MEDIA CENTRE

GOOD SEXUAL HEALTH

For more than 50 years, people have fought for the right to understand, care for and improve their sexual health and relationships. Just think of everything we have achieved:

  • Contraception has been free on the NHS since 1974.
  • You don’t have to be married to get contraception (like you did in the 60s!).
  • Abortion has been legal in England, Wales and Scotland since 1967.
  • Teenage parents are supported and cared for, not shunned and sent away.
  • Young people can get confidential advice, information, support and services to help them make safer choices.
  • We can access testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
  • In schools with good sex and relationships education (SRE), young people learn about their bodies, their health and their relationships.

Imagine if all of that was taken away. If you didn’t have choices, if people prevented you from going in to services, if your local service didn’t exist, if your doctor refused to give you contraception, if nobody talked about sexual health or contraception, or rights.

We believe that many of the rights and choices we have come to take for granted are being eroded by a toxic mix of funding cuts, changes to policy, and outright extremist opposition. These rights and choices must not be taken away.

Having healthy sex is important because of the impact it has on a person’s wider health and welbeing. Control over our fertility, safety from infections and access to good quality, unbiased information and support is all vital and helps us maintain safe, happy relationships.

This campaign is about making sure you know your rights and are prepared to fight to keep them. It’s about making sure we don’t go backwards.