The STD taboo

Absence of government data on sexually transmitted infections speaks volumes about research and prevention in Pakistan

In a recent report on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) published in this newspaper, health professionals requested not to be named — this is the extent of the taboo that exists in our society with respect to STDs, that even doctors do not want to be identified when discussing the prevalence of such diseases. Cultural constraints sometimes come with a very high health cost. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) alone, 6,853 patients with STDs were registered by July 2015, according to records maintained by the health department. There are no government statistics, however, on the number, type, incidence or prevalence of STDs. The fact that detailed government data does not exist on sexually transmitted infections speaks volumes about both research and prevention in Pakistan. The only data that exists relates to HIV, with 1,700 such cases reported in the province.

These societal taboos have had a wide-ranging and most unfortunate impact. A majority of patients, for instance, are teachers, mainly those working in primary schools, as well as prisoners. According to doctors, the high number of teachers who are patients points to the prevalence of sexual abuse of children in schools. But as sex education remains an avoided subject, children continue to be vulnerable to sexual abuse. If any educational institutions dares to discuss these matters, they face plenty of condemnation. In the absence of sex education and as data on teachers with STDs indicates, not only are children vulnerable to abuse but also to health risks that may last a lifetime. There is also a high number of prisoners suffering from sexually transmitted infections. However, any positive step to mitigate this state of affairs is shot down very quickly. In 2008, when the provincial government distributed condoms in K-P prisons, it soon had to abandon the scheme after coming under much opprobrium from the ‘morality’ brigade. The public at large must stop and ask itself: is discussing this highly important topic the bigger problem or subjecting people, including children, to a lifetime of disease?

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2015.

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