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Robbie Dettmann recently tried to access STI testing at the state’s only public sexual health clinic but was turned away.

Victoria’s only public sexual health clinic axes a key service as STI rates soar

When Robbie tried to access the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, the doors were locked. It was then he discovered the walk-in service had been axed.

  • Henrietta Cook and Alexander Darling

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Olivia Donaghy is a psychologist, researcher and the Clinical Director of Gender Health Australia. She helped establish Queensland’s first gender clinic for trans kids in 2016, and is currently employed as the statewide coordinator of the service.

Top gender clinic psychologist ready to quit over trans ban

The psychologist behind Queensland’s first children’s gender clinic fears she can no longer provide evidence-based healthcare or fulfil her professional duties.

  • Courtney Kruk
The contraceptive pill will be available at Victorian chemists without a script.

Contraceptive pill will become available without a script in Victoria

Women will be able to see a pharmacist instead of a doctor to access the pill, but the move has doctors worried.

  • Kieran Rooney and Henrietta Cook
Grace Toombs, founder of June, Australia’s first at-home cervical screening test kit.

‘Putting the sexy back in sex’: What’s the solution to rising youth STIs?

STI rates are rising for young Australians, while safe sex practices like using condoms, regular testing and contraception are declining.

  • Lauren Ironmonger
The Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria, which causes gonorrhea.

Drug-resistant ‘gonorrhoea superbugs’ are spreading across Sydney

Health authorities are growing concerned about the limited effectiveness of antibiotics to treat the common sexually transmitted infection.

  • Angus Thomson
Sex coaches and therapists are there to facilitate open conversation, not to judge.

‘It’s not about performance’: Seven common sex therapy myths

It’s a normal part of life enjoyed by a considerable portion of the population, yet most of us are not good at seeking help with our sex lives. That might have something to do with these common misconceptions.

  • Robyn Willis
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Tony Briffa was 11 when doctors put her on female hormone replacement therapies.

‘He needs to be a boy’: Unnecessary surgeries being performed on intersex children

As Victoria prepares to ban unnecessary surgeries for intersex children, a new report says some hospitals appear to keep no records justifying surgeries.

  • Broede Carmody
Premier Jacinta Allan and Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas launched the inquiry in 2024.

‘Green whistle’ for IUDs and new pain standard after inquiry reveals women’s suffering

Australia’s first women’s pain inquiry has validated – and sets out to relieve – the suffering of thousands of women who spoke of disrespect and belittling of their intense pain.

  • Wendy Tuohy
Women in their 40s, at the beginning of the menopause transition (or perimenopause) experienced a big jump in symptoms of sexual dysfunction with distress compared with pre-menopausal women.

Almost half of women experience poor sexual wellbeing in middle age – but don’t blame testosterone

Factors other than a drop in the hormone being promoted as vital for women’s mid-life libido are causing problems with arousal, desire and orgasm for women at the start of the menopause transition.

  • Wendy Tuohy
A new study has found reduced sperm production and testosterone in mice exposed to forever chemicals.

The great sperm mystery: How doctors hope to solve unexplained male infertility

Doctors have galvanised around the extraordinary fact that most male infertility cannot be explained.

  • Angus Dalton