When it comes to sex, Swiss ‘regrettent rien’
The Swiss are largely satisfied with their sex lives, according to a survey by polling organisation GfK. In addition, most are monogamous but eager to experiment.
The survey, released on Monday, was commissioned by the Swiss AIDS Federation and the Swiss Sexual Health Foundation, together with the Federal Health Office.
Around 80% of the 1,000 respondents, aged 18-60, said they were very or mostly satisfied with sex.
Some 90% admitted having sex in the past 12 months. Of those, 80% had sex with only one person; 3% said they were virgins.
As for the future, two-thirds of respondents said they didn’t want to regret not having been experimental – with common “things to do” including sex in a certain place, in a certain position or with more than one person at once.
HIV campaign
Monday also saw the launch of the latest HIV campaign, with the motto “Love Life – No Regrets”. The Federal Health Office will continue to spend around CHF2 million ($2.25 million) a year on the campaign.
“The new LOVE LIFE campaign, “No Regrets”, does just what it says on the tin: it’s all about joie de vivre and worry-free sex,” the Swiss Aids Federation said.
“The campaign shows that enjoying life and your body needn’t cause you worry – because if you keep yourself safe, you won’t have any regrets.”
After increasing by 15% in 2012, the number of people diagnosed with HIV in Switzerland last year dropped by 8%, but the 575 confirmed diagnoses remain above the government’s target of 350, which it wants to reach by 2017. Almost 40% of cases involved gay men.
Large regional differences can be seen: whereas in canton Geneva there are 15.1 HIV cases per 100,000 inhabitants, in eastern cantons there are only 3.6 cases. The nationwide average is 7.2, above the European average.
Regarding other sexual diseases, the long-term trend continued: more people reported being infected by gonorrhoea (1,609 cases, up 7%) and chlamydia (8,528 cases, up 6%). Syphilis had “stabilised at a high level”, according to the health office.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.