Ending of lockdown 'could lead to a surge in sexually transmitted diseases', HIV charity warns

In an interview to mark the beginning of Sexual Health Week today, Jacquie Richardson said it is essential that everyone takes care of their sexual health by wearing a condom during sex.

She also revealed that people with HIV still face alarming and outdated misconceptions - even when dealing with medically trained staff.

"Of course attitudes have improved over the years but life can still be very difficult for people living with HIV," she said.

"People still make judgments about people with HIV, about their sexuality and their sex lives.

"I was speaking to a service user as recently as a week ago and they were telling me they had been making an enquiry about life insurance and the person couldn't get them off the phone quick enough when they said they had HIV.

"They were told there was nothing they could do for them - and that sort of thing isn't unusual, it happens quite frequently actually that people with HIV can't get life insurance.

"We also had a service user who was at the dentist and there was a needle prick incident and the dentist subsequently rang and asked all sorts of inappropriate and completely irrelevant questions.

"The patient was asked if they were gay and when they last had sex, this was a dentist in a very busy dental practice, so it's quite worrying.

"I think we are in danger, once the restrictions are lifted, if we don't make sure and get the message out there that looking after your sexual health is paramount. I am worried that we will see a rise in HIV cases again.

"The profile of people being affected is changing - 50% of people with HIV are from the heterosexual community and there has been an increase in the number of women from a particular age. We are seeing more women from the 35-plus age group, who were growing up when HIV emerged but at that time, it was very much thought of as a gay man's disease.

"The biggest thing these women had to worry about as far as they were concerned was getting pregnant, so we now have women in this age group who are leaving long-term relationships and they aren't worried about getting pregnant and they aren't thinking about HIV."

Urging people to take precautions, Ms Richardson said she that just as people now carry a face covering with them when they leave homes, they should also get into the practice of carrying condoms to ensure they are protected if they have sex.

She continued: "Let's get real about all this. We've had various extended periods of lockdown for the last year and we're not ignorant to the fact that is likely to be a lot of pent-up desire for many to get back out there when we can and have some fun. People have sex. Let's face facts. We have to be grown up about it and understand that some will be highly active after repeated lockdowns.

"There is really no way of telling if we are holding back the dam, but we want to make sure that when people can get back out there again, that they look after own sexual health and wellbeing. No one else will, this is an issue of personal responsibility."