New Views on Sexual Health: The Case of Finland

Questions that this volume addresses include the following: How is sexual health defined? Why are sexual health issues important? What are the determinants of sexual health? How does the new approach to sexual health proposed by international health, sexuality, and family planning professionals vary from traditional views? How well do institutions in Finland meet the sexual health needs of the population? What is the current state of sexual health in Finland and which aspects need improvement? How can health professionals, educators, researchers in academia and government, social workers, legislators and policy makers promote sexual health?

The answers are provided by almost 30 experts of sexuality and sexology. Since the 1960’s, Finland has generally adopted a non-moralistic health approach to problems linked to sexual behaviour, such as teenage pregnancy and abortion and sexually transmitted diseases. As a result of new policies, current teenage pregnancy and abortion rates are only half of those in the 1970’s. The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases also declined. In the 1970’s, some 15,000 new cases of gonorrhea were reported every year, and in the 1990’s this rate was reduced to about 200 new cases. Which specific policies have contributed to the dramatic changes in these indicators of sexual health? For this book we asked Finnish authorities to tell the story of developments in their area of expertise in sexual health.