House committee suggests wide-ranging sexual health policy

Malta needs to integrate its national strategy on sexual health with education on healthy relationships and the national family policy so as to strengthen the values which society holds dear, the Parliamentary Social Affairs Committee said.

In a report following a debate on sexual health, the committee chaired by Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo said education on sexual health needed to promote a sense of responsibility in sexual behaviour so that people made their choices according to their age and maturity.

The state needed to address the mentality that "it won't happen to me" and peer pressure for sex at a premature age. Educational programmes needed to give importance to empowerment which raised a person's esteem and which postponed sexual relationships from the pre-adolescent and adolescent age to one that was more mature.

Sexual health education also needed to address the situation where Maltese went to countries known for their sex tourism.

The committee in its long list of recommendations, said schools had an important role in promoting sexual health, as did parents. However, there should also be community sexual education programmes that complemented programmes on drugs and alcohol.

The people needed to be better informed on the use of contraceptives including their medical implications and the fact that using some contraceptives to prevent pregnancies did not prevent sexual diseases.

There was also need to better promote regular health check-ups.

The committee said education programmes should aim at strengthening relationships and faithfulness within and outside marriage.

The authorities were urged to consider how services given for sexually transmitted diseases could be extended to health centres.

There should be better coordination and information on the national sexual health policy involving doctors, nurses, social workers, youth workers and other leaders.

The committee reiterated calls it made in an earlier report for community family nurse/workers and family therapy services.

It said the policy on strengthening families also needed to convey the message of responsible sex so as to reduce the umber of births to single mothers, with pregnancies being postponed to more mature ages.