WAS Gold Medalist Lectures
Mireille BONIERBALE (France)
Title of the presentation: Developments of Sexology in France between 1974 and 2019
Mireille Bonierbale, MD, Psychiatrist with vital work with trans people and against sexual violence a life-long dedication to make sexology a legitimate area of science and humanities.
Mireille Bonierbale, psychiatrist, is a French pioneer in sexual health, with more than 40 years’ experience, working since 1975 to develop the first French university courses and qualifications in Sexology; she has retained a leadership role in this field, and this model of teaching program and qualifications has been used as high-quality foundation in many other European countries.
She founded the AIUS in 1983 (an association working in the field of university and post-graduate sexology), which is the largest association in France for this discipline, and she is currently its Chair. In 1991, she created the first European bilingual scientific review in sexology and sexual health, “Sexologies” published by Elsevier, and from which in excess of 70,000 articles are uploaded every year from Science Direct. She was on the Executive Board of the European Federation of Sexology (EFS) for 6 years, and Sexologies is currently its scientific review.
She has devoted her career not only to teaching and practicing clinical sexology, but also to treating transgender individuals. In 2002, thanks to her extensive experience on the subject, she was consulted by the Minister of Health of the time, Dr Kouchner, and took part in creating the first official hospital positions for the care and treatment of gender dysphoria in France, responsible for a multidisciplinary department in Marseille for this purpose. She founded the SoFECT (French association for the study and treatment of trans-identity) in 2010. In 2016, she participated in the Lancet series on transgender health. Recently, she has collaborated on original research works for HIV screening during erotic shows and exhibitions in France, open to the general public.
She recently retired from the hospital sector but remains an expert consultant for difficult cases of transgender health, and she continues to speak and write on issues of sexual health, sexology and gender identity, in addition to organising conferences. A book has been written under her direction with Franco-Canadian collaboration: Foundations and Practices in Sexual Medicine (Médecine Sexuelle Fondements et Pratique) - Frédérique Courtois PhD & Mireille Bonierbale MD (Éds) Éditions Lavoisier – Médecine Sciences Publications.
Dennis FORTENBERRY (USA)
Title of the presentation: The Development of Sexual Pleasure during Adolescence
Dennis Fortenberry, MD, Adolescent Health, (USA), essential ongoing work on adolescent sexual health, risk and vulnerability to HIV and STIs, with development of models of comprehensive care for female and male youth in the fringes of society.
Reiko OHKAWA (Japan)
Title of the presentation: Thirty Years Achievement of a Gynecologist as a Sex Therapist and Current Issues on Sexual Health in Japan
Reiko Ohkawa, MD, Ob/Gyn, made substantial scientific contributions about sexuality and sexual health of women in Japan, and produced reference documents and translations of publications to support promotion of sexual health activities, particularly among health care providers.
Maria PEREZ-CONCHILLO (Spain)
Title of the presentation: Opportunities and Challenges for Sexual Rights in the Digital Age
Maria Perez-Conchillo, PhD, psychologist, sexologist and sexual rights activist with over thirty years of dedicated work for the advancement of sexual health globally.
