4 days ago
EU's graphic holiday guide to sex is full of holes
The EU's new guide on how to stay sexually healthy during the holiday season isn't for everyone.
Published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the EU's public health agency, the online guide offers explicit advice aimed primarily at men who have sex with men.
It includes foremost tips on how to avoid infections that spread among men who have sex with men, such as mpox and Shigella – and recommends that those engaging in such practices "not share sex toys" and "use disposable gloves for fingering or fisting".
Noticeably absent is detailed guidance for the population at large and their sexual health needs.
Chlamydia, for example, is mentioned only once in a list with gonorrhoea and syphilis despite being Europe's most reported sexually transmitted bacterial infection. Though it frequently goes undetected due to its lack of symptoms, it can lead to serious complications like infertility, disproportionately affecting women.
Carsten Müller, a prominent German sex educator, said the guide, which urges 'everyone to be informed', risks leaving much of the population underserved.
'If we focus on sex between men, it leaves a lot of room for discrimination. And as soon as the topic turns to mpox, anyone who isn't a man who has sex with men immediately starts to feel defensive, saying, 'That doesn't affect me,'' he added. 'Highway to hell' Leaving chlamydia and other mainstream infections largely unaddressed is difficult to overlook, especially in light of ECDC data showing a general rise in STI cases across Europe.
Gonorrhoea cases, for instance, increased by 321% between 2014 and 2023. While MSM accounted for 58% of them, infection rates among young women aged 20–24 hit 72 per 100,000 – a high figure given the rate for all men that stands at 131 per 100,000.
Yet the ECDC's summer guide offers little practical information for a general audience beyond the standard call for 'consistent condom use for vaginal, anal, and oral sex'. For example, the recommendation to use dental dams focuses exclusively on "oral-anal sex', with no mention of their use during oral sex between female partners or heterosexual sex.
For those seeking more comprehensive or practical advice – such as how to adapt a condom for protection during oral sex – resources like the website of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be more helpful.
Müller added that the ECDC's focus reflects a broader problem in European sex education: It's primarily directed at young people, even as STI rates rise among older adults.
Genital herpes – an incurable infection that ranks among the most common STIs globally – is not mentioned at all, even though, according to the WHO, someone is infected with the virus every second.
When asked by Euractiv why herpes was omitted, an ECDC spokesperson answered: 'Herpes is not a notifiable disease (as per decision by the European Commission), therefore this is not a disease that the ECDC actively monitors.' The spokesperson referred those seeking guidance to the WHO's website. What about HPV? Human Papillomavirus (HPV) was also absent from the summer guide, despite several strains of the virus being linked to cervical, penile, throat, and other cancers.
When asked about this by Euractiv at an event on the topic, an ECDC expert who had just presented on HPV vaccination and screening struggled to offer practical advice.
Before the ECDC expert could find an answer, Dr. Rui Medeiros, head of education at the Portuguese League Against Cancer, stepped in with a blunt assessment: 'Ultimately, every act is at your own risk. It's like crossing a red light – you might get away with it, or you might not.'
For Müller, the ECDC's call for 'fostering open communication' is also vague, noting that "we need to help people talk about sex and the risks that come with it'.
He suggests including practical conversation starters in the guide, such as: 'I feel like having sex with you – let's talk about how to make it safe' – a line that would not be too difficult to translate into all 24 official EU languages (or very effective at a beachside bar).
(de, vib, jp, mk)
