The Options Sexual Health Association (OSHA) has been making trails in and around Edmonton promoting sexual health awareness in hopes to break down ignorance.
Volunteer coordinator Brenna Ward sees this as a chance to help answer questions to those who are unsure.
“First and foremost, we focus on harm reduction,” Ward said. “People are going to have sex. Be it at home, outside, at festivals, where have you. The larger picture is that we want to create a dialogue about sexuality and sex. We want to open a channel to talk about something that isn’t just heterosexual sex.”
Ward said that the OSHA covers a lot of unknowns when engaging with the public. For example, safe sex for transgender women, the use of nitrile gloves to reduce the risk of getting sexually transmitted infections though tiny cuts on hands outer-course and the fact the transgender men should be getting pap smears.
“We are in a position of privilege because we are ‘official’” she said. “Because we are so comfortable talking about it, I don’t find it difficult. If anything is difficult, it is when people have their pre-conceived notions, or they are homophobic or have sex-negative viewpoints, that makes it difficult to talk about. We try to be non-judgmental but sometimes it is hard to sustain that.”
According to their website the OSHA’s mission is developing the affect, skills and knowledge for people to make informed choices around issues of sexuality, within the context of their values, beliefs, culture and experiences. Ward says that it is this inclusion is what makes her work important.
“A lot of people who come to our us have never thought of [some of the topics we cover] before because it is still, unfortunately, on the margins of our society,” Ward explained. “So we are really trying to bring the margins closer to the centre.”
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