The University of Malta’s student council (KSU) has launched a sexual education campaign to tackle the taboo around safe sex and dispelling misinformation.
Malta has the highest rate of new HIV cases per capita in Europe and southern Europe's highest rate of teen births, KSU social policy officer Alex Gaglione said, while a recent study showed that 52 per cent of youths do not use contraceptives.
“All these statistics point towards abstinence-based sexual education not being conducive to discouraging sex and more importantly discouraging unsafe sex,” she said.
“Malta remains one of the only EU member states with a blanket ban on abortion, with a sexual health policy that has been ignored and not updated in over a decade.”
“Contraceptives remain a financial luxury to many and conservatism, taboo and shame continue to hinder the promotion of factual, unbiased and scientific sex education in Malta.”
Over the coming months, KSU will be holding informative discussions and events to tackle the barriers to contraception.
In partnership with MISCO, the council will also be commissioning a study to find out why students may not use contraceptives.
The campaign will also target other avenues of sexuality including, surrogacy, gamete donation and embryo freezing.
At the end of the campaign, KSU will also be hosting a sex expo to bring the campaign together through artistic works, tackling the themes of pregnancy, menstruation, men’s sexual health, the beauty of the body and LGBTQIA sexuality.
The campaign is being supported by funds from the Erasmus+ Program.
Parliamentary Secretary for EU funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi said the campaign was a perfect example of the program’s aim to enrich the minds of youth.
“KSU is utilizing EU funds to offer new insights into a topic which is still regarded taboo when in reality promoting an open conversation on the subject will translate into more awareness and far less stigma,” he said.
“Setting the right environment on such matters of importance is the first step towards tangible change.”