Come on an STI Safari with ACSA this Feast

This Feast Festival, ACSA and Gay Men’s Health will be running the second phase of our campaign, Open Your Eyes to STIs.

However, this year we will be taking you on an STI Safari to discover the interesting sightings of Charles – our STI safari adventurer – as he writes home to his lover Oscar. Charles will be discovering many interesting facts about Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis and HIV…and always reminding people that getting a free and confidential sexual health test is not only easy to do, but is recommended every 12 months for everyone who is sexually active….and more frequently for people who have more than ten sexual partners in six months, who have group sex or have had unprotected sex.

We were out promoting the campaign with our face painting and costumes, fans in hand, at the Pride March and Opening Night Party, hope you saw us there! Come and see us to grab yourself a free safe sex pack, resources and giveaways at the CommUNITY Sunday…and then our safari tent at Picnic in the Park, where you can have your face painted and be photographed in our photo booth – the official Feast photo booth for Picnic 2012. We’ll also have fun games with prizes to win, more resources and plenty of ACSA staff on hand to answer your questions.

Recent data tells us that HIV rates in SA have almost halved since 2011, but other STIs such as Gonorrhoea and Syphilis are on the increase (especially in gay men and men who have sex with men), indicating that many people are still participating in unsafe sex practices. South Australian data from the Adelaide Gay Community Periodic Survey also tells us that many gay men are testing less often than is recommended, meaning some guys are unaware of their HIV and STI status.
So…Open Your Eyes to STIs and come on an STI Safari with us this Feast Festival season to have fun and find out more about Oscar and Charles’ grand adventures.

Photo: Feast 2012 Opening by Mat Jackson

Holley Skene is the Manager of Health Promotion at ACSA