Sexual Health
Sexual health is a part of the lives of all those who live in Niagara.
To build and maintain a sexually healthy community we need to:
- acknowledge that sexuality is lifelong and not just an issue for teens and young adults.
- embrace diversity and offer support and nurturing to all persons irrespective of sexual orientation.
- work actively to prevent sexual violence, abuse and coercion.
- encourage honest and upfront discussion about sexuality in order to assess and address the sexual health issues of Niagara – including the availability of accessible clinical services with appropriate clinic hours so those that need to access services, can.
More youth are sexually active in Niagara than in Ontario and there is limited access to sexual health services. Teen pregnancies in Niagara are higher than the provincial average and Chlamydia has almost doubled over the past 4 years. In the following tables, information on different aspects of Niagara’s sexual health is provided.
It is important to note that information gathered around sexual health tends to concentrate on negative outcomes, rather than more positive aspects of sexual health (e.g. proportion actively using birth control and condoms, healthy and positive teen relationships, capacity of sexual health teachings). Currently, our harm reduction campaigns, which include but not limited to Don't Wake Up with More than a Hangover aim to improve these positive aspects of sexual health because “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity” (WHO, 1946).
Sexual behaviour Summary
|
Niagara region | Ontario |
|---|---|---|
| Self-reported ever having sex, among youth 15-19 years of age | 47.0 % | 36.8% |
| Had sexual intercourse before the age of 20, among adults 20-59 years of age | 88.0 %* | 81.4% |
| Had 2 or more sexual partners in the past 12 months, who used a condom, among population 15 years and older1 | 68.8 % | 62.3% |
1 Age-Standardized rates (Canada 1991)
* Significantly different from Ontario.
Source: Canadian Community Health Survey 4.1, 2007-2008, Statistics Canada. Share File, Ontario MOHLTC.
In Niagara and Ontario, the percentage of youth 15-19 years of age who self-reported sexual intercourse was similar (47.0% vs. 36.8%).
When examining adults, Niagara had a significantly higher percentage self-report sexual intercourse before the age of 20 (88.0%) compared to Ontario (81.4%).
In terms of condom use, Niagara and Ontario percentages are very similar. In Niagara, 68.8% of those 15 years of age and older used a condom in the past year with the previous two sexual partners they had. Compared with Ontario, 62.3% reported condom use.
Teen Pregnancy Rates
Between 2002 and 2004, Niagara's teen Pregnancy rate decreased from 35.5 teen pregnancies per 1000 females 15 to 19 years of age in 2002 to 30.8 in 2004.
A slight increase from 2004 to 2007 was seen in Niagara (30.8 to 33.9). This is followed by a decrease in 2008 (32.5) and 2009 (30.9). On the other hand, Ontario had seen a steady decline from 2002 to 2008 in teen Pregnancy rates from 30.6 to 24.5 teen pregnancies per 1000 females 15-19.
Over the past eight years of data available, Niagara has consistently shown a higher teen Pregnancy rate than the province.
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niagara rate per 1000 females 15-19 | 35.5 | 35.4 | 30.8 | 32.7 | 32.5 | 33.9 | 32.5 | 30.9 |
| Ontario rate per 1000 females 15-19 | 33.7 | 33.0 | 30.4 | 29.5 | 29.9 | 30.3 | 29.7 | 28.4 |
Source: Teen Pregnancies 2002-2009, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, IntelliHEALTH ONTARIO, Data extracted November 2011.
Sexually Transmitted Infection Summary
| Niagara region 1 | Ontario 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chlamydial Infection | 84.5% | Chlamydial Infection | 80.5% |
| 2 | Gonorrhoea | 11.8% | Gonorrhoea | 12.0 % |
| 3 | Syphilis latent | 2.0% | Syphilis latent | 3.2% |
Source: 1Sexually transmitted infections 2008, Integrated Public Health Information System (iPhis),obtained from Cognos ReportNet 2.1. Extracted: March 2009. 2Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Integrated Public Health information System (iPHIS) database. Extracted: March 2009.
The three most common sexually transmitted infections in the Niagara region are Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, and Syphilis which cause 84.5%, 11.8% and 2.0% of all sexually transmitted infections in the region respectively. In Ontario the top three causes of Sexually transmitted infections are identical to Niagara. Of all the Sexually transmitted infections throughout Ontario, Chlamydia infections cause 80.5%, Gonorrhoea 12% and Syphilis 3.2%.
