Beyond statistics

It’s estimated that 1 in 2 adults will get an STI by the time they’re 25. It would be interesting to do a cross-sectional study and compare attitudes and the level of openness towards sex in relation to STD prevention. Living in a liberal society after all does not guarantee that people take the right precautions or get tested on a regular basis.

Currently, Chlamydia is the most widely transmitted bacterial STI. It’s important to note that bacterial STIs, while they’re not ideal by any means and could very well lead to complications, are treatable with antibiotics. This is not the case with viral infections such as Herpes or HIV which may require ongoing intervention or may be subject to flare-ups due to a suppressed immune system and environmental factors.

As I further delve into this topic and focus on each infection, I think it’s important to be critical of attitudes that shame, embarrass or even blame individuals for their diagnosis. The physical act of sex is dependent on too many factors for us to narrow it down to just ‘did you use a condom?’ Until we don’t bring into the discussion consent, trust, age, level of education and cultural values we will not be able to have any sort of meaningful impact as educators and health professionals.