SILVA NEVES PRESENTS


Sex Positivity UK



We aim to bring the knowledge of sexology, good sexual education and erotic intelligence.


Welcome to Sex Positivity UK

Many people in the UK and across the world have sexual problems because of a lack of erotic awareness. We live in a world promoting a lot of myths about sex, no wonder people are confused and struggling! We aim to bridge the gap in knowledge so that people can access good information on sexual health, sexual pleasure and good relationships.  

We particularly promote a sex-positive, science-led, evidence-based approach to compulsive sexual behaviours. In this approach, we criticise the notion of ‘sex addiction’ and ‘porn addiction’ as these are not supported by science, made of anecdotes. The ‘sex addiction’ movement can be sex-negative, shaming and harmful to people.  


Silva Neves

Silva Neves is an award-winning, COSRT-accredited and UKCP-registered psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist, and a trauma psychotherapist. Silva is also a COSRT-accredited clinical supervisor. He is a Pink Therapy Clinical Associate.

Silva is a member of the editorial board for the leading international journal Sexual and Relationship Therapy.

Silva is the author of three books, Compulsive Sexual Behaviours, A Psycho-Sexual Treatment Guide for Clinicians(Routledge), Sexology: The Basics (Routledge), Sexual Diversity (Karnac), and he co-edited three textbooks: Erotically Queer (Routledge), Relationally Queer (Routledge), and Gender, Sex and Relationship Diversity Therapy (Routledge).

He also contributed chapters in various publications including: The Handbook of Social Justice in Psychological Therapies, Queering Gestalt Therapy, The SAGE Handbook of Counselling & Psychotherapy, Sexual Minorities and Mental Health: Current perspectives and New Directions.

Silva wrote several articles in psychotherapy magazines and peer-reviewed journals, including New Psychotherapist, Therapy Today, Sexual and Relationship Therapy, The European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, Attachment.

He speaks internationally.  

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World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) declaration on sexual pleasure

WAS Recognise that...

Sexual pleasure is the physical and/or psychological satisfaction and enjoyment derived from shared or solitary erotic experiences, including thoughts, fantasies, dreams, emotions, and feelings.
Self-determination, consent, safety, privacy, confidence and the ability to communicate and negotiate sexual relations are key enabling factors for pleasure to contribute to sexual health and well-being. Sexual pleasure should be exercised within the context of sexual rights, particularly the rights to equality and non-discrimination, autonomy and bodily integrity, the right to the highest attainable standard of health and freedom of expression. The experiences of human sexual pleasure are diverse and sexual rights ensure that pleasure is a positive experience for all concerned and not obtained by violating other people’s human rights and well-being. 

Sexual Health is the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. (WHO 2006).

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WAS DECLARE THAT:

1. The possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences free of discrimination, coercion, and violence is a fundamental part of sexual health and well-being for all.
2. Access to sources of sexual pleasure is part of human experience and subjective well-being.
3. Sexual pleasure is a fundamental part of sexual rights as a matter of human rights.
4. Sexual pleasure includes the possibility of diverse sexual experiences.
5. Sexual pleasure shall be integrated into education, health promotion and service delivery, research and advocacy in all parts of the world.
6. The programmatic inclusion of sexual pleasure to meet individuals’ needs, aspirations, and realities ultimately contributes to global health and sustainable development and it should require comprehensive, immediate and sustainable action. 


Recommendations from the field of sexology

“We strongly oppose therapeutic interventions that increase the experience of discrimination, stigma, and moral incongruence.
This includes approaches that pathologize sexual behavior of sexually diverse individuals, apply an addiction model with notions of abstinence from sexual behavior, or seek to impose the professional’s moral or religious values on patients under the guise of evidence-based treatment.”

Briken et al (2024). Assessment and treatment of compulsive sexual behavior disorder:
A sexual medicine perspective.
Sexual Medicine Reviews, 12(3), 355–369. DOI: 10.1093/smr/smad002.


SEX POSITIVITY

The definition from: The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM)

“having positive attitudes about sex and feeling comfortable with one’s own sexual identity and with the sexual behaviours of others."


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THE DEFINITION OF SEX POSITIVITY:

1. Exploring, Embracing and Celebrating the Erotic Template (sexual fantasies, thoughts, desires, arousals and behaviours) without judgement.
2. Accepting that one person’s erotic turn-on can be another person’s erotic turn-off.
3. Being loyal to sexual authenticity: being aware of your erotic palette, and to keep in touch with it as it changes over time, with new experiences and maturing.
4. Understanding sexual boundaries. What is legal and consensual. What feels good and what doesn’t feel good.
5. Understanding that sex is not addictive.
6. Understanding, accepting and celebrating the wide range of gender, sexuality and relationship diversity, including transgender people, asexuality, bisexuality, queer, kinks, fetishes, polyamory, etc.  
7. Being willing to learn more about gender, sexuality and relationship diversity when you think you have a blind spot.
8. Understanding sexual behaviours need to align with the person’s core values and sexual integrity.
9. Accepting and celebrating all body shapes.
10. Being willing to challenge sex-negativity and to promote sex-positivity and pleasure-positivity with our peers and communities.

We are proud to be affirmative of Gender, Sex and Relationship Diversity

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Contact:     

Sex Positivity UK

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