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elliemunro - My Blog
elliemunro - My Blog
Peer Education with Terrence Higgins Trust
Related to country: United Kingdom

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Things are getting competitive at the South West headquarters of Terrence Higgins Trust. We are in two teams, each lined up facing a bin, a pile of condoms and a plastic penis. We also have a pair of gardening gloves and goggles. Whilst wearing these, each person must manage to get a condom on and off the plastic penis. The first team to finish is the winner, and both teams are desperate to win. When it comes to my turn I put on the goggles and everything goes blurry. I can't find the edge of the condom packet, let alone get it open through the thick gloves. Finally the condom is in the bin, and I pass everything on to a team mate.

This is just one way the Terrence Higgins Trust's South West Young Leaders Board spends its time. It's a fun activity with a serious point; the goggles and gloves are meant to simulate the effects of drugs or alcohol on your ability to make good decisions. At each meeting we talk and debate about a wide range of issues, from contraception, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and abortion, to what makes a good relationship, male and female stereotypes and the law. We receive accredited training in sexual health and leadership skills, and get the chance to influence Terrence Higgins Trust campaigns.

The project also gives other young people the chance to run their own sex and relationships projects. Each regional board is given £5000 to award to local projects run by young people, for young people. A project can be awarded up to £1000 to run training courses, create campaigns, make DVDs or anything else they think will get their message across. So far, the response has been great. We have funded a tour for a forum theatre group, a DVD made by a dance group and a poster and workshop campaign in a youth centre to name a few. The young people I have met have said that they have learnt a lot themselves about sexual health, and that they would like to continue their projects in the future.

The more I learn, the more I realise how little Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) I had at school. This is a common message coming through from young people across the UK. A study by the United Kingdom Youth Parliament of more than 20,000 young people revealed that 40% thought that their SRE was either poor or very poor, whilst a further 33% thought it was average. 55% of all 12-15 year olds, and 57% of girls aged 16-17 had never been shown how to use a condom, demonstrating the huge variation in the way the UK educates its young people. 61% of boys and 70% of girls over the age of 17 said that they had never received any information about personal relationships.

Young people also said that they can do a better job of teaching about sex and relationships, because they are young people themselves, and they know what they need. Judging by the innovative ideas that young people have created through Young Leaders, there can be little doubt that this is true. My vision is that this kind of peer-led education and support continues, so that young people can get the best possible information and guidance in areas of sexual health, relationships and the wider citizenship curriculum. Clearly something has to change in the UK. We have the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe, we have the third highest rate of HIV in Europe (after Estonia and Portugal), and other STIs are on the rise - in the South West alone Syphilis has increased by 317% since 2005. Clearly young people are one of the groups most affected by these issues. Clearly they have a role to play in changing this situation for the better.

06 June 2008 EM

June 6, 2008 | 12:20 PM Comments  0 comments

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