The Health Gap: How Communities Mobilize for Sexual Health

Panel- 18+ and older.

Public health systems are heading into crisis, and the response of most governments is austerity. Sexual and gender health services, already chronically underfunded, are first in line. Even then, sexual health access has never been evenly distributed — not across identities, income levels, immigration status, or geography — and the gap is widening at the exact moment political pressure on sexual freedom is intensifying. Kink communities, sex workers, LGBTQIA+ people, migrants, and people of color often face the steepest barriers to care, information, and non-judgmental support, while mainstream sexual wellness marketing sells a version of health built around a much narrower body and a much narrower wallet.

At a moment when access to sexual health information and care is again under political pressure, what would it mean for Berlin to reclaim that legacy, and who is currently locked out of the sexual health infrastructure that does exist? How are community-led alternatives filling gaps, including research and knowledge-generation, for a state system that's contracting?

With
Dr. Martin Viehweger
Madi Awadalla