Let’s talk
The range of reasons that people cite for not practising safe sex is extraordinary; particularly when one considers that most sexually active adults are perfectly aware that using a condom is the first rule of protection. Low self-esteem, a lack of verbal skills to talk about safe sex with a partner and the impact of drug and alcohol use are among the factors that increase the incidence of risk-taking.
The Scottish Government’s Sexual Health Scotland initiative aims to introduce sexually active adults to the skills needed to reduce risk. Whitespace were commissioned to design and build the website and create the interactive banner advertising that would improve knowledge and understanding; ultimately changing behaviour.
The resulting website showcased a wide range of interactive ‘widgets’ that addressed this difficult subject in an engaging and highly involving way, with a clear path to deeper content once visitors had become involved with the messages. Indeed, the website achieved unprecedented levels of interaction and the widget dashboard approach has proved very effective.
