Love Life: new Swiss campaign launched against sex infections

Anne Lévy speaks in front of posters which belong to the Love Life campaign. Anthony Anex/Keystone

Less than half of the Swiss population is aware of sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis, gonorrhoea or chlamydia, according to a survey. The government’s new "Love Life" campaign aims to increase prevention. 

Various motifs, which will be displayed on posters and on the internet from Friday, were presented to the media in Bern on Thursday. The campaign’s main message is: “Do your safer sex check”. Only then can one be “Ready!” for sex. 

The aim of raising awareness is to prevent new transmissions of HIV and the hepatitis B and C viruses by 2030, said Anne Lévy, director of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). Infections with other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) should also be reduced, she said, making further progress on a path already begun.  

Lack of knowledge can be harmful 

“We want to avoid personal suffering and high healthcare costs,” Lévy stated. Switzerland has already achieved a lot with its pioneering work, but has not yet reached its goal, she said. People are still getting infected during sex, which sometimes has long-lasting consequences. 

Further efforts must be made to protect the population, said infectiologist Barbara Jakopp. In particular, there is a need to increase knowledge about what kind of sex can transmit which infections. 

A representative survey conducted in November 2023 among 1,134 people aged 15 and over on the topic of knowledge about safer sex shows how important it still is to raise awareness. According to the survey, almost 80% of respondents were able to name HIV/AIDS as a sexually transmitted infection. However, the figure was less than 50% for syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, human papilloma virus (HPV) and viral hepatitis. 

Condoms cannot protect against all infections 

Condoms were named as the most important protection option. Some 88% of respondents knew that they provide reliable protection against HIV infection. However, more than half of those surveyed wrongly assumed that they also reliably protect against syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, viral hepatitis and HPV. 

The campaign is therefore focusing on risk-based protection and recommendations for testing for sexually transmitted infections. To this end, a ‘safer sex check’ has been developed that shows individual options for action. Condoms remain an important means of prevention but are no longer at the centre of the campaign. 

In addition to the check, the lovelife.chExternal link website provides more in-depth information on protection, risks, symptoms, tests and HIV and other STIs. Users can also find a directory of counselling and testing centres. 

Progress in treatment 

The new “Love Life” campaign is one of the measures to implement a national programme to combat sexually transmitted infections. The programme was adopted by the government in November 2023. 

The campaign is being carried out by the FOPH in cooperation with the Swiss AIDS Federation and the umbrella organisation of sexual health advice centres. The cantons are also on board. The federal government is covering the costs of CHF1.2 million ($1.3 million) this year, according to the FOPH. 

According to the federal government, in addition to prevention, great progress has also been made in treatment in recent years. Thanks to increased testing, other sexually transmitted infections can also be detected and treated more frequently. 

Campaigns since the mid-1980s 

The number of HIV infections has fallen continuously since monitoring was introduced in 1985 and has dropped to fewer than 500 cases per year in the last three years. Reporting figures for hepatitis B and C have also been declining for some time. In 2022, 1,110 cases of hepatitis B and 1,039 cases of hepatitis C were reported to the FOPH. 

For some years, the number of infections for both gonorrhoea and chlamydia has been increasing. According to the federal government, this is mainly because more people are getting tested more frequently. 

Nationwide campaigns against HIV and AIDS have been running since 1987, some of which provoked harsh reactions because they were considered too vulgar or provocative. The best-known campaigns include the 1996 campaign with the slogan “Ohne Dings kein Bums” (roughly: “no sexual action without protection”) and the 2014 posters with the title “Love Life – and regret nothing”. 

Adapted from German by DeepL/kc/ts

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