While it is important to be aware of sex to prevent STDs, it is also important to be educated about it. New research has found that sexual health programs that include sexual desire and sexual pleasure can improve knowledge and attitudes about sex, as well as condom use, compared to programs that don’t.
The research has been published in the open access journal ‘PLOS ONE’. The meta-analysis of research literature from 2005-2020 found that including pleasure in such programs can have positive effects on attitudes and safer sex behavior and recommended rethinking sex education and health interventions that fail to recognize that sexual experiences can be pleasurable.
Billions of dollars are spent worldwide every year on sexual and reproductive health and rights services and programs. But with less than a decade to reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which focus on sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, there is still a huge global burden of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.
Researchers from “The Pleasure Project,” WHO’s Division of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, and colleagues reviewed 33 unique interventions aimed at reducing STI/HIV risks that include pleasure, and meta-analysis eight. They found evidence that the inclusion of pleasure can have significant positive effects on information- and knowledge-based attitudes, including participants’ self-confidence in behavior change and motivation to use condoms, as well as in behavior and condom use.
While the authors looked for interventions across a spectrum of sexual health interventions (including birth control and family planning interventions), the review ultimately only included STI/HIV-related programs targeting populations traditionally considered “vulnerable.”
The authors noted that future work was needed to include and evaluate pleasure-inclusive interventions in the reproductive health space and for the general population. The team argued that continuing to avoid pleasure in sexual health and parenting carries the risk of resources being misled or used ineffectively. The researchers argued for a fundamental rethink of program orientation.
The authors added: “Pleasure has been overlooked and stigmatized in health promotion and sex education, despite its clear association with sexual health and well-being. Our systematic review and meta-analysis, the first of its kind, shows that including sexual pleasure in sexual and reproductive health services improves condom use and thus may also improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes.”
They also said: “Policymakers and program managers should rather recognize that pleasure is a major driver of sexual behavior, and that including it in sexual and reproductive health services can reduce adverse outcomes. Eight years after the Sustainable Development Goal deadline, innovative innovations are urgently needed.” Strategies are needed that can accelerate progress towards SRHR goals, including for STI and HIV prevention. Programs that take a sex-positive and pleasure-inclusive approach is one such innovation that needs urgent consideration.”
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