The sexual divide

Sexually transmitted infections are almost three times more common today than a decade ago, a new report has revealed. The research also points to wide and worrying differences in attitudes towards STIs between men and women.
Women, statistically more at risk from sexually transmitted diseases, have a greater awareness of the dangers than men, according to the Women’s Health Council (WHC). Men, the council reports, tend to adopt a more laissez faire outlook.
According to the report, between 1994 and 2003, there has been an increase of 173.8% of notified cases of STIs in Ireland. Because of their biological make up, women are twice as likely to be infected by a sexually transmitted pathogen, the study says. The chances of HIV being transmitted from a man to a woman is four times as likely as from woman to a man..
“A gender double standard in relation to sexual behaviour is widely practised if not openly accepted,” states the report.
Of course, most of our sexual attitudes are shaped during our teenage years, during which we are greatly influenced both by peer pressure and the media. Young men are sometimes encouraged to be promiscuous. Young women on the other hand may be scorned for similar behaviour. The word ‘slut’ is common place in our language – what is the male equivalent?
According to the WHC report, cultural attitudes such as these are directly responsible for the increase of STIs. It claims that, for cultural reasons young women tend to be better educated in sexual matters than young males. Indeed, at that pinnacle moment in ‘young love’, studies show that girls avoid raising the issue of using a condom for fear of appearing too experienced and ‘easy’.
Reacting to the report, the Welfare Officer of the Union of Students of Ireland, Kelly Mackey, says that sexual health education and policy needs to “actively tackle the stigma and stereotypes that sexually active girls face, in order for them to gain the confidence needed to assert themselves.”
Condoms are the only contraceptive that can be effective in protecting against STIs, yet the report indicates that in the majority of committed relationships the pill or the coil are more commonly used.
The WHC report offers two main reasons for this. One is the belief that contraception is primarily to protect against unwanted pregnancy. In addition, these methods of contraception are women-controlled. Women, after all, are better educated and concerned about sexual health, according to the council.
A recent review of the social and personal education programme taught in secondary schools nationwide show that proper sex education is twice as likely to occur in girls’ schools then in boys’. Women are also more likely to visit GPs or health clinics in relation to sexual issues, says the report.
“The lack of control over condom use and the underlying gender dynamics involved in safe sex negotiation, still expose women to a greater risk of STIs infection than men,” it continues.
These criticisms should not be seen as a condemnation of male behaviour. However, it is important that the differences in attitudes towards sexual health between men and women are recognised.
The council puts forward the idea of community based health centres, with free or subsidised sexual health services, across the country, arguing that these would help reduce the incidence of STIs. Currently condoms in Ireland are among the most expensive in Europe and they are subject to the highest possible government tax (21%). The cost of a full STI screening at your local family planning centre, meanwhile, is ¤150. It’s worth noting, too, that most sexual health services are aimed specifically at women, not men.
The description of sexual health services as Family Planning Clinics is thought to be inappropriate in 2006, as most young people are not planning a family.
Niall Behan, director of the Irish Family Planning Association reveals: “Of those using STI services 80% are women and 20% are men”.
Behan adds that current sexual health services are “deplorable”, with extremely long waiting lists. He calls for STI screening and treatment to be covered by the medical card.
The WHC report says sex education in schools and general sexual health promotion “should create awareness of the importance of gender and gender-related power dynamics, recognition and respect for diversity, promotion of respect for the rights of the individual, awareness of risk vulnerability and it should work with social norms to create an environment that supports sexual health.
It doesn’t add that we shouldn’t hold our collective breath...
Pic: Naomi McArdle