PUBLI : Nicolas Vignier et al., « Addressing sexuality and sexual health with migrants. Practice guidelines », Infectious Diseases Now, 2022, en ligne

Abstract

Sexual health is an inte­gral part of overall health and should be discussed with all people who seek help. The Vacci­na­tion and Preven­tion working group of the French Infec­tious Diseases Society (SPILF) and the Migrant Commis­sion of the French AIDS Society (SFLS) deve­loped recom­men­da­tions to address this issue with migrants presen­ting vulne­ra­bi­lity factors. After defi­ning sexual health and target migrants, prac­tical recom­men­da­tions were issued. Sexual health can be discussed simply with migrants or people with an immi­grant back­ground. Some migrants are exposed to sexual vulne­ra­bi­lity due to their migra­tion route, social isola­tion, admi­nis­tra­tive and housing inse­cu­rity, gender inequa­li­ties, and discri­mi­na­tion. Situa­tions of sexual vulne­ra­bi­lity, sexual violence, and female genital muti­la­tion should be syste­ma­ti­cally iden­ti­fied and followed by appro­priate care that respects the migrant’s needs. Extended scree­ning for HIV and sexually trans­mitted infec­tions (STI) should be syste­ma­ti­cally offered as part of a « migrant health checkup » and completed, if neces­sary, with infor­ma­tion on preven­ting tools for HIV, STIs, unwanted pregnan­cies, and sexual violence. In this popu­la­tion, it is impor­tant to check if vacci­na­tions are up to date. Sexo­logy and addic­tion coun­sel­ling is some­times useful. The specific needs of LGBTQIA+ people with an immi­grant back­ground should be taken into account.

Refe­rence page and direct acces to article