Your forties and fifties might be long over, but that doesn’t mean your sex life is over! Far from it these days. In fact, if you throw in a couple of modern inventions like Viagra and the proliferation of internet dating sites, maintaining a healthy sexual relationship in your 60s, 70s and beyond is increasingly common.
But recent research suggests there is a missing piece for many older people when it comes to sex – and that’s a good understanding of ‘safe sex’ and the importance of practicing it.
Recent research indicates a dramatic increase in the rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for over 60 year olds in Australia.
Rates of gonorrhoea in this age group more than doubled between 2007 and 2011 and the rates of chlamydia have also risen during this time.
Why is it so? Well, it’s complicated. But because older people are routinely excluded from research on the topic of sex and relationships – ageism is alive and well – there isn’t as much data about sex and STIs in older age groups.
An anonymous survey
That’s something that researchers from La Trobe University’s Australian Research Centre in Health, Sex and Society would like to redress.
This week they have launched a survey as part of a study they are conducting into sex and sexuality in older age groups. Entitled Sex, Age and Me: A national survey of sex and relationships among older Australians, the totally anonymous survey focuses on knowledge of STIs, the types of sexual activity that older people have, and the safe sex practices that older Australians use.
The project was developed precisely in response to these recent increases in STI rates among Australians aged 60 and over.
Speaking on ABC Radio’s Life Matters program, project manager, Dr Bianca Fileborn said one aspect of the issue was that medical professionals tended not to ask older patients questions about sexual health matters.
“Often they assume older people are asexual or don’t need to know or that they should already know. So there are real barriers,” she said.
And while anyone growing up in the 1980s and 1990s and beyond received strong messages about safe sex, older people were not really targeted.
A different kind of ‘protection’
When we talk about safe and unsafe sex and ‘using protection’, one of the key strategies is the use of condoms. And while we assume older people know all about condoms, they were principally a form of contraception: ‘protection’ from unplanned pregnancy. So for many who might have been in long-term monogamous relationships, condom use was largely irrelevant to them.
Today, while condoms are still an important method of contraception, they are also the cornerstone of safe sex – usually the best, most accessible form of protection against STIs. Nowadays, condoms are highly relevant for anyone – at any age – entering into a sexual encounter or relationship with a new person.
But the increase in STIs among people over 60 suggests that people are having ‘unsafe sex’. They’re not using condoms enough.
There are a range of factors contributing to increased sexual activity among older people and with it, the increased risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection.
A new outlook on dating and sex
Improvements to life expectancy and overall health in later life, has made many people more willing and able to engage in sexual activity. To make it even more alluring, there is some evidence which shows that keeping sexually active will promote better health for you in the long run!
Similarly, higher divorce rates have contributed to increased numbers of people ‘dating’ in later life. The proliferation and popularity of internet dating websites, coupled with medical advances such as Viagra making penetrative sex more available in later life, means there is a much increased potential for new sexual experiences in our later years than has previously been the case.
New sexual experiences in later life bring other challenges too – not just the increased risk of acquiring infections. The researchers are also looking to understand some of the other challenges older men and women might face, for example negotiating the use of condoms and medications, body image issues and perceptions of family and friends.
They also would like to know about physiological aspects of sex after 60 – things like the impact of menopause, illness, disability, mental health problems or pain.
Can you participate in the survey?
Anyone aged 60 and over is encouraged to participate. It involves online surveys and one-on-one interviews and is inclusive of older people of diverse gender and sexual orientations.
Dr Fileborne is keen to emphasis that the survey is completely anonymous. “Nobody will know if the answers are yours. You can skip questions too if you don’t feel comfortable answering them, but they are all there for a good reason,” she said.
If you would like to complete a paper version of the survey, you can phone or email Dr Fileborne and she will send one in the post. Her contact details are listed below.
Participate in the survey at www.sexagemesurvey.org.au.
If you have any questions about the project, please contact:
- Dr Bianca Fileborn (Project Manager) B.Fileborn@latrobe.edu.au, telephone: (03) 9479 8766.
- Dr Anthony Lyons (Project Leader) A.Lyons@latrobe.edu.au, telephone: (03) 9479 8719.
The website for the entire project is: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/arcshs/surveys/sex-age-and-me
It is funded by the Australian Research Council, and is being run in conjunction with the National Ageing Research Institute, and the University of Sheffield in the UK.
