APCOM is a coalition of community-based organizations, non-for-profit organizations, UN agencies and governments based in Thailand that focuses on addressing HIV issues that affect men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people. They are a long-standing pioneer in advancing the sexual health of key populations across Asia and … Continue reading
Ah Qiang, 41, is the Founder of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) in China. He grew up in a remote rural area and in 1998 he moved to Guangzhou, one of the most populated cities. After gaining access to the Internet, Qiang realized that he was … Continue reading
Yang Shi, age 25, is a gay advocate from East China who currently lives in New York City and studies International Affairs at Columbia University. I met him at the International AIDS Conference 2016 in South Africa. Yang, who began his advocacy career as an intern in Beijing’s LGBT Center, … Continue reading
Surveys conducted by different Japanese agencies, such as the Japanese Family Planning Association and the National Institute of Population and Social Research point out to the same sexual trends in Japanese society: the number of married couples and young people that are not having sex are at records high. This … Continue reading
Name of interviewee: Oscar Age: 42 When did you start taking PrEP? 2 years ago Why did you decide to start PrEP? I had unprotected sex so I got prescribed Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). When I was taking PEP I did not have any side effects, and I thought why not … Continue reading
Jason Domino is a gay porn actor based in the UK, he founded the group Porn4PrEP, which advocates for sexual health and the use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). I met Jason in London thanks to Daniel Arzola back in March 2017, and I interviewed him to learn about his experiences … Continue reading
Name of interviewee: David Age: 44 City of residence: Brooklyn, NY When did you start taking Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)? 2016. How have your sexual relationships and the way you experience sexual pleasure changed since you are on PrEP? I can’t say they have changed. I am a little bit more … Continue reading
At the World Congress for Sexual Health 2015 in Singapore, Eli Coleman (Past President of the World Association for Sexual Health-WAS) arranged a dinner with Doortje Braeken, at the time Senior Advisor on Youth, Gender and Rights at the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Esther Corona (one of the leading … Continue reading
Name of interviewee: Alex City of residence: Queens, NY Age: 34 Profession: Comedian When did you start taking Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)? 3 years ago How do you think guys on PrEP experience sexual pleasure? PrEP is coming into at the same time of social media apps. Hookup culture is really … Continue reading
As a public health professional who works within an HIV prevention program in Brooklyn, New York, I have had the opportunity to be involved in the beginnings of the most recent biomedical innovation for HIV prevention: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is a pill (called Truvada) that you take once a … Continue reading
Rola Yasmine, 29, is a young sexual and reproductive health and rights activist. She currently leads the organization Project A in Beirut. Without hesitations, Rola told me that she has no problem to talk openly about sexual pleasure with other young people in Beirut: “A lot of people may find … Continue reading
Joe Wong, 31, is a transgender man originally from Singapore and now living in Bangkok, Thailand, while he works as the Program Manager of the Asia-Pacific Transgender Network (APTN). I recently talked with Joe about the difficulties that exist for transgender people to openly talk about sexual pleasure: “As a … Continue reading
Nana Zulu is originally from Lusaka, Zambia. She started working in sexual and reproductive health and rights when she was studying college. Nowadays, she works as a Youth Advisor in IPAS Zambia, overseeing the youth programs unit. Nana recognizes that in Zambia is difficult to talk about sex, particularly for … Continue reading
Bowie Lam, 28, is a sexual and reproductive health and rights activist based in Hong Kong. She runs the organization “Teen’s Key”, which serves young female sex workers. Some of these women do not think of themselves as sex workers; they think that what they do is “compensated dating”, as … Continue reading
Masayoshi Yanagida is a Member of the Youth Initiative Committee at the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS). He began his career as a sexual and reproductive health activist when he was 19 years old, and he is a former Secretary of the Youth Committee at the Japan Family Planning Association. … Continue reading
According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 16 million people who inject drugs; 3 million of them live with HIV. Given that drug use is mostly penalized, the great majority of these persons can not access quality health services. In very few countries, there are sites … Continue reading
When I asked Ah Shan, a 60 year old volunteer from PFLAG (Parents, friends and family of Lesbians and Gays) living in Guangzhou, about his experience during last year´s Gay Pride parade in Hong Kong, he told me he had an exhilarating time: “You can laugh, you can shout, you … Continue reading
Some weeks ago, I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark to participate in a Symposium of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) at the First Global Conference on Contraception, Reproductive and Sexual Health, organized by the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health. Before Denmark, I visited Oslo. I had been … Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I spent some days in London, Berlin and less than 24 hours in the city of Poznan, Poland’s fifth largest city. I decided to travel from Berlin to Poznan because of an invitation from Katy Peichert, a Member of the WAS Youth Initiative Committee. Katy was … Continue reading
From December 6th to December 8th, the VII National Congress of Sexual Health of the Mexican Association for Sexual Health took place at the Superior School of Medicine of the National Polytechnic Institute. As President of the Scientific Committee (the youngest one in the history of the Association), I prepared … Continue reading