Objective: to better inform young people about sexuality. The Sida Info Service association presented this Friday “Sexualities Info Health”, a new anonymous and free telephone line, managed by qualified professionals.
The goal is to listen to and support an audience “that seeks to equip itself better to face the challenges of sexuality”, said Nathalie Courtial of the Sida Info Service (SIS) in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis), headquarters of the Association.
It brings together about fifty professional listeners, spread over three sites, in Montreuil, Grenoble and Montpellier. They alternate between 9:00 and 21:00 from Monday to Friday on the toll-free number 0 800 00 69 07. Information on sexuality can also be consulted on the website sexites-info-sante.fr.
The hotline aims to “direct towards healthcare facilities or operators, without trying to replace sexologists”, specified Macha Loniewski, listener and sexual health officer of Sida Info Service.
It “makes it possible to identify truly reliable resources on sexuality”, added Garance Gribé, clinical sexologist and member of the Public Sexual Health Network, for which “the guarantee of anonymity allows young people to express themselves more freely”.
“Lack of information”
Since its launch in October, the “youth-friendly” device has received 392 requests via email, livechat and phone, with the majority coming from young people under 24, including teenagers. Most of the requests concern sexual practices, contraception or risks in case of unprotected intercourse.
More than 60% went through the telephone line. This mania for the telephone, which initially surprised the association, is explained by “the scarcity” of lines “managed by professionals trained in sexuality matters”, according to Nathalie Courtial.
Young people are often confronted with “lack of information and above all disinformation on sexuality”, underlined Dr. Arame Mbodje, director of the association.
However, if since 2001 three annual sex education sessions have been required in schools, few institutions comply with this obligation. This failure is particularly deplored by the associations.
