| Dear WAS Members and Friends,
In this issue: registration is now open for our webinar celebrating women's sexual health across the lifespan, the replay from our February discussion on out-of-school CSE in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, fresh open-access research from the International Journal of Sexual Health, and two upcoming opportunities from our colleagues at SSSS.
Last week also offered a moment to reflect on WAS's presence on the global stage — from a major sexual medicine congress in Porto to a landmark business events trade show in Johannesburg. As the world's leading voice in sexual health, WAS shows up where it matters: in clinical spaces, in policy conversations, and in the broader networks that shape how health is resourced, organized, and delivered.
A note from the WAS team: As conflict continues to escalate across the Middle East, our thoughts are with all those affected — and especially with our President, Faysal El Kak, and his family in Beirut. We continue to stand by our Statement on Sexual Health and Rights During Times of War.
| | | Celebrating Women at Every Stage: Sexual Health Across the Lifespan | | | | 📅 Thursday, 19 March 2026
🕔 17:00–18:30 SAST
→ Register here.
Find your local time here
In recognition of Women's Month, WAS is bringing together speakers from across disciplines and regions for a webinar that looks at women's sexual health as a continuous, evolving story — not a series of disconnected clinical moments.
From adolescence through menopause, sexual health is shaped by biology, culture, access, relationships, and rights. This session connects those stages into one coherent, global conversation.
Speakers
- Liubov Kuzovkina (Ukraine): Teenergizer — Girls and Adolescents
- Linda Vignozzi (Italy): Professor of Endocrinology, University of Florence; President, ISSWSH — Reproductive Health
- Elna Rudolph (South Africa): Immediate Past President, WAS; Medical Doctor & Clinical Head, My Sexual Health — Infertility
- Faysal El Kak (Lebanon): President, WAS; Associate Professor of OBGYN Sexual Health, American University of Beirut — 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. | | | WAS at The 27th World Meeting On Sexual Medicine | | | | 25–28 February 2026 | Porto, Portugal
The 27th World Meeting on Sexual Medicine (#WMSM2026) brought together experts from across the globe in Porto for four days of cutting-edge research, clinical exchange, and international collaboration. WAS was proud to convene a dedicated session at the congress.
Beyond Sexual Medicine: The Power of Integrating Sexual Health into Holistic Service Delivery
This WAS session explored how applying a sexual health framework can broaden the scope of sexual medicine to support more holistic, integrated, person-centered services and improve quality of care — bringing together clinical and public health perspectives, rights- and psychosocial framing, and practical service delivery models.
Presentations were delivered by WAS Advisory Committee members Stefano Eleuteri and Eszter Kismodi — covering the integration of sexual medicine into primary health services and the social and rights dimensions of positioning sexual health services and sexual medicine within structures of power and politics, respectively — alongside WAS Past-President Pedro Nobre on translating evidence into public policy using the World Sexual Health Observatory and WAS President Faysal El Kak who spoke about building comprehensive sexual health services, drawing on lessons from global practice, and the exploration of potential areas for future WAS-ESSM/ISSM collaboration. The session was co-moderated by Faysal El Kak and Pedro Nobre. | | | WAS at Meetings Africa 2026 | | | | 23–25 February 2026 | Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa
Meetings Africa 2026 marked the 20th anniversary of Africa's premier business events trade show. Through a recommendation from Uwem Esiet, President of Sexual Health Africa (SHA), WAS Executive Director René de Klerk attended as a Hosted Buyer — enabling more than twenty pre-scheduled meetings with venues, hotels, and destination marketing organizations across two trade days.
The visit had two strategic objectives: advancing planning for the World Sexual Health Assembly in Nairobi (September 2026) and building foundations for the 28th WAS World Congress (September 2027). Meetings with Kenyan providers — including the Kenyatta International Convention Centre — supported the first; a key meeting with the Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau (WESGRO) opened discussions about destination support funding for the second.
