Valentine’s Day is annually celebrated as the manifestation of love and desire. As we approach “love day,” I want to remind everyone about the importance of sexual health and consent.
In the hazy rush to experience pleasure, folks can often fail to check in with each other regarding their testing practices and the presence of any sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Largely, many are still very reluctant to discuss STIs as there remains a large element of shame and fear in having these conversations. If however, you do not feel comfortable discussing sexual health with someone you are having sex with, you probably should not be having sex with them. Or at the very least, utilise condoms and other barrier methods in order to both protect yourself and your partner.
As a 90’s baby, I grew up when the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic were still being felt globally and even within the small communities I grew up in. The trauma of that period and constant public education messages surrounding safe sexual practices and open communication were successful in me and many of my peers being hypervigilant about sexual practices. However, there has been a shift. Maybe it is because public education on STI’s is not what it used to be, or maybe it’s the fact that STIs are no longer seen as a death sentence. Whatever it is, over the years, there has been a noticeable trend in prioritising “raw” sex with casual partners. This has led towards public messaging around condoms and barrier methods being seen as pesky pleasure blockers, encouraging risky sexual behaviours. This is particularly common among younger people.
The last reported statistics on HIV rates in 2021 estimated that 9,022 Guyanese were living with HIV, with 71 cases reported that year alone. The HIV prevalence rate has been growing, with stark jumps seen from 0.9% in 2002 (still at the height of HIV public education programmes) to 1.4%, and 1.3% in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Sector trends highlighted that there was a slight increase in infection in men. It also highlighted that the 15 to 25 age group is predominantly affected by HIV. Of these infections, 93% are said to know their status, which still leaves a significant number of people who do not know they carry the virus and who might unwittingly pass it on to other sexual partners. This is why making regular STI panel testing a part of your health check is extremely important.
It is clear that there is a growing disconnect between young people and safe sex and more effort needs to be done around their education on the subject. This of course has to start from a young age, through conversations with guardians about their bodies, and through comprehensive sex education in schools. The hush-hush mentality we continue to peddle around sex and our bodies is an incredibly harmful disservice to us all. More awareness surrounding STIs will also aid in their de-stigmatisation so that those who have them are not branded as dirty or the host of negative descriptors that tends to come with a diagnosis. Instead, it will help in the creation of a space where open and honest conversations can be had between both committed and casual partners about their sexual health and behaviours. Contracting an STI does not make you a bad person, knowingly passing it on to others does, but it would be remiss of me to not acknowledge that a part of the reason people do not share their status is due to shame (the larger one, of course, having a moral deficit.)
There is a lot of work that needs to be done to encourage safer sex and the conversations around it, particularly among younger people. These need to happen not only on an interpersonal level but also be facilitated widely by relevant government agencies. Taking your foot off the gas because of the progress seen is not a safe move in an age where hookup culture has placed condoms and safe sex in a negative or uncool light.