For Women’s Month, the UP Diliman (UPD) Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs gathered experts on relationship, sexual intimacy, and sexual and reproductive healthcare at (W)holesome Conversations: Guiltless Pleasure and Saner Sexual Intimacy.
Over 200 students attended the forum on March 17 at the Student Union Building. It served as a “reliable, open, and safe platform where students can deepen their understanding of healthy sex practices, including intimacy in digital spaces.”
The keynote speaker was sex and relationship therapist Rica Cruz, PhD, RP, ACS, a “board-certified Diplomate in Clinical Sexology by the American Board of Sexology,”, a consulting editor for the Journal of Sex Research, and the founder of the first sex therapy app in Asia, Unprude.
Cruz discussed the importance of presence of mind, respect, and responsibility for one’s overall being when engaging in sexual activities, advocating for what she calls “sane sex,” which “encourages individuals to make informed and considered choices in their sexual interactions leading to more satisfying and fulfilling experiences.”
The keynote was followed by a brief panel discussion with Cruz, Lord-Art Lomarda of Love Yourself Inc., and Istifen Dagang Kanal of the UPD Gender Office where they fielded questions from the audience.
The event also held free human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and consultation services as well as limited free HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) products. According to the World Health Organization, HIV PrEP involves “the use of an antiretroviral medication by HIV-negative people to reduce the risk of HIV acquisition.”
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jose Carlo de Pano said concerns in sex and intimacy are major health issues, and discussions like this should be conducted regularly to protect and inform the UPD community about the related risks. He also mentioned that University constituents can avail of the services offered by the UPD Office of Anti-Sexual Harassment, the University Health Service, and the Diliman Gender Office.
