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A new survey reveals that women still face many obstacles to the idea of talking about their sexual health.
Menstruation still tops the list of sexual and reproductive health taboos. According to this survey carried out for the medical application Livi*, 15% of respondents find it difficult to talk freely about this subject with their loved ones.
This is not the only subject about which the French women surveyed find it difficult to indulge. Sexually transmitted infections are, for example, associated with a “feeling of shame” in 24% of them. Menstruation comes in third position (15%) of these taboos, tied with endometriosis, a gynecological disease that affects around one in ten women, yet highly publicized (and therefore “disinvisibilized”) in recent years.
The embarrassment felt on these specific themes seems intimately linked to age. For example, menopause is at the very bottom of the list (only 6% of the women concerned say they have trouble talking about it with those around them). Conversely, respondents aged between 18 and 34 are the ones who express the most difficulty in broaching these subjects, in particular those related to pregnancy and abortion (23%).
However, the survey reveals a generalized embarrassment of all ages since, overall, 46% of the women questioned consider that “it is difficult to confide in those around you”. Teleconsultation is also mentioned as an effective lever “to free speech”. The women questioned believe that this mode of consultation helps to somewhat reduce inhibitions about talking about subjects relating to intimate health (compared to medical practices).
*Study conducted by YouGov Direct for Livi on March 2, 2022 among 453 women aged 18 to 54