Juliet Richters MPH, PhD

Dr. Juliet Richters, MPH, Ph.D. is an honorary professor at the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney. Her current project is the Third Australian Study of Health and Relationships. She has worked for over 30 years in sexual health research and education. Her research centers on the analysis of social (especially sexual) practice. It includes representative-sample survey research, in-depth qualitative studies, and theoretical work on the sociology of sexual practice, with a special interest in the relation between social interaction and material context. Topics include prevention of HIV and other sexually transmissible infections, contraception, reproductive choice and decision-making, condoms and condom use, sexual difficulties, sexual subcultures, sexual experience and identity, and sexual practices. Population groups studied include university students and other young people, sex workers, gay and other homosexually active men, women in contact with the gay and lesbian community, prisoners, backpackers, and the general public.

She was the lead investigator on the Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships, a large national representative sample survey by telephone of more than 20,000 Australians aged 16 to 69 examining their sexual health, attitudes, and behavior. This study, funded by the NHMRC, is the follow-up to the award-winning first survey in 2001–02. She continues to be involved with this work.