THE Sex Club returns in force with the 2024 edition of DépistaFest, the STBBI screening festival in Quebec. This year, Club Sexu is making life easier for spankers by quickly matching them with the STBBI screening clinic that best meets their needs. From June 2 to 16, nearly 60 partners, including Prelib, the official clinic of the festival, are joining forces to raise awareness among young adults of the importance of STBBI screening and facilitate their appointment making process in eight regions of Province. The agency Cross takes care of press relations for DépistaFest.
A simple solution to a complex issue
Although young adults are particularly affected by STBBIs1research shows that most do not get tested regularly2. In a sample of Quebecers aged 17 to 29 and sexually active, only 31% of men and 42% of women reported having taken a screening test in the last 12 months.3. In 2022, Club Sexu carried out a study to evaluate the effectiveness of DépistaFest by surveying its community after the campaign. The results speak for themselves: people exposed to DépistaFest were twice as likely to have been tested in the last six months and to plan to do so in the next six months, and had better general knowledge about STBBIs.
“Despite the Club Sexu community becoming more and more aware, we see that they don’t always know where to start. The process can be complex and varies greatly from one clinic and region to another,” explains Morag Bosomresearcher and sexological designer at Sex Club.
DépistaFest 2024 responds to this problem by simplifying appointment making. Festival-goers can enter their search criteria in the directory of participating clinics on depistafest.ca. We then suggest a top 3 clinics best suited to their needs.
“The DépistaFest is above all an excuse to create a good habit: make an appointment for STI screening, at least once a year!”, adds Morag Bosom.
A fresh program for a hot summer
DépistaFest 2024 stands out in the field of sexual health as a breath of fresh air in the middle of a heatwave. The festive initiative promises to continue its mission to raise awareness among 18-35 year olds about STBBI screening through a fun digital campaign, mainly on social networks.
This year, the depistafest.ca website lists nearly 70 partner clinics and offers a search tool to find the one that best meets each person’s needs. In addition, find the Club Sexu team at the Festival Mural, at Aire commune and at Piknic Électronik, in addition to the awareness squads led by its partners, in Montreal, Quebec, in Estrie, in Abitibi, in Lanaudière, on the Coast -North, in the Laurentians and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. DépistaFest 2024 was carried out thanks to financial support from the Fonds d’initiative et de influence de la métropole (FIRM), of the government of Quebec. The FIRM has since been replaced by the Metropolis Signature Fund (FSM).
1 Blouin et al., 2023
2 Boudewyns and Paquin, 2011; Martin-Smith et al., 2018
3 Lambert et al., 2017
