| Lets talk about sex……..Part Two |
| 12/10/2007 |
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Lets talk about sex……..part two
Ten points of Sexual health
In detail:
In 2004 the government announced that a £300 million programme would be launched to tackle the epidemic of STI's in the country. One of the key targets of this programme was that everybody requesting a sexual health appointment must be seen within 48 hours by 2008. With the stigma around being tested many people who would not usually consider having a test are being put off by long waiting times that they face sometimes a matter of week even if they are displaying symptoms. Not many GUM clinics are meeting the 48 hour target and some are even operating a "closed book" system where you can only book an appointment up to 48 hours in advance which are technically meeting the targets but this is not how the targets were intended to be interpreted. The Problem: In the three years since the announcement of the 2004 annoucement on on sexual health spending , later there is almost no money left in the pot, however many of the problems remain and STI rates continue to rise. There is no point in saying that money will be spent on sexual health unless money is being spent on sexual health. In order for this to happen money will need to be ring fenced specifically for sexual health as any other way could lead to compromises in the provision that is given to sexual health services. Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) is a short-term antiretroviral treatment which aims to stop the HIV virus once a person has come into contact with the virus. PEP must be taken in the very early stages (within 72 hours) once a person has come into contact with the HIV virus, before the infection take hold. The treatment is taken for a whole month and can have many adverse effects. PEP is by no means a cure for HIV and is not guaranteed to work every time. A doctor will decide who receives PEP with the information given to them and not everyone who wants PEP will receive it. PEP treatment is always not available in hospitals or clinics. Having PEP available in hospitals and clinics will speed up waiting times thus allowing more people to get treatment within the 72 hours that the drug is effective. The UK has one of the highest infection rates of STI's in western Europe. This is partly due to the fact that sexual health taught in schools is determined by the each individual school. Over Britain there are varied levels of sex education taught and many young people are not receiving the standard of sex education that would be appropriate to promote healthy lifestyles. Young people receive mandatory education on reproduction and the human life cycle as part of the science curriculum. However, making sex and relationship studies mandatory, which doesn't just look at the issues from a heterosexual perspective and is taught by specially qualified SRE teacher will start to make a positive change in attitudes towards the concept of sex and relationships. We are currently facing an epidemic of people who have an STI and do not know or want to know their status. Right now there are around 25,000 people with HIV in the UK who do not know that they have it. This makes them more likely to pass the virus on to others than those that have been tested and know their status. Being diagnosed late also carries severe health risks for the individual and around a quarter of all HIV related deaths last year could have been avoided if those people had been diagnosed and started on medication earlier. Microbicides are special gels that, when applied to the vagina or to the anus, have the ability to prevent the transmission of STI's, including HIV. Microbicides may or may not have spermicidal activity so can be used as effective contraception. Microbicides are at present not available. Although there are successful STI and HIV preventative strategies -condom use, there are instances where people cannot protect themselves. People in abusive relationships, sex workers and women in developing countries are all too often in situations where they do not feel able to demand a condom, or cannot access sexual health services. The current STI and HIV preventative measures are not as easy to apply in the developing countries where women are seen as property. Having Microbicides available would allow for a preventative measure that can easily be controlled and would not require the co operation, consent or even the knowledge if the partner. Thus ensuring women in particular have widespread access to Microbicides would greatly empower them and allow them to protect themselves and their partner. Under the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, all women between the ages of 25 and 65 are regularly invited for a smear test. The system is automated, so as long as they are registered with a GP, they will receive a letter asking them to make an appointment. However, there is considerable anecdotal evidence that, after initial lifestyle-based questions, lesbian women are often told that they don't need a smear test. It seems also that this belief has filtered through to the lesbian community, leading many lesbians to mistakenly believe that they do not need to have a smear test, resulting in them failing to access this service. This myth is based on two incorrect assumptions - that lesbian women have never had sex with a man, and that women who have not had sex with a man are not at risk of cervical cancer. Data collected from the Audre Lorde and Bernhard Sexual Health Clinics for lesbians showed that: As well as the inequalities in sexual health itself, there are significant variations in the way sexual health services are provided, including health promotion and STI prevention. Eradicating inequalities means that there will need to be better and easier access to sexual health services. Sexual health services and promotions need to be tailored to groups that are difficult to reach as well as an increase in information given out to these groups. There are over 350 FE institutions in the country all of which have varied levels of sexual health services on offer to the students in that setting. Many FE institutions do not allow safe sex messages to be given and prevent the distribution of condoms and other preventative products. Having sexual health services in FE settings offering advice and treatment will allow it to be accessed more conveniently by those at higher risk of poor health outcomes. Offering these services is also a cost-effective method of providing treatment. Much of the research into trans people's health relates to medical needs; there is comparatively little research relating to their health and social care needs. In the late 1990s, trans people's health was included in research with lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but researchers often achieved only small samples of trans people and failed to identify their needs separately. However, of the evidence that does exist, there are several key areas which clearly need addressing. Foremost in these is the need for training of sexual health professionals, to ensure that all trans people can access appropriate sexual health provision, free from prejudice and discrimination. Trans people are a group at high risk of contracting STIs. One US study found (MTF) trans women to have the highest incidence of HIV infection of any risk group. This high risk status may be partly due to the difficultly that many trans people experience in accessing appropriate sexual health services. This may lead them to practice high risk sexual behaviours. Evidence suggests that large numbers of trans people are refused NHS treatment. According to recent studies: Physical examinations and screening tests should be offered to patients on the basis of the organs present rather than their perceived gender, and sexual health professionals need training to ensure that this provision occurs. The Blogs on this site represent the individual views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or practices of the National Union of Students. All links in blogs will open in a new browser window. The permanent URL for this specific blog entry is: http://www.officeronline.co.uk/blogs/amauzowuru/274814.aspx |
