Sexual Health Is Center Stage at Global Meeting in Portugal
The University of Porto, in the hills above the Douro River Valley, was the site of the inaugural World Sexual Health Assembly. The meeting brought together dozens of researchers, clinicians, educators, and activists to advance the field of sexology, science-based sexuality knowledge, research, comprehensive sexuality education, clinical care, services, and rights.
Jessie Ford, PhD, a sexual health scholar and Columbia Mailman School assistant professor in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, attended the meeting and was a signatory to the Porto Proclamation, which declares, “sexual health is health, sexual rights are human rights, and sexual justice is essential for dignity and equality.”
“This inaugural Assembly and the Porto Proclamation come at an urgent moment, as access to sexual and reproductive health services and the rights of vulnerable and marginalized communities face mounting attacks worldwide. For the first time, global leaders in sexual health are uniting under one shared agenda—for rights, pleasure, health, and justice for all,” Ford said.
In her academic work, Ford advocates for moving away from a focus on risk of disease to a more positive, holistic, and health-promoting approach in measures of sexual health progress. Similarly, she advocates for sex-positive epidemiology that considers and incorporates pleasure, satisfaction, and well-being alongside familiar outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections.
The Porto Proclamation sets the global priorities for 2025–2030, including:
- Advancing sexual rights, justice, and pleasure
- Promoting equity and inclusion
- Ensuring access to person-centered services and education
- Strengthening solidarity and partnerships across sectors
In a press release, Faysal El Kak, president of the World Association for Sexual Health and chair of the World Sexual Health Assembly, said: “We have moved from fragmented advocacy to collective power. Together, we will make sexual health a core pillar of public health and human rights—and act with a shared purpose.
