Did you know that the \u201cpast decade has seen rate of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) increase in Australia?\u201d Many recent studies<\/a> have been done that outline the surprising numbers around the increase of HPV and HIV in young people, as well as an increase in STIs in people of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander descent, however it is difficult to know whether this data is \u201cthe result of a rise in infection rates, more people being tested for STIs \u2026 or a combination of both.\u201d Nevertheless, one thing can be certain here \u2013 in order to stay healthy we must practice safe sex and get tested often and early.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where HERO Condoms<\/a> and The Australasian Institute of Sexual Health Medicine<\/a> come in.<\/p>\n

You probably know about HERO already \u2013 the company sells condoms here in Australia that are made in an environmentally friendly way and for every condom sold, one is donated to an AIDS organisation in Africa. They are committed to making sexual health and sexual freedom an everyday possibility both here and all over the world.<\/p>\n

I had the chance to ask Gia Ravazzotti, of The Australasian Institute of Sexual Health Medicine, a few questions about the institute, or AISHM for short.<\/p>\n

Gia told me that AISHM is a sexual health clinic located in Sydney that<\/a> \u201cattends to many different aspects of sexual health.\u201d They have \u201csexual health physicians, sex therapists, relationship counselors and psychologists\u201d on hand to help you if you are experiencing \u201ca sexual health problem ranging from HIV\/STIs to low sexual desire.\u201d They are \u201cdedicated to promoting healthy sex lives for all Australians and \u2026 are passionate about sexual health and wellbeing.\u201d Gia also stated that she loves \u201cworking at AISHM because we all have a common goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

AISHM has noticed the increase of STIs in the past 10 years and Gia also stated that \u201cCondom use [has] declined over the last 10 years or so and people don\u2019t seem to be taking their sexual healthy as seriously as they did some years ago.\u201d Everyone at AISHM \u201cwould like to see condom promotion come back into fashion and get people to take their sexual health as seriously as they do other aspects of their health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gia found out about HERO through Alex Taylor\u2019s bog on the AISHM website (Alex is a fellow HERO ambassador like myself) and also through HERO\u2019s Facebook promotion for their Priceline campaign. She \u201cinvestigated what Hero does\u201d and then felt \u201cstrongly aligned\u201d with the HERO mission. She \u201chad never heard of a condom company with an altruistic motivation, which inspired me. Being South African, I feel strongly about sexual health in African and understand the desperate need for resources in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The partnership between AISHM and HERO then will be twofold \u2013 \u201cbesides promoting Hero on social media such as Facebook and Twitter, we are now developing resources for our website which aim to create a fun look at condom use within Australia and education on how to use condoms.\u201d Gia stated further that in the future \u201cAISHM hopes to have a role in Hero\u2019s sex education component by creating and offering sexual health education resources for young people.\u201d Gia also hopes that this collaborative message about sexual health will \u201cget into schools and offer comprehensive sex ed programmes which include relationship negotiation and sexual pleasure\u201d and she would \u201calso love to take Hero condoms into the community in South Africa where I regularly visit.\u201d You can check out the beginnings of this cross-promotional resource here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Love the HERO and AISHM message? Then pass it on! It\u2019s time to make safe sex a common occurrence in Australia!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know that the \u201cpast decade has seen rate of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) increase in Australia?\u201d Many recent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n