Sexual health

‘Don’t tell us the bad news all at once’: how to talk to kids about grown-up things

Abortion, toxic masculinity, human extinction ... What’s the best way to talk to children about the big issues of the day? We ask the experts

Laura Potter

03, Feb, 2023 @11:00 AM

A message to the NHS: disabled people like having sex, too | Cathy Reay

A sexual health checkup became an ordeal – and underlined the accessibility issues people such as me face, says Cathy Reay, a writer on disability and relationships

Cathy Reay

23, Jan, 2023 @10:00 AM

Women’s struggle for dignity and respect during smear tests | Letters

Letters: Dr Türkei Michael Blees finds the idea that a healthcare professional would use the term ‘virgin speculum’ breathtaking, while Susannah Brown describes the pain and humiliation she felt at one cervical smear exam

22, Jan, 2023 @4:13 PM

More Australian teenagers are sexually active and for one-third it’s unwanted

Exclusive: National survey of young people also finds fewer than half used a condom during their latest sexual experience

Melissa Davey Medical editor

21, Dec, 2022 @7:00 PM

Syphilis cases rise in Australia despite fall in testing for STIs during pandemic

Covid-19 resulted in a drop in chlamydia and gonorrhoea diagnoses, the Kirby Institute says, but worrying increase in syphilis

Melissa Davey Medical editor

07, Dec, 2022 @4:30 PM

‘I haven’t been seen as a sexual option’: SBS series Latecomers to ‘rip apart’ sex and disability on screen

Led by and starring people with cerebral palsy, the new comedy doesn’t shy away from desires – and sex scenes – that other shows gloss over

Katie Cunningham

29, Nov, 2022 @2:00 PM

‘It’s always fear-based’: why sexual health projects should switch the focus to pleasure

After decades of emphasis on STIs, HIV, Aids and unwanted pregnancy, a wave of initiatives around the world are using a more sex-positive narrative

Sarah Johnson

22, Nov, 2022 @7:45 AM

Sexually transmitted infections on the rise among over-65s in England

Increase in sexual activity among older people and popularity of chemsex are driving trend, say researchers

Denis Campbell Health policy editor

15, Nov, 2022 @8:36 AM

My Massive Cock review – you will never be able to unsee this penis documentary

This Channel 4 show about men with genitals up to seven inches around is an often eye-watering watch with plenty of point-and-laugh moments – until it turns thoughtful

Lucy Mangan

25, Oct, 2022 @9:00 AM

Monkeypox vaccine second doses available for most at risk, says UKHSA

Sexual health clinics will continue to prioritise offering first doses but some will offer second shots

Nadeem Badshah

23, Sep, 2022 @9:09 PM

The UK government is dangerously neglecting sexual health services | Letter

Letter: Deborah Gold of the National Aids Trust, Dr Will Nutland of PrEPster and Ian Green of the Terrence Higgins Trust write

Letters

23, Aug, 2022 @4:43 PM

Rise in popularity of anal sex has led to health problems for women

Incontinence, bleeding and STIs among the consequences, say two surgeons, who want doctors to have open chats with patients on the topic