allowed parents to remove their children from sexual education classes. Instead, the extensive accessibility of pornography influences children’s and young adults’ views on sex, in particular with respect to its physical aspects.

Not everyone agrees that Pornhub’s sex education initiative is decidedly beneficial. Quartz had a more skeptical outlook on the website.

“The ironies of Pornhub’s endeavor, of course, are clear,” Leah Fessler wrote in Quartz. “If any industry has negatively impacted young people’s understanding of healthy sexual behavior, it’s mainstream porn. And if any company epitomizes mainstream porn, it’s Pornhub. [Pornhub’s Sexual Wellness Center’s] site collectively feels like a wash of disconnected, elementary, and at times, even inaccurate information which, without proper context, serves limited educative power.”

It is too early to determine the efficacy of the Sexual Wellness Center as the site only launched a few weeks ago. However, according to Betito, Pornhub releases an annual report on the viewership of its content and this new initiative is very likely to also be included in the statistics.

There are still some technical issues to address as the Sexual Wellness Center is set in motion. From Pornhub’s main site, it is currently impossible to navigate to the Sexual Wellness Center. Betito responded that she is working on resolving the issue and increasing the visibility of the site.

“Pornhub has told me they are working on it,” Betito explained. “We just got started a couple of weeks ago. They will also post some banners to advertise in between the videos.”

Betito also responded to accusations that Pornhub is pursuing sex ed just to get more clicks.

“I want to make it clear that this is not some sort of publicity stunt by Pornhub to attract more people to their site,” Betito said. “They already have enough traffic as it is.”

Aesthetically, the Sexual Wellness Center has distinguished itself from its mainstream partner. The website’s pale blue background is in stark contrast to the black and orange theme featuring Pornhub’s more explicit materials.

With Pornhub’s bold new initiative, other pornographic websites may follow suit. Just this month, the adult website xHamster protested Utah’s refusal to adopt a comprehensive sexual education program by redirecting traffic from the state to websites hosting sexual education videos. Utah currently provides abstinence education only.

Safer Sex Week | Use A Condom Plus One – For Everyone’s Protection

February 15, 2017blog, blog-home, Sexual HealthSRH Matters

Safer Sex Week | Use A Condom Plus One – For Everyone’s Protection

2017-02-15

Condom + Another Contraceptive = #UltimateProtection’ is the theme for this year’s Safer Sex Week – February 13-18. The aim is to push for the use of dual contraceptive in the fight against unwanted pregnancy and sexual transmitted diseases (STDs).

Condoms are an effective method to protect against pregnancy, HIV and other STDs, but according to the National Family Planning Board Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency (NFPB-SRHA), it is always best to have a back-up method such as the Pill, injection or an intrauterine device.

The latest data in the 2016 UNAIDS Prevention Gap Report found that the highest increase of new HIV infections is within the 15-29 age group. In addition, one per cent of all live births in Jamaica are to adolescent girls, many of whom reported that their pregnancy was either mistimed or unwanted.

As a result, the NFPB-SRHA is pushing the use of dual method of contraceptive for all ages, and urging everyone to take responsibility for their own sexual and reproductive health.

ALWAYS IN FASHION

On a regional level, Dr Kevin Harvey, Caribbean regional director of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), said for Safer Sex Week his organisation is putting the spotlight on the need to mainstream condom use to encourage persons to join the prevention efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other STDs by protecting themselves and their partners.

“Although we have made impressive gains in Jamaica and the Caribbean, our young people, particularly girls, remain at risk. We, therefore, will continue to encourage condom use, especially among this cohort, and stress that in order for us to solidify our gains and reduce the impact of this disease on the present and next generations, condoms have to always be in fashion and are the smart choice to make when engaging in sexual activity,” Harvey explained.

AHF, the largest global AIDS organisation operating in 38 countries, will be working closely with Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) and the NFPB-SRHA to undertake activities and events across the island for Safer Sex Week geared at encouraging condom use and empowering persons to take charge of their sexual and reproductive health. This will include free condom distribution.

