A thin but critical slice of thinking has emerged and persisted in the field of sexual health and relationships: that healthy relationships and sexuality are about not merely the absence of sexually transmitted diseases and intimate partner violence but also the presence of pleasurable and satisfying occurrences in the closest relationship that humans have with one another.
As noted by Gruskin and Kismödi (p. 159), the World Association for Sexual Health Congress Declaration on Sexual Pleasure explicitly calls for “an intersectional, interdisciplinary and multi-sectorial approach to research, programs, service delivery, and advocacy that fully takes into account the links between sexual health and sexual rights and pleasure.” The intersectional aspect reminds us that to achieve this not only must programming and research take a wider approach on this subject, but laws, policy, and practices must be examined and addressed as well.
Authors: Stewart Landers and Farzana Kapadia
We strive to build lasting relationships to produce better health outcomes for all.
