Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is an important discussion. As policy makers and citizens, we should all be concerned about the increase in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. As a teenager during the 1980s, I become concerned when people speak about advertising campaigns. While the advertising campaign of the 1980s was effective in terms of the shock and horror impact, it was not very informative and it stigmatised a large number of people in the gay community both in Ireland and internationally. It is my personal view that it set us back several years in the promotion of equality. By stigmatising people with HIV, it discouraged people from coming forward to seek assistance. As health awareness campaigns can work both ways, our ideas for an active campaign should be carefully thought out.

We all know that there are simple forms of prevention that can be effective, but, in terms of testing, how do we encourage people to be more proactive in being tested on a frequent basis? What methods can be used to encourage high risk groups to be tested more frequently and what barriers are in place to prevent them from doing so? There is still a stigma attached to sexually transmitted disease and for personal reasons, people may not want their local GP to know they are sexually active. Is this a stumbling block in the relationship between individuals and their GPs and can it be addressed by making testing services more readily available? Screening conjures up images of checking people against their will. It is critical that they are not discouraged from coming forward. The process should be user friendly and informative.

We never discuss the topic of cancer in the context of sexually transmitted diseases. Why are they not mentioned when we are, for example, discussing oral or cervical cancer? I presume we should be conscious of these issues when speaking about sexually transmitted diseases. We must be more proactive in education, but any education or advertising campaign should pay heed to the potential downside in stigmatising certain groups.