SUMMARY :
The concept of sexual health, which was developed at a 1975 conference of the
World Health Organization (WHO), is currently being used to set up nationally
based public health programs in various countries. I analyze the history of
the concept of sexual health since its emergence in 1975, and make a comparative
analysis of the contemporary documents dealing with sexual health generated
in the U.S. and England, and by organizations such as the WHO and the Pan American
Health Organization (PAHO). The conceptions of sexual health remain embedded
in national and political contexts. Conceptions for sexual health appear to
be the result of political compromises and take place in the public health culture
and practice of each country.
Depending on the context, these different initiatives focus either on individual
responsibility or on an appropriate sexual health services organization, and
sexual health may be conceived as an ideal state of well-being or as the reduction
of negative consequences of sexual activity.