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SHR on TV News in VT

WPTZ News Channel 5 (Burlington, Vt., and Plattsburgh, N.Y.) covered Sexual Health Rankings on its evening news broadcast. Watch the interview with project director Martin Downs. The report also features insightful commentary by a Vermont Department of Health expert.

News Release

LEBANON, N.H. — A new report reveals, for the first time, a full picture of sexual health in the United States. Sexual Health Rankings™ is the most comprehensive measure of Americans’ sexual health ever developed, and the first state-by-state comparison of overall sexual health.

Sexual Health Rankings™ folds 26 different measures of sexual health into a single index, and rates the 50 states and District of Columbia according to their index scores.

Sexual Health Rankings™ 2012 Composite Scores 50 States and District of ColumbiaThe report finds that sexual health varies widely across state populations. In this first edition of Sexual Health Rankings™, which covers the year 2012, Vermont ranks highest (#1) in sexual health. Mississippi ranks as the least sexually healthy state (#51).

The main platform for Sexual Health Rankings™ is the Web site, www.sexualhealthrankings.com, which lets users explore the data, build community, and connect with additional resources to inform positive, evidence-based approaches to promoting sexual health.

Sexual Health Rankings™ is based on the World Health Organization’s definition of sexual health, which emphasizes wellness, and encompasses human rights, sexual expression and identity, and sexual pleasure. The World Health Organization defines sexual health as:

“… a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. For sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled.”

“Sexual health is an essential part of health—each individual person’s health, and the health of society as a whole,” says Sexual Health Rankings™ Director Martin Downs, MPH. “Sexual health relates to many different parts of the body, aspects of life, and areas of society, in ways that aren’t always obvious.”

This positive, comprehensive way of thinking about sexual health is different from how sexual health was viewed historically. Until recently, medical and public health experts thought of sexual health mainly in terms of disease and reproduction. Leading health authorities in the United States now accept a broad, positively focused view of sexual health, which is informing changes in national health policy, medical education, and even the marketing of consumer products.

The Sexual Health Rankings™ index includes traditional sexual health indicators, such as rates of sexually transmitted infections, teen births, and sexual violence. It also includes indicators related to sexual satisfaction, and social factors that influence sexual health. Some, but not all, of these factors have to do with personal choices and behaviors. Laws and policies, culture, economic conditions, education, and health care systems also affect every person’s sexual health in some way.

“We need to be able to measure the sexual health of populations in order to know how all these factors relate to one another, to understand differences between populations, and to tell what’s working and what isn’t when we try to improve sexual health,” Downs says. “We use data that are currently available, but more and better measures of sexual health are needed. We want to spur the development of such measures.”

Sexual Health Rankings™ is a research project, but that is not all it is. It is meant to be a tool that people can use to identify needs and take positive action to improve sexual health across the United States.

Sexual Health Rankings™ is produced by Variance, LLC, in partnership with the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health (CSPH), a nonprofit organization based in Pawtucket, R.I. Sexual Health Rankings™ is an independent initiative of Variance, LLC and the CSPH, and has no other sources of funding or support.

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Welcome!

Today is our official launch date. After many months of hard work, we are immensely pleased to finally present Sexual Health Rankings live on the Web.

Due to the timing of the New Year holiday weekend, we have chosen to wait until Jan. 2 to publicize the release of Sexual Health Rankings.

We know that many people have been anticipating the launch of the Web site today, and will have come unbidden to see the site. If you are one of them, feel free to start sharing links and talking us up as much as you please. We are live.

Of course, this is only the beginning. You can expect to see plenty of activity on the site in the coming days and weeks; and most likely a few improvements, too.

We welcome any feedback you may have, and invite you to register to participate in our discussion forums. You can also subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates about the project.

Our View of Sexual Health

Sexual health is an essential part of health — each individual person’s health, and the health of society as a whole.

Sexual health relates to many different parts of the body, aspects of life, and areas of society, in various ways that may be obvious or not so obvious.

The World Health Organization defines sexual health as “a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. For sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled.”

We have boiled down this definition to five basic elements. Stated positively, the five elements are:

  1. The ability to have control over one’s own sexual behavior and experiences
  2. The ability to decide freely on whether, and when, to procreate
  3. Freedom from discrimination and violence related to sexuality and gender
  4. Experience of sexual pleasure and satisfaction
  5. Freedom from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.

This positive, holistic way of thinking about sexual health is different from how sexual health was viewed historically. Until about 10 years ago, most doctors and public health experts thought of sexual health in terms of disease and reproduction only.

Leading medical and public health authorities in the United States now accept this broad, positively focused view of sexual health, and are taking real action based on it. It is informing changes in national health policy, in the education of doctors, and even the marketing of consumer products.

A variety of things affect sexual health, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Some, but not all, of these things have to do with personal choices and actions. Laws and policies, culture, education, and health care systems affect every person’s sexual health in some way. These things may not be under any one person’s control, but they are changeable.

We need to be able to measure the sexual health of populations in order to know how all these factors relate to one another, to understand differences between populations, and to tell what’s working and what isn’t when we try to improve sexual health.

The Sexual Health Rankings index folds many different statistics into one simple sexual health score. Ranking states by score helps to show how they compare. The index also pulls together many scattered data sources and organizes them in a way that permits users to do more detailed analyses.

Sexual Health Rankings uses data that are currently available, but it’s not an ideal data set. A lot of what we want to know about sexual health in America simply is not routinely measured and tracked. What’s missing mainly has to do with the positive aspects of sexual health — sexual pleasure and satisfaction — which until recently weren’t considered important enough to study and monitor routinely.

More and better indicators of sexual health are needed. We want to spur the development of such indicators. As better indicators become available, the makeup of the composite will adapt to include them.

The indicators we do have may not be perfect, but they are good. We can act now to promote and improve sexual health in this country based on what we know now.

Sexual Health Rankings is at the root a research initiative. But that’s not all it is. We envision it as a platform for creating positive change. We want people to use the Rankings as a tool to identify needs and take positive action to improve sexual health in the United States.