“Condoms are always in fashion, but they are not always available, affordable or attractive. Condoms are still the most effective way to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as preventing unwanted pregnancies,” stated Terri Ford, chief of global advocacy and policy for AHF.

SAFER SEX TIPS

– BYOC (bring your own condom). Don’t rely on a partner to have condoms. Always have your own supply, and check the expiration dates before use.

– Examine genitalia. Look at your own and your partner’s genital area for any changes, including sores, discharge or unusual odours.

– Get tested and treated for STDs. Regular testing will help to reduce the risk of transmitting STDs to others.

– Have one partner at a time. Multiple partners increase your chance of getting STDs.

– Don’t use two condoms at once. Two lubricated condoms can get slippery against each other and can fall off, leaving you unprotected for both pregnancy and STDs. Use one condom plus another form of contraceptive.

– Stay sober. Drinking or using drugs lowers your ability to make good decisions and make safer choices. Staying sober will help you to keep a calm, level head at all times.

– Role-play safer-sex conversations with friends. Brainstorming strategies for dealing with difficult responses and practising what to say can help you to be more comfortable and assertive when the time comes to deal with it for real.

– Create your own list of limits and boundaries. And be firm about them with your partner

– Safer-sex practices. Make these a part of the sexual activity to increase the fun and pleasure. For example, put on male or female condoms together or for each other.

– Don’t rush into higher-risk activities. First take your time with low- or no-risk activities, which can help build trust, comfort level and communication.

– Avoid pressure. Don’t be forced into something you are not sure of or are uncomfortable doing. If your partner is forcing you to do something you do not want to do and won’t take no for an answer, get out of that relationship as quickly as possible.

– No guilt. Don’t feel bad or guilty about not wanting to do something. It is your right to refuse and to do only what you are comfortable doing.

Music Video About Vaginas Reminds Men They Don’t Control Women’s Bodies

February 13, 2017blog, blog-home, Reproductive HealthSRH Matters

Music Video About Vaginas Reminds Men They Don’t Control Women’s Bodies

2017-02-13

No form of female genital mutilation is OK.

Experts have long held that allowing any form of female genital mutilation to exist is damaging, and regressive.

But since some people aren’t convinced of that fact, the nonprofit Integrate UK, which works toward fostering equality and integration, released a catchy music video in December to address the issue. Titled “#MyClitoris,” the video took on significant meaning this week: Monday marked Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation Day, an annual awareness campaign aimed at ending FGM.

“Seems it’s up to us girls to be quite tough,” the girls in the video sing. “If we need to spell it out, get your mitts off my muff.”

FGM involves the total or partial removal of external female genitalia for no medical benefit, and comes with a host of serious health consequences, including heavy bleeding, sepsis and infertility, among other issues. Communities perform the procedure as a way to keep girls “pure” and prevent them from having pre-marital sex.

At least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation, according to the United Nations. The number of women who are at risk in the U.S. has tripled in recent years.

Set against a light pink backdrop, the girls in the “#MyClitoris” video wear floral crowns and pearls, and gently tap their feet to a folksy tune. They take ownership of the overtly feminine expectations of young women and turn them on their head as they sing about their vaginas, clitorises and the fact that they alone can decide what happens to their bodies.

“They say it’s OK for a little bit to be taken away from my clit,” the song continues. “No, thank you.”

The video, which decidedly challenges the idea that men can control women’s bodies by disfiguring them, was produced in response to a controversial op-ed The Economist published in June. The column suggested that outright banning all forms of FGM isn’t working. Instead, the author wrote, governments should consider banning the worst forms of female genital mutilation and allowing trained professionals to perform the types that aren’t as harmful.

“Instead of trying to stamp FGM out entirely, governments should … try to persuade parents to choose the least nasty version, or none at all,” the author wrote. “However distasteful, it is better to have a symbolic nick from a trained health worker than to be butchered in a back room by a village elder.”

