Leading independent experts The Global Advisory Board for Sexual Health and Wellbeing have today launched an innovative online resource to equip health professionals with the skills they need to explore issues related to sexual pleasure, rights and wellbeing in the delivery of educational and counselling services.
LONDON, 2 November 2020 – Talking about sexual pleasure remains a taboo in many cultures and communities. Too often, health services focus on the health risks and consequences of sexual behavior in the absence of conversations about sexual pleasure. But overlooking sexual pleasure as a key part of sexual decision-making makes it difficult for sex educators and counsellors to get to the root of why people may be taking sexually risky decisions.
This is why The Global Advisory Board (GAB) for Sexual Health and Wellbeing has developed an online resource entitled: Sexual Pleasure: The forgotten link in sexual and reproductive health and rights. The resource is designed for healthcare providers and those training in sexual and reproductive healthcare, who are looking to become more sex-positive and inclusive in the delivery of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Talking about and making links between sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure enables people to access accurate information, services and support, and moves us towards a focus on wellbeing and wellness rather than disease and illness, thus recognising the positive realities of sexuality.
Vithika Yadav, Chair of The Global Advisory Board for Sexual Health and Wellbeing, comments: “The GAB’s unique Triangle Approach is all about creating meaningful links between sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure. Our training toolkit launched in 2018 has so far reached almost 2,000 health providers and medical students from across the globe, and this new complementary resource is our latest initiative to empower health professionals to adopt a positive and inclusive approach to sexuality, and help them build the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to explore issues related to sexual pleasure, sexual rights and wellbeing in the delivery of SRH services, counselling and education.”
This comes at a time of considerable change, where sexuality and our approach to it has had to be reimagined. It has become more important now than ever to adapt our work to continue to make such vital resources available to all – regardless of geography and physical barriers – which is why we opted to provide these modules through a digital format to maximise accessibility.
It is hoped the educational modules will help health professionals understand the key definitions and concepts of the triangle approach relating to sexuality, and will enable them to reflect on the impact of culture, law and one’s own values on sexuality. The resource also introduces the Pleasuremeter; an innovative conceptual tool designed to guide the process of sexual history taking, and to provide SRH counselling and education with the triangle approach.
Sexual Pleasure: The forgotten link in sexual and reproductive health and rights is free to access here: www.gab-shw.org/resources/online-resource
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About the Global Advisory Board
The Global Advisory Board (GAB) for Sexual Health and Wellbeing was established in 2016 to advocate for a positive and inclusive approach to sexuality.
The Board is an independent group that has come together in recognition of the lack of equal attention to sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure in research, education, training, policies and programmes regarding sexuality.
The GAB aims to highlight the importance of considering sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure equally and to provide a call to action to global organisations, policy makers, NGOs and governments to achieve a rights-based perspective on sexuality in policy, law, practice and research.
For more information visit http://www.gab-shw.org/
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