All He Talks About is Sex(Page 3)Setting an example"Brazil is a good example for other countries, especially in Latin America," says Jairo Bouer, "in the natural way we talk about sexuality. We have an open culture that makes it easier for people to talk calmly and openly about sex." Still, Brazilian culture can also create obstacles, for example, making contraceptive use among adolescents less than optimal. But Bouer says there are solutions. "This could be improved by systematizing prevention projects in schools, in the classroom, integrating them permanently into school curricula. It's true that these projects exist in some areas in some public school systems. But in many private schools and in the poorest regions, this discussion does not take place as it should or as often as it should. We need to expand our terrain." For Bouer, one of the most frustrating problems is logistical. In Brazil, contraceptives are available for free only in health centers or through special programs. "We need to make them more accessible to the younger population," he says. In this area, Brazil may have something to learn from others. Bouer says he would love to see Brazil join that select club of countries that have health centers specifically targeted at young people. "It's a fantastic idea! These are places where young people can go and see a doctor, talk about their sexuality, get contraceptives. I think it's an investment Brazil should make." If young people in Brazil score relatively well on the "sex test," the same cannot be said about their use of drugs, notes Bouer. "Drug abuse is a very common problem. We need to talk about it a lot more, pay more attention to it in the media and in schools so we can deal with it in a direct manner. In the world of drugs, we still have a major task ahead of us." The first step, he says, is understanding that it is impossible to have a drug-free society: "In the same way it's impossible to imagine a society where young people don't have sexual relations." The big push has to be for prevention, he says, but without forgetting something equally important: harm reduction. "If we adapt ideas from the developed world to the realities of our world, we can apply them to Brazil and other countries in Latin America. But we have to design strategies that will work for the target population, and that means investing more in pilot projects for harm reduction in specific populations. There are several initiatives in Brazil, some of them by NGOs, others by municipalities, to study specific aspects in specific populations. These need to be expanded. Harm reduction is fundamental, and NGOs, the media and the state all need to work together on it."
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