A ridiculous storm in a teacup

Today's Metro has the front page story 'girls, 11, to send text for sex pill'. Another storm in a teacup where the mistruths and lies are hidden behind hysterical headlines.

As far as I can tell the service provides young people with the opportunity to text their school nurse in the holidays so s/he can tell them where the nearest sexual health service is if they need sexual health advice and information. Sounds very sensible to me and will to most sensible adults once they can see beneath the surface.

So why create 'sex pills' and produce inflammatory headlines that make people object. Yes, theoretically an eleven year old could text their school nurse. Most won't because very small numbers of 11 years are having sex (most under 16 years old aren't). And if they are having sex and they do they ask for help the school nurse will have an identified process to follow and there is a real chance to identify any harm and abuse.

There are all sorts of things that theoretically I can do and I won't which suggests they don't deserve the front page -that doesn't make space for a headline that can only create mistrust between parents and professionals. And just for the record, children's professionals across health, education and social care are not in the business of undermining parents. We know partnerships between parents and professionals work. And health professionals work to Fraser Guidelines when working with under 16s that explicitly require them to encourage communication with parents.

teenage pregnancy, stupid women and bungy jumping on a condom elastic

On Teenage Pregnancy....official statistics in February showed Teenage pregnancy rates are declining. Good news. Even more good news to read today that the Improvement and Development Agency reports on Local Area Agreements show that the second most common priority for Local Authorities in England is reducing the under 18 conception rate.

On stupid women - this came into my inbox recently....
I have decided to do a bit of campaigning journalism and have set up a website and Downing Street e-petition about better access to emergency contraception morning after pill). If you are a journalist receiving this email, or a blogger, do please consider writing about this subject and linking to the petition.

Here is the link to the petition if you want to sign it:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/morningafterpill/

And here is the website that explains what it is I am doing and why:

www.womenarenotstupid.co.uk

Basically, at the moment if a woman wants emergency contraception she must get it herself at the time of needing it. Although in 2006 the Royal Pharmaceutical Society issued a statement saying that it is not against the advanced supply of emergency contraception in principle, in many instances women are being refused advance provision by pharmacists.

This means that a woman can't buy it in advance from pharmacies to keep in the bathroom cabinet in case a condom splits. Nor can someone else buy it for her unless they can convince the pharmacist that it is an exceptional situation such as a person being housebound. Being stuck at work or at home looking after children is not usually deemed a good enough reason. Mums cannot buy it for daughters. A woman's partner cannot buy it for her. Nor can her friend.

Many people including some pharmacists argue that this is because emergency contraception should not be used other than in an emergency and that they need to ask certain questions of women before they can take it. This suggests women are incapable of self-diagnosing - something we actually do every time we take a painkiller which, taken wrongly, could also harm us.

If you support this please pass this email onto your friends and contacts - the more people who sign the petition the more notice government will take and things might change. If you can do write to your MP about this too - there is a sample letter on the website that you can copy.

Finally on condom bungys...did you see the Metro on Tuesday - a South African guy used 18,500 out of date condoms tied together and bungy jumped from them without even checking them with sand bags first. A joker in my team thought I should do it to raise money for Brook - clearly they want me to give a bit more to my work!

Emergency contraception in schools - setting the record straight

Yet again there is a misleading story in the press about school based sexual health services this week. According to the story there are hundreds of eleven year olds having sex and being encouraged to do so by the provision of emergency contraception in schools.

Most young people under the age of 16 do not have sex. At 11 the numbers of children who have consensual sex, that is not abusive are tiny. Any professional told by an 11 year old they are having sex is always extremely concerned. In almost all cases it will be viewed as a child protection issue, and sensitive work with the child so they can identify what help is needed and the best way to get help will take place. Telling the parent may not always be the answer, if there is abuse or violence in the family for example.

This is true whether the health service provision is located in the community or provided on school premises. Across the country schools decide to establish health services on school grounds because young people and professionals tell them they are needed. Not just for sex advice but so young people can get help on a whole range of issues from stress, pressure and emotional well being, sorting out spots and smelly feet, getting contraception and emergency contraception, issues with family and friends etc. Providing these services is the right and moral thing for schools to do, particularly where young people cannot get to any others, for example those who live in rural areas and are bussed many miles to school each day.

And schools develop these services with the support of the absolute vast majority of parents and the community - yet we never hear their voices because of the deafening cry from the tiny numbers of parents who do not support them. We get many calls at Brook from parents who find themselves upset when they find their daughter is on the pill, or has found themselves pregnant. Typically the story takes a similar path - i wish she wasn't having sex, and if she is i wish she had been able to talk to me, and as the conversation develops parents say if felt she couldn't talk to me I am so pleased there was somewhere she could go to get help to stay safe.

That somewhere may be Brook, it may be a school based service, or it may be the local GP. The important thing is not where it is, but that it is provided by trained staff who are committed to young people's safety, who will help them think about the rights and choices they have, including the right not to have sex, and will also encourage them to talk to an adult they trust.

Up and down the country professionals are working hard to work in partnership with parents and to support young people to make real choices about relationships so they can enjoy and take responsibility for the sex they have, when they do decide to have it.

Emergency contraception - myths and misinformation

About a decade ago I went with a friend to a health centre for emergency contraception. Let’s call my friend Susie. Susie went bright red as she was asked loudly at reception why she was there – “the morning after pill” she tried to whisper and was asked to repeat louder. She was so red and hot, I thought she may explode. We were told to sit down and wait. I tried reassuring Susie who felt embarrassed and ashamed, “accidents happen, no, you are not a slag. No, no-one heard you”. Imagine her horror when the receptionist bellows “where’s the one who needs the morning after pill?” And then, dropping her voice to normal levels to say, “room one”.

Fast forward ten years – A woman like you, a woman like me - a report published yesterday by Schering Health Care Limited, is an interesting read. It is a tale of myths, misinformation and embarrassment about emergency contraception. Emergency contraception is most often used by women aged 25-29 who are in a long term relationship, and yet the report reveals the incorrect perception that it is most likely to be used by teenagers, students and single women. It also shows that many women still lack basic knowledge about where to get emergency contraception, how it will affect them and how it works.

I wish I had been surprised by the findings. So what can we do so things change in the next ten years?

- Stop talking about the morning after pill and start talking about emergency contraception
- Accept mistakes happen and that taking emergency contraception is much more responsible and gives greater peace of mind than crossing your fingers
- If or when you use it, tell someone – don’t keep it a guilty secret
- Think about your workplace, school or college – what can be done to promote the truth about emergency contraception….which is that it is responsible, safe and easy to use it and that it is used daily by women just like YOU.

With these changes the next time someone like Susie needs emergency contraception there should be no stigma; no shame or embarrassment, just a recognition that she is taking responsibility for her sexual health.