1. The University of Auckland New Zealand “Just like a cultural thing?” Explaining New Zealand’s sexual health statistics © Virginia Braun Department of Psychology Paper presented at the BPS Social Psychology Section Annual Conference, Edinburgh, 2005.

2. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 Sexual ‘health’ in NZ: a gloomy picture  Sexual health and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)  Recent increases in STI incidence:  Gonorrhoea 44% since 2000  Chlamydia 28% since 2000 (most common STI)  Gen. warts 20% since 2000 (most common viral STI)  Syphilis 53% since 2003  Limitations in our knowledge  International STI comparisons:  STI increases in many western countries  NZ prevalence appears comparatively high  But caution is necessary in making international comparisons

3. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 Factors affecting sexual health  Education (knowledge)  Cultural attitudes & social norms (peers, family, media)  Gender roles & (power) relationships  SES  Age of first intercourse  Sexual abuse/violence  Mental health/disability  Alcohol/drug (ab)use  (Freely) available, acceptable services  Sexual health promotion Ministry of Health (2001); Williams & Davidson (2004)

4. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 Research details  Qualitative project  15 focus groups: 6 female only, 4 male only, 5 mixed  58 participants in total: 38 female, 20 male  Average age: 25 (range 16-36)  Majority were:  heterosexual  Pākehā  Employed/middle class  Lived in NZ most of their lives  Thematic analysis of data

5. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 average # sexual partners12 average # sexual relationships6 currently in a relationship64% average relationship length3+ years casual sex75% ‘unsafe’ sex at some pointvirtually all 1> sexual health check73% known STI25% >1 STI7% (27%) no check & ‘no’ STI57% Participant ‘sex’ demographics

6. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 Explaining New Zealand’s STI statistics  2 broad categories of explanation  National ‘socio-structural’ explanations  Lack of knowledge/(sex) education  Easy cures & safety nets  Social woes  NZ as ‘safe by nature’  ‘National identity’ explanations  ‘Binge-drinking: “we’re such a huge drinking culture”  NZers as poor communicators  Self-sufficiency & stoicism  Conservatism & “old fashioned values”  Highly/complacently sexual: “we’re just so damn horny”  The “Kiwi persona”: “we’re very laid back people”

7. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 National ‘socio-structural’ explanations  Lack of knowledge and (sex) education Ana: I think the fact that we couldn’t even name you know STIs and STDs we didn’t even know the symptoms um would indicate to me that there’s a complete lack of knowledge and that when we did talk about things like sexual health we talked about in relation to you know, kind of classes at school but we vaguely remember as not being that good Stella: I certainly don’t really remember at school learning about sexually transmitted diseases (FG1)  Easy cures & safety nets Hermione: I think that maybe um there’s so much pregnancy and stuff now it’s cos there’s like such easy cures and it’s so easy to access like you can just get an abortion (Bob/Gertrude: mm) and and like yeah maybe it’s why we don’t care as much (FG12)

8. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 National ‘socio-structural’ explanations  Social ‘woes’ Sally: now um that our like youth suicide rate is so high is probably somehow related i- the fact that um teens don’t s’of have enough- young people don’t have enough to do (FG15) Mrs Smith: there seems to be a lot of hopelessness out there (FG11)  NZ as ‘safe by nature’ Joey: I think a lot of people see New Zealand as a very sheltered place as well cos it’s not America (Ginny: uhuh) it’s not g- it’s not America it’s not Britain you know nothing like that happens here (FG10)

9. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 National ‘identity’ explanations  “we’re such a huge drinking culture” Francesca: I think on a different sort of angle like um New Zealand in- s- maybe a cultural thing like we have quite a binge drinking culture (Ginny: mhm) specially in the teenage ah population that may have something to do with like every weekend getting smashed. Mike: well there’s a lot of binge drinking going on in most cultures I think (laughing) Mr Smith: (yeah) Francesca: well I think particularl- oh yeah in a lot of cultures but I think New Zealand definitely (?: mm) than say like France who you know have a you know red wine at dinner and sort of spread it out more than binge drinking (FG11)

10. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005  We’re poor communicators… Sandra: I dunno I mean yeah definitely I think that is a- that’s a factor that we that the- there is this kind of head in the sand she’ll be right mate and and also other um other qualities of the ki- kiwi persona like um still a lot of people are unwilling to to discuss private matters or or (Ginny: mm) you know personal things (?: mm) and there’s kinda this stoicism too that you gotta be tough to tough it out (FG10) National ‘identity’ explanations

11. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005  We have a conservatism about us Brandon: well the only perception I have with New Zealand sexually um and just comparing it to you know what you said of overseas it’s it going back to what I said before we just seem very conservative about it so you know when when something like that does happen um you know it’s not really something you like talking about you know that may be why the abortion rate’s so high or something like that you know it’s not it’s almost the shame factor behind it or I’m not too sure but it just I I know we are a very conserva- we seem like a very conservative country like that (std is not something that people would)- Jason: my impression is that although there’s a sort of conservative ah attitude when it comes to broadcasts like tv and print and the media that an act- like in actual fact people generally are extremely sexually active and James: and laid back about it (continues) National ‘identity’ explanations

12. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 Jason: and really laid back about it like it’s just no big deal it’s just you know meet someone you go home with them you have sex it’s just normal like everyday the majority of people are doing it and it’s Brandon: shaking hands Jason: yeah it’s it’s like it’s really not much beyond shaking hands or you know Brandon: mmm as trivial as that Jason: yeah it’s just like just casual sex it’s that’s it that’s it it’s just casual it’s just no big deal and um (pause) so kind of the opposite of conservative like just really really I don’t know if you’d call it liberal but really laid back about it and she’ll be right you know it’s like a like a New Zealand kind of thing it’s like oh whatever you know it’s no big deal it’s just Dylan: my opinion on New Zealand is from just from what I’ve seen and travelling a little and stuff in general I think we seem we come across quite conservative but I actually think we’re quite extreme in a lot of ways ah in sex in a lot of things it’s just not really talked about… (FG7) National ‘identity’ explanations

13. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005  ‘We’re very laid-back people’ BK: maybe it’s like maybe it’s like um how New Zealanders pret- really do have the no worries attitude that we KS: market ourselves ((laughter)) Kimberly: believe our own hype yeah BK: market ourselves and to you know I think um all through history well all through our history um New Zealanders have been known as people who don’t worry too much about things that go wrong go badly you know like Arnold: she’ll be right BK: the storm comes in and blows your farm down and you know that was a bit of a bit of a bugger but you know Kimberly: she’ll be right BK: yeah she’ll be right and no worries is pretty much a New Zealand motto um Kimberly: it is yeah (FG2) National ‘identity’ explanations

14. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 Implications for sexual health promotion  National ‘socio-structural’ explanations offer:  lack of individual culpability/responsibility  potential for sexual health improvement  sexual health change as requiring structural change  ‘National identity’ explanations offer:  lack of individual culpability/responsibility  construct sexual safety as ‘un-Kiwi’  sexual health statistics as less likely to improve  sexual health change as requiring national identity change

15. The University of Auckland New Zealand 2005 Key question for sexual health promotion  How might we reconstruct our ‘national identity’ as a ‘sexually safe’ one?  Or use ‘identity’ as a useful basis for sexual health promotion?  An example from anti-littering campaigns – ‘be a tidy kiwi’