RePRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH PROGRAM ASSESSMENT 8 REPRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH PROGRAM ASSESSMENT: SYDNEY SEXUAL HEALTH CENTRE

Running head: REPRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH PROGRAM ASSESSMENT
REPRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH PROGRAM ASSESSMENT: SYDNEY
SEXUAL HEALTH CENTRE
Name of the Student:
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1REPRODCUTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH PROGRAM ASSESSMENT
Introduction
The Department of Health (2019) denotes the contribution of social disadvantage in
hindering availability of products, services and information sources pertaining to RSH, which is
why, the reproductive and sexual health of certain marginalized and vulnerable groups, like
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATS), disabled and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Intersex, Queer (LGBTIQ) populations, are at risk within Australia. The Australian
Medical Association (AMA 2019) reports increased incidences of Sexually Transmissible
Infections (STIs), teenage pregnancies, pregnancy complications, infant mortality and low birth
weight across ATS groups as compared to non-ATS populations. The AMA (2019) and
Department of Health (2019) also denotes higher risk of rape and sexual abuse across physically
and psychologically disabled Australian groups and a prevalent stereotyping that such
populations are devoid of sexual needs and thus, do not require comprehensive Reproductive and
Sexual Health (RSH) information. LGBTIQ groups, on the other hand, encounter RSH service
complexities in terms of sexual discrimination, decreased accessibility to subsidized screening
and medication services and usage of discriminatory gender-normative language across health
workers present in RSH Services (Pienaar et al. 2018). The following report thus focuses upon a
relevant Australian RSH service, the Sydney Sexual Health Centre (SSHC 2019) and the scope
with which its facilities align to national policy recommendations and the needs of these priority
populations.

2REPRODCUTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH PROGRAM ASSESSMENT
Discussion
Sydney Sexual Health Centre
Brief Description
The SSHC’s comprehensive RSH services are categorized into various types, such as
General, Xpress, Late night, Youth, Thai and Chinese, Counseling, Needle and Syringe Program
and a[TEST],. The SSHC’s General Clinic provides RSH services associated with testing,
treating and managing HIV and SITs coupled with an online based risk assessment for
individuals wishing to check their sexual health status at home. The SSHC’s ‘Xpress’ clinic
provides quicker STI testing services without any physical examinations and specially cater to
individuals free of STI symptoms but frequently require testing. The ‘Satellite Youth Clinic’
delivers RSH services and testing for Australian youth in the locality who are under the age of
25. For individuals unable to visit the organization during usual working hours as well as for
Chinese and Thai workers, the SSHC’s ‘Late Night’ and ‘Thai and Chinese’ clinics are of special
importance and comprise of a multilingual staff and interpreters. The SSHC also caters testing
and screening of Australian men who are gay and bisexual or engage in sexual relationships with
men, with it’s a[TEST] clinic. Lastly, the SSHC’s RSH services also focus provision of sexual
health advice to Australian couples and individuals alike as well as free-of-cost sterilizing
equipment via its ‘Counseling’ and ‘Needle Syringe Program’ clinics and services (SSHC 2019).
Alignment with Policy
The NSW Sexually Transmissible Infections Strategy 2016-2020, implemented by the
Ministry of Health (2016) of the NSW Government, aims to decrease rates of STIs and HIVs
across priority groups like sex workers, ATS, young individuals aged 15 to 29 years and men

3REPRODCUTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH PROGRAM ASSESSMENT
who are gay and homosexually active, via strengthening priority RSH service areas of infection
prevention, testing, treatment and management. Indeed, it can be observed that indeed, SSHC’s
RSH services are centered around STI and HIV prevention, testing, management and treatment
across all the above priority populations (SSHC 2019). Additionally, the SSHC’s provision of
RSH services specifically to ATS groups and homosexual men via prevalence of separate clinics,
demonstrates specific compliance to other state policy frameworks like the NSW HIV Strategy
2016-2020, NSW Aboriginal Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections
Framework 2016-2021 and the Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Guidelines for Men who
have Sex with Men (NSW Government 2019).
The availability of such specialized RSH services by the SSHC also demonstrates
national policy alignment with the Eighth National HIV Strategy 2018-2022, implemented by the
Department of Health (2018), which also demonstrates prioritization of vulnerable groups like
ATS populations and homosexual men. However, this national policy also focuses upon the RSH
needs of transgender populations - a key priority group which finds no mention in the present
RSH services provided by RSH. Additionally, the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020-2030
has been designed by the Department of Health (2018) for the purpose of ensuring
comprehensive and non-discriminatory accessibility to RSH services pertaining to information
access, treatment and diagnosis for socially marginalized groups like lesbian and bisexual
women as well as women with a disability. There is no mention of such groups in SSHC’s RSH
services thus indicative of an absence of compliance to national policy guidelines and
recommendations (SSHC 2019).