Your Sexual Health Matters!
Sexual health is a key part of physical, emotional, mental, and social health. It's about embracing your sexuality as a natural and rewarding part of who you are, not just about sexual acts. When you prioritize your sexual health, you're building a foundation for a more fulfilling and healthy life.
Being sexually healthy means:
- Knowing that sexuality is a full and natural part of life and involves more than sexual behavior.
- Being able to have sexual pleasure, satisfaction, and intimacy when desired.
- Feeling comfortable discussing sexual health with others including sexual partners and health care providers.
- Recognizing and respecting the sexual rights we all share.
- Having access to sexual health information, education, treatment and ongoing care management when appropriate.
- Taking steps to prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies and seeking care and treatment when needed. (source: ashasexualhealth.org)
Explore Key Sexual Health Topics:
Dive into important areas like Prevention, Pleasure and Power, Know Your Self, Test, Consent, andTalk. You'll find practical tips for "healthy sex" and guidance on how to have open conversations with health care providers and sex partners.
Remember: Making informed choices, staying safe, and having respectful experiences are cornerstones of good sexual health.
Our Commitment to Sexual Health:
The Office of Sexual Health and Epidemiology is dedicated to improving sexual health through community-focused programs and campaigns.
Community Programs:
We take a comprehensive approach to STI prevention, providing people with the knowledge, tools, and information about services they may need.
- Preventing Syphilis During Pregnancy: Learn about syphilis during pregnancy and its impact on newborns.
- Biomedical Interventions to Prevent STIs: We support proven medical strategies as keyways to prevent STIs.
- Comprehensive STI Prevention: We offer a wide variety of educational materials and resources on sexual health.
Explore the latest sexual health campaign by the New York State Department of Health:
- My Sexual Health Glow Up: The goals of this campaign are to raise awareness about sexual health as part of women's routine healthcare and to promote sexual choice.
Questions? Contact us at stdc@health.ny.gov