Your Body. Your Choice – making sexual health sexy!

On 26 September, it’s World Contraception Day and this year’s theme, “Your Body, Your Choice”, is a timely reminder that it’s not just about preventing pregnancy, but about taking ownership of our sexual health and wellbeing, just as we do with any other aspect of our health.

In a time when we are sold gym workouts, high protein diets and health supplements ‘til the cows come home, we’re probably more aware of how to “be healthy” than any generation ever before.

Why then are sexually transmitted infections still around? Why isn’t sexual health education treated with the same level of enthusiasm as the importance of matcha, or creatine, or the latest skinny jabs? The irony is that sex (or sexual health) isn’t sexy! For too long, sexual health has been taboo: instead of being something we’re proactively taking steps to look after, people find themselves stumbling around secretively when something goes wrong. So, this World Contraceptive Day, I’m wondering how can we get better at, well, grabbing the issue of sexual health by the balls?

Today’s generation are more empowered than ever before – people are expected to be more direct: we’re told to ask for what we want, to say no to what’s not serving us. And yet, we’re too shy to ask a partner about their sexual history or to wear a condom? It just doesn’t stack up.

As Northern Ireland’s only charity dedicated to HIV, I can say categorically that condoms save lives, or at the very least, prevent infection from a viral illness which affects the body’s ability to fight infections and requires life-long drug treatment. As for protection from other STIs, condoms can also prevent a lot of life-changing and debilitating infections and they can save us from a whole raft of other delights like… I won’t get into those itches, the green discharge or long-term fertility problems. Condoms need to be more widely accepted as a good, healthy idea. The consequences of an STI are far more far-reaching than taking a moment to introduce a condom.

If we’re talking about taking action to specifically protect against HIV, PrEP is another topic very few people here feel ready to talk openly about. As a result, fewer people know about it than should.

If you’re one of the 83% of 16 to 34 year olds who haven’t heard of it, PrEP is pre- exposure HIV prophylaxis, a tablet taken regularly to prevent contracting HIV, and it’s highly effective. While it’s not actually a contraceptive, it’s really worth highlighting in this wider conversation about owning our sexual health and taking a more responsible approach. (I should say here, that PrEP doesn’t protect against other STIs like gonorrhoea or chlamydia, so you should still use a condom if you’re taking PrEP). HIV is still here in Northern Ireland, with around 100 new patients presenting every year. The simplest way to end HIV is to prevent it being transmitted unwittingly – put simply, by getting tested and knowing your status, you can act accordingly. The most effective way to protect yourself from HIV is the humble condom; and, if you’re firmly set on condomless sex, take PrEP.

As a charity working to eliminate HIV, we’re concerned because recent government research showed that knowledge of HIV and wider sexual health in Northern Ireland is slipping. Just 87% of people knew about HIV, and among 16 to 34 year-olds, nearly one in five have never heard of it.

In 2025 we need to create a culture where sexual health is openly discussed, options are open and healthy behaviour is normalised without cramping anyone’s style. That’s what we do at Positive Life. We provide safe, non-judgemental spaces where people can talk honestly about their sexual health — whether that’s someone looking for a discreet HIV test, someone newly diagnosed and trying to make sense of their future, a young person hearing about PrEP for the first time, or someone who just needs reassurance that their questions are valid.

Your body. Your choice. Our shared responsibility.

Sexual health belongs to all of us. It is part of our wellbeing, our equality, and our right to live freely and safely.

So, this World Contraception Day, let’s use it as an opportunity to build a culture where there is no shame in talking about and looking after our sexual health.

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Jacquie Richardson is the CEO of Positive Life NI, Northern Ireland’s only charity dedicated to supporting people living with and affected by HIV.

By Jacquie Richardson, CEO of Positive Life NI

WORLD CONTRACEPTION DAY Friday 26th September 2025

DID YOU KNOW?

Using a condom every time you have sex is still the best way to protect you and your partner from HIV, and a range of other sexually transmitted infections.

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