Sexual health means both physical and emotional health in matters concerning- sex, sexuality and reproduction. Sexuality is more than just sexual acts or reproduction. It includes our desires, feelings, what we do, our values and attitudes. Reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes. Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so….

Reproductive health also includes safe development into adults, the avoidance of sexual and reproductive illnesses, the ability to choose when to have children, to conceive safely and to avoid unwanted pregnancy. It also involves good health care to avoid the complications of childbirth, abortion, use of contraceptive methods and the long-term effects of sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections.

People learn about their sexuality, and about sex and sexual health, from different sources: parents, friends, teachers, radio, newspapers and television, work colleagues, community elders. When people have a concern about sexual health, it may be possible to go to formal health care services, such as clinics or hospitals, or to traditional health healers. Anyone to whom people go for advice or treatment is a sexual health career or educator.

Working with men…

Many sexual and reproductive health services focus only on the needs of women. In recent years, great effort has been made to improve women’s health, including their sexual and reproductive health. This has involved challenging the view that women are less important than men, and that inequality between men and women is the nature of things and cannot be changed. Real improvements have been made, and yet many people working with women have found that there are limits to what can be achieved unless they also work with men. 

Excluding men from sexual health promotion means that women often have to take all the responsibility for both their own and their partner’s sexual health. If men and women understand how each other’s bodies work, they can understand each other better. Many men want to be involved in planning their families and looking after the health of their partners and their children.

SEX AND SEXUALITY FOR MEN

  • Both men and women should make a choice about their sexual lives.
  • Men and women should be responsible from their own feelings of shame, physical harm, guiltiness or fear.
  • Men should seek information about any issues relating to sex and sexuality that may affect them and to other people.
  • Educators or any community and health workers should involve men in sexual health education.

[For more of sexual health education, you can visit Sexual Health Network. They are dedicated to provide easy access to sexuality information, education, support and other resources.]