The effects of sexual health to one’s wellbeing were underrated, said Chief Minister Katy Gallagher today in her welcome remarks at the 2011 Australasian Sexual Health Conference. 

The conference’s theme of 'Sex in the Capital City' may sound funny, but the topics that are up for discussion in the next three days are “in fact very serious," she said.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are known to have become a concern among the young, with one in 14 sexually active Canberrans of 15-25 years of age infected with chlamydia, Chief Minister Gallagher said. Chlamydia has “a devastating impact” on the person’s ability to reproduce in the future, she said.

A major national meet and one of the biggest regional conferences organized by the Australian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians, the Australasian Sexual Health Conference gathers together a variety of sexual health professionals, from specialists and general practitioners, to nurses and counsellors, Aboriginal health workers, public health professionals, health promoters, and HIV and STI prevention researchers.

The conference zeroes in on meeting the concerns of marginalised sectors such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the youth, gay and transgender populations, sex workers and people under detention, she said.

Chief Minister Gallagher described the Stamp Out Chlamydia Project to be an extensive program that offers screening for chlamydia in various outreach settings. Other activities she mentioned include an outreach project catering to sex workers and an ongoing clinical help in 'sex on premises' venues frequented by men.