STIs soar and evidence of sex education failure

The Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Epidemiological Surveillance Report 2024, The report, prepared by the Carlos III Health Institute in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, confirms a trend that worries experts: STIs continue to grow steadily in Spain.

During 2024, 41,918 cases of Chlamydiaa 10 % more than in 2023. The gonococcal infection reached 37,257 cases (an increase of 7 %), the syphilis reached 11,930 (6 % more) and the lymphogranuloma venereum 1,996 people were reported, an increase also of 10 %.

The most affected group is the young people under 25 years of age. The report reflects not only a bad year, but also a sustained trendbetween 2020 and 2024, gonococcal infection rates have increased by 28.9% per year, while those for syphilis and chlamydia have grown by nearly 20% each year.

The failure of sex education

Despite more than two decades of investment in sex education programs in schools and institutes, the results are not encouraging. The numbers show that abortions and unwanted pregnancies are also growing year after year.

This situation reflects a crisis of political and health responsibility: access to free abortion is celebrated while sexual health indicators worsen. No one assumes failure.

The big lie of “safe sex”

The debate centers on the dominant model of sexuality education, which revolves almost exclusively around the condom use. Public campaigns, such as the historic “Put it on, put it on.”, promised “safe sex” that has not translated into better results.

According to data cited by the World Health Organization, Planned Parenthood, and Durex, the condom efficacy against pregnancy is 98% only with perfect use, but down to 85% in actual conditions. This means that 18 out of every 100 women who rely solely on this method become pregnant within the first year.

In addition, psychologists and epidemiologists warn about the phenomenon of “risk compensation”The young people, feeling more protected, feel that they are start their sex life earlier and increase their number of partners, This increases the total number of infections even though the individual risk per relationship is lower.

The cancellation of the truth

As early as the 1990s, several physicians proposed the use of the ABC model (Abstinence, Be faithful, Condom use), which prioritizes abstinence and fidelity over the simple use of condoms. In 2004, an article published in The Lancet called for a courageous reorientation of AIDS prevention policies, stressing the need to delay the onset of sexual relations and reduce the number of partners.

The approach, however, was harshly criticized in the media and by international organizations when in 2009 Benedict XVI defended this same line when talking about AIDS in Africa, generating intense controversy. Even so, the Dr. Edward C. Green, then director of Harvard University's HIV Prevention Project, backed the Pope, explaining that the data showed that fidelity and partner reduction are more effective than mass condom distribution.

A challenge for public health

The report of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III highlights a challenge that goes beyond healthcare: how to educate in affective and sexual responsibility in a society that promotes freedom without limits.

As infections rise and the age of sexual debut falls, perhaps there should be a growing consensus that only a profound change in sexual culture can reverse the trend.