Page 1670 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019
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STIs has continued to rise in recent years, in particular: increased rates of syphilis in gay men and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; gonorrhoea in gay men and other men who have sex with men; and gonorrhoea and chlamydia in young people. These areas of significant concern are reflected in the figures in Ms Cheyne’s motion, particularly the significant increases in notifications of syphilis and chlamydia infections.
These changes may at least partly be the result of changing social environments and behaviours with social media and other platforms leading to changing patterns of sexual behaviour. This, alongside what might be considered complacency or a general lack of awareness around sexual health, especially compared to a few decades ago, has resulted in our rates of STIs and BBVs starting to creep back in the wrong direction.
In order to respond to this concerning trend, the key aspect of the strategy and echoed in Ms Cheyne’s motion is the redoubling of our efforts to improve knowledge and awareness of STIs and BBVs and re-emphasising the importance of prevention. This includes education initiatives around the essential role of condoms, the need for timely testing and treatment and the potential long-term consequences of infection.
We must also ensure that any community education is done in a way that breaks down stigma, which is a known barrier to people accessing prevention, testing, treatment and support. In Canberra we are lucky to have a range of excellent community sexual health services who provide education, advice, testing and treatment at no or minimal cost. The motion specifically mentions the Canberra Sexual Health Centre, the AIDS Action Council, Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, and Hepatitis ACT, all of which provide fantastic services at a range of locations across the territory.
I also want to mention Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal health services which provides sexual health services for Canberra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. This is a particularly vital service as we know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to be disproportionately impacted by BBVs and STIs. As we often speak about in this place, the reasons for this disproportionate impact are many and complex. The base of this is the traumatic legacy of colonisation and the profound consequences of the stolen generations, racism and other past discriminatory practices which have created historical disadvantage passed on from one generation to the next.
On top of this, lower health literacy, a lack of culturally respectful health education and prevention services, over-representation in custodial settings, shame, stigma, and discrimination mean that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience heightened risks and burden of BBVs and STIs. Given these high-risk factors, having culturally appropriate services like Winnunga available and accessible is crucially important.
It is clear that this is an important issue, and I thank Ms Cheyne for raising it for discussion today. The more we have these kinds of conversations the more we can reinforce the message that sexual health is a normal part of healthcare. That means
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