The concept of medicalizing FGM has been suggested in the past. In 2010, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement saying that performing a “ritual nick” could help wipe out the practice. But some experts say that was actually a damaging setback to ending FGM.

Medical experts across the globe have expressed their opposition to allowing any form of FGM to continue.

Last year, the World Health Organization issued its first-ever medical guidelines on FGM. The guidelines help doctors identify cases of FGM, and treat the issues those patients could present, including depression and problems with sexual health.

The guidelines also urge doctors to treat FGM as abuse, not a cultural practice.

“If we’re thinking this a cultural issue and we don’t want to get involved, we are not safeguarding people at risk,” Comfort Momoh, a midwife who treats FGM survivors at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ hospital in London, said at a health conference last year. “FGM is everybody’s business.”

Male contraceptive gel passes monkey test

February 7, 2017blog, blog-home, Reproductive HealthSRH Matters

Male contraceptive gel passes monkey test

2017-02-07

By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online

An experimental new type of male contraceptive that blocks sperm flow with a gel has been successful in monkey trials.

Vasalgel acts as a physical barrier once injected into the tubes that sperm would swim down to the penis.

The company behind it says a two-year trial, published in Basic and Clinical Andrology, shows the gel works and is safe – at least in primates.

It hopes to have enough evidence to begin tests in men within a few years.

If those get funding and go well – two big “ifs” – it will seek regulatory approval to make the gel more widely available to men.

It would be the first new type of male contraceptive to hit the market in many decades.

At the moment, men have two main options of contraceptive – wear a condom to catch the sperm, or have a sterilising operation (vasectomy) to cut or seal the two tubes that carry sperm to the penis from where they are made in the testicles.

Vasalgel has the same end effect as vasectomy, but researchers hope it should be easier to reverse if a man later decides he wants to have children.

In theory, another injection should dissolve the gel plug.

That worked in early tests in rabbits, but the researchers have yet to prove the same in monkeys and man.

Under anaesthetic

The idea behind Vasalgel is not new.

Another experimental male birth control gel – RISUG (reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance) – that works in a similar way to Vasalgel is being tested in men in India.

Unlike RISUG, Vasalgel is not designed to impair the swimming sperm.

It merely blocks their path while still letting other fluid through, according to the manufacturer.

Both gels are given as an injection, under anaesthetic, and are meant to offer long-acting contraception.

The monkey trial

The University of California researchers tested the gel on 16 adult male monkeys, 10 of whom were already fathers.

The monkeys were monitored for a week after getting the injection and were then released back into their an enclosure to rejoin some fertile females.

Mating did occur, but none of the female monkeys became pregnant over the course of the study, which included two full breeding periods for some of the animals.

Few of the male monkeys had side-effects, although one did need an operation because the injection did not go to plan and damaged one of his tubes.

Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: “The study shows that, in adult male monkeys at least, the gel is an effective form of contraception.

“But in order for it to have a chance of replacing the traditional surgical method of vasectomy, the authors need to show that the procedure is reversible.”

He said there had been very little commercial interest from pharmaceutical companies in this kind of a approach.

The non-profit company researching Vasalgel, the Parsemus Foundation, has used grants and fundraising to get this far.

Prof Pacey said: “The idea of a social venture company to develop the idea is intriguing.

“I would imagine there is a worldwide market for a new male contraceptive, but trials in humans and more long-term safety data are required before we will know if it is a success.”

This type of contraceptive wouldn’t protect against sexually transmitted infections such as HIV.

But in terms of willingness, experts believe men would be up for trying new contraceptives, such as a gel.

Dr Anatole Menon-Johanssonm from the sexual health charity Brook, said: “Some men do want to be part of the solution and do their part.

“If you can have more options available then maybe more men would go for it.”

He said the idea of a “reversible vasectomy” was desirable, whereas asking some men to take hormones to control their fertility might be “a big ask”.