Safer Sex – Summer Travel
A 'Sex and Summer Travel' Campaign has been launched by NHS Tayside’s Specialist Health Promotion Service throughout the month of July. In 2004, more than 59 million people travelled abroad, nearly 40 million of them on package holidays.
The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness to travellers and holiday makers of the HIV exposure risk whilst abroad. With its ‘Safer Sex’ message it encourages appropriate condom use and aims to educate the public of the potential risks of contracting HIV, mainly in a holiday environment and particularly abroad.
Raising public awareness of sexual health is a major concern for all health authorities. Since the first case of HIV was diagnosed in the early 1980s, health promotion departments have spent a great deal of time and energy in promoting safer sex.
Vacation Sex Statistics
Holidays and travelling are for fun and relaxation and provide opportunities for meeting new people. Many young people have their first sexual experience while on holiday. |
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In one recent study of 1000 unattached tourists under the age of 30, 25% reported having had sexual intercourse with at least one partner whilst on holiday and 7% had sex with two or more partners.
This study supports figures kept by Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) which consistently show a rise in the number of sexual infections, including exposure to HIV, that have been acquired abroad.
High-Risk HIV Abroad
Richard McIntosh, Senior Health Promotion Officer at NHS Tayside, said, “In some countries as many as one in 10 people are infected, so the risk of contracting HIV is far greater overseas than in Scotland.
“The campaign is designed to raise public awareness and to encourage all travellers to be aware of the risk of acquiring sexual infections abroad and to encourage appropriate condom use.”
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