Friday 6 July 2007

Inclusion at the heart of it

Last night Heart n Soul held their quarterly club night at the Albany Centre in Deptford. The club night is an inclusive event for people with disabilities. I was a member of a sexual health strategy group many years ago. When we were identifying groups of people vulnerable to sexual ill health the discussion became difficult. In that context, people were really talking about reducing STIs, not promoting positive sexual health, so people with disabilities were not established as a priority group.

Some of us believed then, as i do now, that promoting positive sexual health is about HIV and STI prevention. And it is about ensuring that groups of young people who have limited opportunities for social relationships, including those with physical and learning disabilities have opportunities to develop friendships and intimate relationships. Heart n Soul is a fantastic example of putting this philosophy into action, with disabled people right at the heart of it.

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