Hansard

I am not sure how to follow Green theories on lust, but I will try my best.

It may be an unfortunate coincidence that Glasgow's clinic for the treatment of sexually transmitted disease used to be in Black Street, which tended to be whispered about rather than mentioned out loud. The words "Black Street" had a symbolic resonance in a culture where sex itself, never mind sexually transmitted disease, was for many people an uncomfortable subject for discussion that was often accompanied by nervous laughter.

I am sure that the services that were provided at Black Street were excellent, but information about how to access them and even about the clinic's whereabouts was not widely disseminated in Glasgow, even in places where people might expect to find such information, such as general practitioners' surgeries and public libraries.

It is regrettable that we have not moved on sufficiently from attitudes that all too often made people reluctant to seek advice and treatment. Even though the document that we are discussing today is the only report that I have seen arrive in the Parliament shrink wrapped—it looked like a top-shelf magazine in the Scottish Parliament information centre—it marks an important step forward in normalising how we deal with sexual health, which everybody accepts is a vital health issue for Scotland.

We know that problems exist—the minister outlined them. As well as preventing the spread of sexually transmitted disease by rapidly identifying and treating symptoms to prevent longer-term damage, we have serious problems with the rising number of teenage pregnancies. Both those problems demand people's willingness and openness to talk about sex and sexual health properly and to do so in the context of relationships and values in our society.

We need accessible services that adhere to confidentiality requirements and are staffed with people who are fully trained and supported to provide excellent services. We must put across clear messages about sexually transmitted diseases, their prevalence, the available treatments and the consequences for individuals if those diseases are not properly treated timeously. We must provide accurate information about risks, about how diseases are transmitted and about how to avoid or minimise those risks.

Those who watched television on Monday night might have seen a programme about sex education in Texas that summed up effectively how an approach that is based on misinformation can fail abjectly to meet the needs of thousands of young people. That was clear from the evidence that was presented.

The information that we give our young people must be accurate and suitable for their needs. It is important to have strong co-operation among health professionals, educators and others. They have the difficult task of making appropriate information and support available to our young people. The range of backgrounds, maturity and experiences in any class of young people in one of our schools and the complications of dealing with relationship issues alongside health issues mean that those whom we charge with that responsibility need to show great sensitivity in gearing the information that they provide to individuals' needs.

In that context, one of the most vital issues for discussion is respect for others, for our bodies and for values. The Executive's document does an excellent job of drawing together those strands and focusing attention on the measures that we must put in place to deliver an effective package of information for young people on relationships and sexual health.

I hope that respondents to the consultation focus not only on what is in the document, but on what in the document can be built on and on how we can more effectively deliver education about relationships and sexual health that is appropriate to each child's needs and supports the vital role that parents should play in such matters, especially with younger children.

It is incumbent on ministers to provide strong leadership that ensures a consistent approach throughout Scotland. The document contains some evidence that some authorities have been more reluctant than others to meet their responsibilities to young people. I hope that that will change as a consequence not only of the document's publication, but of the action that ministers must take after completion of the consultation process.

I agree with the reference that Shona Robison made in her speech to the need for more data and information. Relative to the situation of 20 years ago, however, much more information is available about levels of infection and behaviours in relation to the risk of infection. We have much more to go on today than we had in the past and, indeed, there is more good practice on which we can build. There is a stronger base on which to provide services and better information, not only to young people but to everyone who requires that.

Our strategy has to be one that caters for the needs not only of young people but of the whole population. We need to focus on the needs of men and women; older people as well as younger people; people with disabilities; and members of our black and ethnic minority communities. All those groups might have slightly different service delivery requirements.

There is good practice in Scotland. When I was involved in the healthy cities project in Glasgow, the centre for women's health in Glasgow did an outstanding job in providing an integrated set of services for women in the city. We can build on such work.

The document is important. It lays a foundation on which we can take action. I hope that, once ministers get the responses to the consultation, they will show clear leadership and decisiveness in ensuring that they implement the best possible services that are required for our society.