| Dear WAS Members and Friends,
In this week's issue: a message from WAS President Faysal El Kak, tomorrow's live women's sexual health webinar, new research from the International Journal of Sexual Health (IJSH), and March is Sexual Pleasure Month. | | | FROM THE PRESIDENT, DIRECTLY FROM A CONFLICT ZONE | | | Sexual Health Rights in Times of War and Crisis | | | | At a time of escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis in many parts of the world, it is imperative to recognize that sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are among the first and most severely affected.
Conflict disrupts health systems, displaces communities, and exposes already vulnerable populations to greater risks of sexual violence, maternal morbidity, unintended pregnancy, untreated infections, and lack of access to essential care. These impacts are central to the human toll of conflict and carry lasting effects on individuals, families, and communities.
WAS calls for renewed global commitment to ensuring that SRHR are protected, prioritized, and integrated into every humanitarian response, as a matter of health, dignity, equality, and human rights.
— Faysal El Kak, President, World Association for Sexual Health
| | | TOMORROW: CELEBRATING WOMEN AT EVERY STAGE | | | Sexual Health Across the Lifespan | | | | Thursday, 19 March 2026 | 17:00–18:30 SAST
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If you haven't registered yet, today is the day. Tomorrow WAS brings together speakers from across disciplines and regions for a conversation that treats women's sexual health as a continuous, evolving story — not a series of disconnected clinical moments.
From birth through adolescence, menopause, and beyond, sexual health is shaped by biology, culture, access, relationships, and rights. This session connects those stages into one coherent, global conversation.
Speakers include Liubov Kuzovkina (Teenergizer, Ukraine) on girls and adolescents; Linda Vignozzi (Professor of Endocrinology, University of Florence; President, ISSWSH) on reproductive health; Elna Rudolph (Immediate Past President, WAS; Clinical Head, My Sexual Health) on infertility; and WAS President Faysal El Kak (American University of Beirut) on menopause and sexual health.
Each speaker will present focused insights, followed by an open discussion grounding these life stages within a rights-based, evidence-informed framework.
| | | EDITOR'S CHOICE — IJSH OPEN ACCESS | | | "But Some People Still Think That Men Cannot be Raped" | | | | Carmo, E., Cardoso, D., Brazão, N., & Carvalho, J. (2025). International Journal of Sexual Health, 37(4), 559–574.
A new study published in WAS' Official Journal, the IJSH, offers a rare look at how judges perceive sexual violence perpetrated by women against adult men — a topic that has received remarkably little empirical attention.
Researchers interviewed eight Portuguese judges and found that their accounts moved between gender-neutral legal ideals and deeply embedded gender stereotypes and male rape myths. Alcohol and gender framed nearly every aspect of how cases were discussed — from consent and motivation to risk and impact. Judges themselves acknowledged their lack of direct experience with such cases, pointing to how rarely these situations reach the courts.
The study's implications are pointed: gender-based perceptions and rape myths are likely shaping attrition rates and sentencing in ways that remain largely unmeasured. The authors call for evidence-based professional training for judges that directly addresses these biases. | | | MARCH IS SEXUAL PLEASURE MONTH | | | Sexual Pleasure Belongs in Sexual Health | | | | March is recognized as Sexual Pleasure Month — a dedicated moment to destigmatize pleasure and affirm its place as a vital, evidence-based component of sexual health, not a luxury or an afterthought.
Pleasure generates the neurochemicals that support mental and physical wellbeing — oxytocin, endorphins, dopamine. It is inseparable from desire, intimacy, and the quality of people's sexual lives. Yet it remains one of the most consistently overlooked dimensions of comprehensive sexuality education, clinical care, and policy. Sexual Pleasure Month is an opportunity to change that.
For WAS, this is not a new conversation. In 2019, WAS published the Declaration on Sexual Pleasure, affirming that pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free from discrimination, coercion, and violence, are a fundamental part of sexual health and well-being for all. The Declaration calls on governments, health systems, educators, and advocates worldwide to integrate sexual pleasure into law, policy, education, and service delivery — grounded in the principles of sexual rights as human rights.
This March, we invite you to revisit the Declaration, share it with your networks, and join the global conversation about why pleasure belongs at the heart of sexual health.
| | | Thank you for the work you do.
We will be back in your inbox soon with a special announcement for World Sexual Health Day 2026.
Warm regards,
World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) | | Support the Mission of WAS We invite you to support the ongoing work of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS).
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