Sexual health in the UK: the experience of racially minoritised communities and the need for stakeholder input

Despite sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in the UK being free for everyone, many disparities persist. Racially minoritised communities (RMCs) have experienced inequalities within SRH for several decades; and while there are social and cultural differences within groups under this umbrella, being racially minoritised significantly impacts how groups experience SRH. This is demonstrated by disparities in STI prevalence, HIV outcomes, contraception provision, maternal care and subfertility outcomes.

Higher rates of bacterial STIs in RMCs have been recognised since the 1950s and persist to the present day.1 2 Year on year, UK data consistently demonstrate a disproportionate burden of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis among black people.1 Recently, the largest increase in the proportion of bacterial STIs was seen in the Asian community,1 yet only 3.7% of this group were noted to attend SRH services, a clear demonstration of barriers to engagement. RMCs are…

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