Safe sex guide in six tongues

A NEW guide to safe sex will be available in six languages to reflect the country’s multicultural population.

The Don’t Panic Guide to Sexual Health launched by the Dublin Aids Alliance is written in English, Polish, Mandarin, Arabic, Russian and French.

Minister of State Pat Carey said he hoped the booklet would bridge language barriers to encourage safer sex by all nationalities living in Ireland.

“We need to bridge language barriers for minority ethnic groups in accessing information on sexual health services,” he said.

“We must also actively encourage the engagement of minority ethnic individuals, groups and agencies to ensure that their needs in respect of sexual health issues are addressed.”

According to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, the total number of HIV infections diagnosed in Ireland in 2006 was 4,419. A total of 337 new cases of HIV were reported.

In excess of 10,000 cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were notified in Ireland in 2005 — the latest figure available.

The Dublin Aids Alliance launched the Stamp Out Stigma campaign in December 2006, which runs awareness workshops aimed at voluntary, private and statutory organisations.

Mr Carey said there had been significant developments in the area of sexual health in Ireland over the past few years.

HIV and STI education and prevention programmes were in place to raise awareness about safe sex.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, addressing the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV/Aids in June 2006, called on political leaders to work to make societies more open, caring, inclusive and non-judgmental.