New sexual health awareness campaign in Western Australia

Published June 11 2021 inUncategorised

2 minutes read

The Western Australian government has launched a new sexual health campaign ‘Healthysexual’ to promote STI prevention, testing and treatment, as well as to encourage more open conversations about the impact of STIs on individuals and society.

Western Australia has seen an increase in STIs over recent years across metropolitan, regional and remote areas of the state, with Syphilis in particular increasing by 26% in 2020. “This campaign is one of the strategies we are using to raise awareness around Syphilis and other STIs”, expressed Lisa Bastian, Manager of the Department of Health’s Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Program (SHBBVP).

What does the campaign include?

Recent STI outbreaks have affected many parts of the community. In Perth, the number of STI diagnoses in the third and fourth quarters of 2020 were highest among heterosexuals rather than MSM for the first time in five years. As a result, the new campaign posters depict a diverse group of people with the intention to highlight that STIs can affect anyone and to make the campaign more mainstream.

Encouraging awareness and testing

The campaign hopes to educate people on the fact that most people will get an STI in their lifetime and warn of the long-term adverse effects on an individual’s health if an STI is left untreated.

Promoting healthy relationships

As well as focusing on prevention and awareness, the campaign also aims to promote consent and healthy, safe and respectful relationships.

‘Talk. Test. Protect.’

The campaign offers three steps to being ‘healthysexual’:

Talking freely about sexual health, consent and pleasure
Having regular STI tests
Practising safe sex.

Read more about the Healthysexual campaign here.

Speak to us in confidence

Do you have any questions about sexual health? Are you considering getting tested? Speak to our highly trained sexual health advisors on the 24/7 phone number above or speak freely using our online, anonymous web-chat. We are here to answer any questions you may have. We can also help you to get tested for STIs quickly and confidentially. Find a clinic near you and protect your sexual health today.