{"id":3293,"date":"2025-02-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pacificpublichealth.ca\/?p=3293"},"modified":"2025-02-14T17:09:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T17:09:31","slug":"sexual-health-is-part-of-life-why-are-we-so-ashamed-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pacificpublichealth.ca\/whats-new\/sexual-health-is-part-of-life-why-are-we-so-ashamed-of-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Sexual Health is Part of Life. Why are we so Ashamed of it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sexual health, like physical and mental health, is an important part of life. We all make choices about our health that can lead to different consequences. Whether we eat too many fatty foods, smoke cigarettes, have more drinks than the recommended daily amount, or engage in unprotected sexual activity, we still deserve a public health system that can respond to the illnesses we face without bias, shame, or stigma. Why is it that when we are faced with discussing our sexuality and any medical issues that may arise from sexual activity, we often cringe and hide our faces in shame? Why are we letting our shame make us sick?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Follow along this week as we share educational resources about sexual health, talk about the power of listening to those with lived experience, discuss the access we need to create for those who need sexual health services, and consider how to change the way we think about sexual health, to influence better health outcomes in the future.<\/p>\n\n

An Alarming Trend of STBBI Increases in Canada<\/p>\n\n

Why is it that Canada is the only G7 country where HIV rates are increasing? Canada has seen an increase of over 35% in newly diagnosed HIV cases from 2022-2023, making it more difficult to meet the UN\u2019s goal of eliminating HIV and other Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections (STBBI) as a health concern by 2030.<\/a> According to Vancouver Coastal Health, rates of infectious syphilis in British Columbia have also been increasing<\/a> over the last few years. In 2022, 1,964 infectious syphilis cases were reported in BC \u2014 the highest in the last 40 years. Rates of other forms of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STI) like chlamydia and gonorrhea have risen rapidly in Canada, and rates of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HVC) have not decreased in line with global targets.<\/a> Alarmingly, the rate of congenital syphilis<\/a>, a type of syphilis that can be passed from pregnant mother to fetus resulting in potential pregnancy loss or morbidity in newborns, increased 599% between 2018-2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

What Factors are Influencing this Increase?<\/p>\n\n

Certainly, access to testing and treatment<\/strong> is a barrier for many seeking care. The COVID-19 pandemic did not help matters, resulting in service reductions and less access to testing, screening and treatment of STBBI.<\/a><\/p>\n\n

People living in rural and remote (RRI) communities have even less access to services where they can be diagnosed and treated. And that\u2019s not taking into consideration those who cannot access<\/strong> online\/remote services.<\/strong> For example, as of 2020, only 25% of Indigenous communities in BC have basic internet access. And what if a person seeking testing does not have housing, the identification needed to see a healthcare provider, or a phone number to be reached when the results are available? This is the case for some people in our province. Nicola Gale, a Clinical Pharmacist who works for Clinical Prevention Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), explains this problem further:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAs digital technology has become an integral tool for accessing healthcare, individuals without access to a cellphone are at a disadvantage when searching for health information, participating in telehealth, and following up with their healthcare providers. As a result, this divide in digital health equity has been recognized as a super social determinant of health<\/em> that intersects with all other social determinants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The toxic drug poisoning crisis<\/strong> that was declared a public health emergency in BC in 2016 is also impacting STBBI rates. We have lost over 16,000 people to toxic drugs since the emergency was declared, and we know that the use of substances either through injection or inhalation increases the risk<\/a> for people who use drugs (PWUD) of contracting STBBI.<\/p>\n\n

These factors have contributed to an environment of increased STBBI in all parts of Canada, including BC. But they are also exacerbated by unnecessary shame and harmful stigma<\/strong>. Shame can actually increase one\u2019s chance of contracting STBBI because those who feel they are at risk for these infections are embarrassed and\/or stigmatized when accessing testing and treatment. Keeping sexual health a taboo subject leads to less conversation, communication, education, access, and poorer health outcomes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Consider this:<\/strong>\u00a0 If someone lives in a small town and the only way to obtain a STBBI test is through a doctor who treats many others they know, including friends and family members, perhaps that person would choose to ignore their concerns rather than face judgment. And that\u2019s if there is a healthcare provider available when needed, as BC faces a primary care physician shortage. In many instances, there is no provision of culturally safe care, underscoring the inequities Indigenous People face when seeking testing and treatment.<\/p>\n\n

Sexual Health Resources<\/u><\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

One of the main roles of public health is to provide the resources necessary for people to make informed decisions about their health. To that end, we\u2019ve curated some culturally safe and helpful information that can be used to learn more about sexual health:<\/p>\n\n