World Sexual Health Day 2025: Sexual Justice – What Can We Do?
At Haven we know that sexual health is never just about sex – it’s about justice, dignity, and rights. This year’s World Sexual Health Day theme, “Sexual Justice: What Can We Do?”, reminds us that access to safe, inclusive, and affirming care is a cornerstone of sexual wellbeing.
What is Sexual Justice?
Sexual justice means ensuring that every person has the right to sexual health, pleasure, and expression without fear, shame, or discrimination. Sexual justice is fundamental to human rights, and we think it certainly shouldn’t be a partisan or political issue.
Stigma around talking about sex, and systemic inequalities in accessing sexual health care, mean that sexual justice is more accessible to some than others. This is especially true for people who are already marginalised, whether due to gender, sexuality, disability, culture, or economic disadvantage. As clinicians, we see how these barriers impact not just sexual wellbeing, but overall mental health, relationships, and quality of life.
What We Can Do in Clinical Practice
As health professionals, we have a responsibility to promote sexual justice in the spaces we work. Here’s how we take action at Haven:
Affirm sexual pleasure as part of health: We normalise conversations about sexual pleasure as an essential part of wellbeing. This means that we will often ask our clients about sexual wellbeing and functioning in their first session(s). We want to open up these conversations so that clients are invited to discuss sex rather than having to broach it on their own.
Create a stigma-free space: We work to make our clinic a place where clients feel safe discussing their sexual health and behaviour – especially for those who might experience sex-related stigma out in the world (e.g., people with non-traditional relationship structures, kinksters, sex workers, LGBTQIAP+ people and so on). We do our very best to use inclusive language and actively challenge shame-based narratives.
Lead within our profession: Members of our team present at conferences on working with queer clients, non-traditional relationships, and sexual diversity, helping to expand knowledge and shift attitudes within psychology and allied health.
This World Sexual Health Day, we reaffirm our commitment to sexual justice. Together, as clinicians and as a community, we can help contribute to a context where sexual rights are recognised and everyone has the freedom to experience sexuality without shame or fear.
If you’d like support with your sexual health or to explore these topics in a safe, inclusive environment, our team is here to help.
If you’re a clinician or service who wants some additional support in shaping your offerings to be inclusive of sexual justice, then we also consult, presenting to teams and groups, and have Board Approved supervision services as well. So, if you think we could be of some assistance, reach out!
