Hit and run sex. Boom in sexual diseases among young people

2024-02-11 07:03:00

Milan, hit-and-run sex is all the rage

From syphilis to HIV, a boom in sexually transmitted diseases in Milan. “Among young people we have an increase in infections”, infectious disease specialist Andrea Gori, president of the Anlaids Lombardia association, tells Adnkronos Salute. “We are talking about syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, mycoplasma. And there is also the maintenance of an important share of new HIV infections. These are the infections that we are seeing very frequently today. And we must do something”, says Gori specifying however that “it is not just an Italian fact. It is a European phenomenon” and beyond.

“In syphilis we have seen increases of up to 200% in the last 4 years. very, very much. And another aspect – he reports – concerns HPV”, the human papillomavirus: “Despite the vaccine, we continue to see many new HPV infections. Children are not vaccinated, because they are ‘saints’, they are very good, and yet they get infected. We detect distrust and perceive that vaccination has not taken root as much as it should. The result is that we are seeing many cases of HPV in young, unvaccinated women and men.”

The upward trend in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) a Milano “it is in line above all with the large metropolises – underlines Gori – where there is nightlife, where many people arrive” at the weekend and flock to the clubs “from different cities in the region”, as well as from outside the region. Milan “like Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Berlin, Paris, London”. This is the term of comparison when it comes to infections linked to sex: European capitals “where young people travel, where there are large gay communities that have a strong role. Although it should be noted that today the heterosexual community is getting ever closer to a much more promiscuous sexuality”, observes the specialist.

The use of condoms? “Zero consciousness. The condom is almost embarrassing in this world of ‘hit and run'”, reflects the expert, who once again highlights the importance of talking to kids and educating them, making them aware by starting to do it in schools with a view to the future too, considering that, according to recent data, it emerges that a significant increase in infections of this type has been recorded between the ages of 18 and 25.

“We have an objective: to reach zero new infections. For this we need everyone’s help, starting, together with the teachers, from the girls and boys. We need – clarifies Gori, also referring to a Anlaids Lombardia, entitled ‘Tell me’ – to understand what they think, how they live, what their ideas are around feelings, emotions, understanding how we can be of help, without any imposition, but by listening and providing tools and advice so that their sexuality is aware and responsible”.

“We have to talk about these topics with the kids. And in reality we don’t do that.” What is the ‘secret world’ of young Milanese people? “We are listening to many, Girls and boys – reports Gori – to understand what they think, what they feel, if they have fears, what their desires are, and then to help them so that sexuality is, as much as possible, the achievement of a sentimental path. The greatest danger, particularly for younger people, is the trivialization of the sexual act. An act which, on the other hand, if lived with awareness, can be full of tenderness, intimacy and emotion, therefore of trust and security”. The ‘Dimmi’ initiative starts precisely from listening. The kids (especially in the fourth and fifth year ) tell – with the support of the teachers and operators of the association’s School Project – their thoughts regarding emotions and feelings.

Objective of Anlaids is to promote a more responsible and conscious sexuality, on the side of well-being and against the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). What better occasion then than Valentine’s Day, the feast of lovers, to draw the threads of this journey? The first public meeting of Dimmi is therefore scheduled for Wednesday 14 February at 10.30, in Milan in Piazza San Babila, to continue talking, read some of the testimonies collected, inform about prevention and raise awareness. Among the interventions is expected that of Gori. Special guests were the content creator RichardHTT who Anlaids asked for a reinterpretation of the red ribbon, the historic red bow, the global symbol of the fight against AIDS. His drawing will be distributed to the children who will attend the event and will then be the protagonist of the communication campaign of the School Project of Anlaids Lombardia, which has been in the field for years for training within schools in the region. Then there will be Plus(m)on, a group of artists aged 14 to 21, who will create a performance between music and dance.

“We placed the importance of sexuality as an affective manifestation and not just as pleasure at the center,” he continues to explain Gori. “Dialogue and discussion are necessary. By now the school has left the discussion of sexuality to no one knows who. Families, who today seem so open, friendly, close, in reality have an immense difficulty in talking about it. I also blame the media, which have an important role and often also delegate. And these young people, who one would think are very well informed, are in reality very little informed. On the contrary, they are very uninformed. It’s not that they don’t receive information – he specifies – they don’t receive the right information , they find them on the Internet, on pornographic sites which are the easiest thing in the world to access. They don’t receive them from a protected structure such as a school or family, but from word of mouth that tells you which site to go to. Which has a dramatic implication, because for them pornography and sexuality end up coinciding, with three-quarters of these sites being their source of information on the subject. What they see there becomes normal and completely distorts the meaning.”

On February 14 “we want to give them an alternative image. Today there is no longer so much a dimension that, for example, as a boy I had – reflects Gori – a sexuality different from the sexual act in itself. In my eyes, the sexual act was in the background, I was interested in the more relational aspect, having a girlfriend, having a relationship I can be proud of. Today, more and more often, that is not the ultimate goal, and I believe it is important to try to work with schools by giving value to feeling.” The president of Anlaids Lombardia sends a simple message to students: “Sexuality, when it combines with feeling , it is much more beautiful and satisfying. These are the values ​​that we want to give to girls and boys, certainly not to preclude their sexuality, but to give it a value, to make it clear that all this is much more beautiful and complete in terms of sensations and emotions than a sexual act performed in the bathroom or on the sofa of a nightclub or in the car at 3 in the morning leaving a club”.

“‘Tell me’ – concludes Gori – is a happy, welcoming, exciting project for us too, because by trying to help the kids, we remember how fantastic it is to discover emotions for the first time”. The initiative, in addition to February 14th, continues within the School Project and through digital initiatives “to continue to listen, welcome and inform”.