The Pleasuremeter: exploring the links between sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure in sexual history-taking, SRHR counselling and education

Castellanos-Usigli, Antón; Schaik, Doortje Braeken-van

doi:10.1080/26410397.2019.1690334

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Fear of disease was not an effective hand hygiene motivator in a study spanning 11 countries, instead nurture (care for to others), feelings of comfort, and affiliation (conforming to social norms) were key motivators (Curtis et al, n.d.). Similarly, a focus on behavioural drivers such as pleasure may motivate uptake of HIV preventive practices such as condom use (Castellanos-Usigli & Braeken-van Schaik, 2019). Second, lockdown policy shifts must include community engagement efforts to build an enabling environment and limit blaming.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifting lockdown policies: A critical moment for COVID-19 stigma

Hargreaves

Logie

2020

Global Public Health

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COVID-19 'lockdown' policies may have unintended consequences for individuals, households and country economies. Hence lockdown may be unsustainable despite the risk of a resurgence of new COVID-19 infections. The repeal and alteration of lockdown policies mark a symbolic transfer of responsibility for epidemic control from state to individual. This has the potential to catalyse fear, blame and judgement within and between populations. We draw on experience from the HIV pandemic to show that this will worsen during later phases of the pandemic if COVID-19 stigma increases, as we fear it could. We suggest policy recommendations for 'lockdown lifting' to limit COVID-19 stigma. We suggest three policy priorities to minimise potential increases in COVID-19 stigma: limit fear by strengthening risk communication, engage communities to reduce the emergence of blaming, and emphasise social justice to reduce judgement. 'Lockdown' policies cannot continue uninterrupted. However, lifting lockdown without unintended consequences may prove harder than establishing it. This period has the potential to see the emergence of fear, blame and judgement, intersecting with existing inequalities, as governments seek to share responsibility for preventing further Sars-Cov-2 transmission. As we have learned from HIV, it is critical that a wave of COVID-19 stigma is prevented from flourishing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifting lockdown policies: A critical moment for COVID-19 stigma

Hargreaves

Logie

2020

Global Public Health

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“…The 1983 publication "How to have sex in an epidemic: One approach" explored care, love, and intimacy as reasons for safer sex motivation [14]. Pleasure (not only fear of HIV infection) is key to engaging in HIV preventive practices [15,16]. Similarly, UNAIDS [8] and WHO [3] suggest that building connections via kindness and caring (rather than simply fear of COVID-19 infection) can motivate uptake of non-stigmatizing physical distancing.…”

Section: Tensions Between Stigma Mitigation and Covid-19 Public Healtmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Do We Balance Tensions Between COVID-19 Public Health Responses and Stigma Mitigation? Learning from HIV Research

2020

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We are not being invaded. The body is not a battlefield. The ill are neither unavoidable casualties nor the enemy. We-medicine, society-are not authorized to fight back by any means whatever. -Sontag (1 p. 180) Sontag's quotation above from 'AIDS and its metaphors' [1] reminds us to expose, and disengage from, constructions of illness that propagate fear. We are called to address the fear of COVID-19 by correcting misinformation [2,3]. While misinformation is indeed a driver of fear and stigma, other underlying facilitators produce stigma [4,5] and need to be considered in stigma mitigation. HIV research and an understanding of the historical construction of illness can be leveraged to mitigate COVID-19 stigma. COVID-19 public health responses-essential for prevention and containment [6,7]-also have the potential to exacerbate stigma [8]. We outline four tensions between COVID-19 containment and stigma mitigation, and offer possible ways forward.

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“…Yet the focus of sexual health research and education, particularly with LGBTQ persons and sex workers, has often focused on HIV risks rather than pleasure (Ford et al, 2019;Gruskin et al, 2019;Logie, Perez-Brumer, et al, 2021;Miedema et al, 2020;Parker, 2007;Singh et al, 2021). As sexual pleasure is a key motivation behind engaging in sexual practices and is also connected with well-being, it can be infused into high quality, sex-positive sexual health education and healthcare provider training and programs (Castellanos-Usigli & Braeken-van Schaik, 2019;Ford et al, 2019;Singh et al, 2021). Naming sexual rights, alongside sexual pleasure, holds the potential to advance sexual health:…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Improved sexual health and wellbeing are the expected outcomes of this focus on sexual pleasure. (Ford et al, 2019, p. 2) Barriers to integrating sexual pleasure into the SDG include stigma regarding sex (exacerbated among persons already stigmatized as 'sexually deviant' such as LGBTQ persons), gendered power inequities in socio-political systems focused on controlling sexuality, heteronormativity in centering sex as a primarily reproductive activity among (married) heterosexuals, lack of healthcare provider training on sexual rights and sexual pleasure, and political divisions within and between sexual rights social movements (Castellanos-Usigli & Braeken-van Schaik, 2019;Fine & McClelland, 2006;Ford et al, 2019;Gruskin et al, 2019;Singh et al, 2021). Fine and McClelland discussed the importance of 'thick desire' where youth can 'imagine themselves as sexual beings capable of pleasure and cautious about danger without carrying the undue burden of social, medical, and reproductive consequences' (Fine & McClelland, 2006, p. 301).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Pleasure Project has long advocated, and produced educational and resource tools, for integrating sexual pleasure into sexual health information and resources (https://thepleasureproject.org). The Pleasuremeter is a sexual history and sexual health counselling and education tool for healthcare providers and educators that assess both physical and psychological domains of pleasure and enabling environments, including consent, self-determination, confidence, and communication and negotiation skills (Castellanos-Usigli & Braeken-van Schaik, 2019). Applying such a holistic approach to sexual agency and empowerment conceptualizes sexual pleasure as embedded in larger sexual health enabling environments that consider symbolic (e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sexual rights and sexual pleasure: Sustainable Development Goals and the omitted dimensions of the leave no one behind sexual health agenda

Logie

2021

Global Public Health

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This commentary explores the missing discourse of sexual rights and sexual pleasure in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that purport to leave no one behind. The SDG propose a welcome focus on sexual health and human rights for all, expanding beyond the Millennium Development Goals. While promising in many ways for advancing global sexual and reproductive health, and reproductive rights, the omission of sexual rights is troubling. So too is the erasure of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons, and sex workers, from the SDG discussions of social inequities. Illustrative examples are provided to demonstrate how a sexual rights focus could advance SDG 3 focused on healthy lives and well-being for all. First, sexual rights are presented as integral to realizing Target 3.3's focus on ending the HIV pandemic among LGBTQ persons and sex workers (and LGBTQ sex workers). Second, sexual pleasure is introduced as an integral component of sexual health and sexual rights that could facilitate the realization of Target 3.7's aim to provide universal access to sexual and reproductive health information and education. To truly leave no one behind and realize sexual health for all, the SDG need to begin from a foundation of sexual rights.

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The Pleasuremeter: exploring the links between sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure in sexual history-taking, SRHR counselling and education

Cited by 18 publications

References 7 publications

Lifting lockdown policies: A critical moment for COVID-19 stigma

Lifting lockdown policies: A critical moment for COVID-19 stigma

How Do We Balance Tensions Between COVID-19 Public Health Responses and Stigma Mitigation? Learning from HIV Research

Sexual rights and sexual pleasure: Sustainable Development Goals and the omitted dimensions of the leave no one behind sexual health agenda

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