The program also yielded some unexpected opportunities: an opening ceremony drumming experience by The Drum Café sparked ideas for the 2027 Congress, and René connected with Elana Afrika — a prominent South African broadcaster. Conversations are ongoing. | | | Out-of-School CSE in Eastern Europe and Central Asia | | | | WAS–UNFPA Webinar | Originally held 3 February 2026
Across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, conflict, displacement, poverty, and restrictive social environments are cutting large numbers of young people off from formal schooling — and from any structured sexual health education. In these contexts, out-of-school comprehensive sexuality education is not supplementary. It is often the only access point to accurate, rights-based information.
This WAS–UNFPA webinar explored what that reality looks like on the ground, and what's being done about it.
What the session covered
The webinar examined the barriers and developments shaping out-of-school CSE implementation across the region, drew on recent global and regional research, highlighted youth-led and community-driven responses in restrictive environments, and addressed the political, funding, and social pressures affecting program sustainability.
Speakers
- Yana Panfilova (Ukraine): CEO & Founder, Eurasian Union of Adolescents and Youth (Teenergizer)
- Andrey Poshtaruk (Türkiye): Regional Advisor on HIV and Youth, UNFPA
- Elizabeth Schroeder (United States): Consultant on Out-of-School CSE, WAS
- Natalia Zakareishvili (Georgia): Program Analyst, UNFPA
Moderated by Esther Corona-Vargas, WAS Vice-President and Co-Chair of the Sexual Justice Initiative. | | | NEW RESEARCH — IJSH OPEN ACCESS | | | Suffering in Silence: Sexual Pain, Gender Norms, and the Cost of Not Speaking Up | | | | Terri D. Fisher, Mary Bullard, Sydney Eyster & Camilla Kalthoff
International Journal of Sexual Health, 2026
Pain during sex is common. It is also commonly endured in silence — and a new open-access study published in WAS's official journal helps explain why.
Drawing on responses from 263 US college students, researchers found that women were significantly more likely than men to report pain during penile-vaginal intercourse, and also more likely to stop or disclose discomfort when it occurred. Participants who held more traditional gender role beliefs, however, were less likely to communicate pain to their partners, regardless of gender. Men reported painful experiences, too, and were similarly reluctant to disclose due to gendered expectations.
The takeaway for practitioners and educators is clear: sexual pain is not only a clinical issue and needs to be addressed in sexual health education. Doing so can help promote, in the words of the authors, the normalization of sex that is pleasurable for all participants. Beliefs about masculinity, femininity, and vulnerability shape whether people speak up or stay silent. Addressing gender norms and communication skills in sexual health programs is not peripheral — it is essential. | | | FROM OUR ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS — SSSS | | | Two Opportunities from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality | | | | Webinar: A Primer on Submitting to Conferences
📅 Friday, 6 March 2026
🕐 1:00 PM PT / 4:00 PM ET | Online
Putting together a strong abstract is a skill — one that can be learned. This practical webinar is designed for students and early-career professionals navigating conference submissions for the first time, covering how to choose the right conference, structure a clear and compelling abstract, and understand what happens during peer review.
For anyone in the WAS community considering a submission to a future WAS Congress, this is a useful place to start. | | | Call for Proposals: AI and the Future of Sex Science
📅 Colloquium: 24 July 2026 | Chicago, USA
⏳ Proposal deadline: 22 March 2026
SSSS invites proposals exploring the intersections between artificial intelligence and sexual science. Topics might include AI as a research subject, a methodological tool, a clinical innovation, or a space for ethical inquiry.
This will be an intimate, one-day gathering of researchers and practitioners engaging the questions emerging at the frontier of the field. | | | Thank you for the work you do. We will be back in your inbox again soon.
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).
Your contributions help us continue our mission of promoting Sexual Health, Rights, and Justice globally. Consider becoming a supporting member or making a financial contribution today.
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