Report and my speech from the day

19th April was NUS’ first ever sexual health lobby which we held in conjunction with the Terence Higgins Trust. We had about 50 people there, from every corner of the country. At the pre-lobby meeting we were joined by Baroness Gould, Labour Peer & president of the FPA, lib dem & tory sexual health spokespeople & Nick Partridge, chief exec of THT. Officers from acrodd the country told our panel about the problems and challenges they were encountering locally in terms of sexual health, before we went to lobby our individual MPs. We were calling for 3 things at the lobby:

1) Reduction in GUM Clinic waiting times, in line with the 48 hour target for 2008 set by the government.
2) Free sexual health resources for students unions across the board.
3) Complusory PSHE lessons for 1-19 year olds.

The Lobby pack is available still on officeronline and for those of you unable to make the lobby can still be used to lobby your MP locally.

Thanks to everyone who attended and got sex on our politicians’ agendas- this is just the start of our sexual health campaigning and it will be remaining a priority in the forthcoming year.

Below is the speech I made.

First of all I’d like to thank you all for coming along today, to NUS’ first ever lobby on sexual health, which we’re delighted to be holding in conjunction with our friends at the Terence Higgins Trust.

I’m proud that today we’re bringing sexual health to the corridors of Westminster; telling our MPs about the problems and injustices we are encountering both locally and nationally. Sexual health rights, have for too long been a taboo subject in our society- and this is why people don’t seek the help, information or treatment that they need. It’s through breaking down barriers and de-stigmatising sexual health we will really start affecting change- and where better to start than with our country’s decision makers? I urge you all today to tell the politicians we will meet about the issues your students are facing. Just how long are they having to wait for an appointment at your local clinic? Exactly how hard is it for them to access free sexual health resources? And how much education, if any at all, have they had about sex and personal relationships? I’m sure you all have various, compelling experiences and stories to tell today, and I hope you will share them so that we can really affect some change in improving the sexual health of our students.

Its fantastic to see so many of you here today, and clearly you have all consciously decided to get involved with sexual health campaigning, and I thank you for that. As we embark on our lobby today, I just wanted to give you a few facts to spur you on and keep you passionate about our cause.

At the heart of NUS, are our principles of collectivism, diversity and equality. Well let me tell you, when it comes to sexual health discrimination on the basis of gender, sexuality, race, age and class is shamefully rife. The Department for Health itself acknowledges that highest burden of sexual ill health in the UK is borne by women, gay men, teenagers, young adults and black and minority ethnic groups. Rates of gonorrhoea in some inner city black and minority ethnic groups are ten or eleven times higher than in white . Britain’s African communities are disproportionately affected with high rates of HIV Infection among both adults and children. And in addition to all this, there is convincing evidence that chlamydia infection rates are associated with levels of deprivation.

The NUS welfare campaign has prioritised sexual health this year. We ran NUS’ first ever National Student Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance week in December, which absolutely loads of students unions- many in this room in fact- got on board with and rolled out locally. However it’s clear that on sexual health, raising awareness is not enough-we have to be out there affecting change and fighting for decent sexual health provisions for all.

So today, we are focusing on three demands: shorter Genito-Urianary Medicine (or GUM) clinic waiting times, free sexual health provisions for students unions across the board, and making Personal, social & health education, HE a compulsory part of the curriculum for 14-19 year olds.

So, why are these the areas were focusing on? Well the reasons are simple. One in ten of the UK population have at some time had an Sexually Transmitted Infection. And the fact is that the longer treatment waiting lists are, the more rates of these STIs continue to rise. The government have set a target that by 2008 everyone who requests an appointment at a GUM clinic should be able to get one within 48 hours, and £300 million has been set aside by the government to be invested towards Primary Care Trusts for this. However, as it stands this funding just isn’t making it to front line services. We have to pressure the government to make sure it is being used to reduce waiting times; introduce closed book appointments for GUM clinics; train more specialist doctors, and open more clinics. We have to make the government see this as an investment, because better access for those who need it most is the crucial way in which we are going to eradicate sexually transmitted infections for good.

Our second demand is about free resources for students unions. Most new cases of STIs occur in 16-24 year olds, so obviously Students’ Unions are an ideal distribution point to target sexual health resources. Some primary care trusts have already realised this, but others are trailing behind, and failing to work with our unions locally to the benefit of all. This leaves us with nothing short of a ‘postcode lottery’ whereby some students have easy access to free sexual health resources but others don’t. Today, we have to expose this situation to our MPs, demand the Government join us in calling for free resources for students unions to be made available across the board, and encourage the development of local partnerships with Primary Care Trusts: lets get our member unions not only empowered but also equipped.

The final demand we’re making is compulsory Personal, Social & Health Education for all 14-19 year olds. Young people are sexually active at an earlier age, yet consistently unequipped with the facts they need. Research shows that those young people who are adequately educated begin sexual relations later, are less likely to develop unwanted pregnancies or STIs, and develop a more positive approach towards relationships. The NSPCC is tabling an amendment to Clause 61 of the Education and Inspection Bill, currently going through Parliament in order to make personal, social and health education a part of the curriculum for 14-19 year olds- and we are fully backing this and pressing for its inclusion in the Bill.

Unfortunately Caroline Flint, the Secretary of State for Public Health was unable to join us today, but we have recently written to her regarding today’s demands. She has assured me that 48-hour GUM waiting times are one of the NHS 6 priorities 06-07, and that the department of health will be ‘monitoring them closely’. However, we don’t know exactly how this monitoring is being done, and it is vital we keep holding the government to account on this promise. She has offered to meet NUS regarding the development of relationships between primary care trusts and students unions, which is clearly a positive development, and she has assured me that good practice guidance for FE Colleges and PCTs, and more on site sexual health advice is on its way for our FE members. Therefore, it seems that even by bringing these issues out in to the open, we’re starting to get somewhere with them. However, we have such a long way to go. As many of you will know, a few weeks ago VAT was removed from condoms, meaning they are no longer classed as a ‘luxury’. Today, we can make sure that this is just the start and that more real changes are made. Today we can tell our MPs that the state of sexual health provisions in this country is diabolical, and that we won’t stand for it any longer. Today, we can win on sexual health for our students.

Thank you

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