Spring will soon be here, and at this time of year we are happy to welcome a university student (BA Youth and Community Studies) at Manchester University on placement - this year is no exception.  We welcome Jason King  who will be helping with business management and also planning and delivering sex education sessions in schools over the next few months

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Contraception-Education-December-Newsletter.html?soid=1102122234407&aid=UwEq-Y6noPU

Here is our December 2012 newsletter with links to our most recent resources, and a new Family Contraception Information Kit.  Please let us know what you think.
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Contraception-Education-December-Newsletter.html?soid=1102122234407&aid=UwEq-Y6noPU

It's come around so quickly but in just over a week on the 28th September I will be flying to Malaysia again. I will never forget my first presentation about sex education in 2010 to a group of teachers at BES Asia. You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium, I had been forewarned that it would probably be more like a lecture than a discussion as sex and relationships are still very much taboo when speaking about young people.

The week before I arrived there had been an article about the opening of Kuala Lumpur's first  baby hatch http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11214652 . I had been shocked to learn that when young women become pregnant they often conceal their pregnancy. They don't access ante-natal care and often deliver their babies alone, sometimes in public toilets. Something that Malaysians called "baby dumping" was often the only way a young woman could deal with her unplanned pregnancy in secret. I was told of stories of babies left in carrier bags and sometimes not being found alive. The fear of anybody finding out that a young woman had had sex and had become pregnant was so great that young women were driven to desperate measures and risked their own lives to conceal it. The baby hatch was seen as one solution to this very complex problem - the baby could be given attention and hopefully placed for adoption. However the young woman who had had no ante-natal care and no care during or after the delivery could not be followed up.

How easy it would have been if sex education had informed young women about contraception and about the importance of looking after themselves during pregnancy and after delivery. What i was experiencing here          was culture shock. Nothing was ever going to be that simple.

I found in the auditorium that I had everyone's attention and that I could say all of these things about honesty, as the government behind the baby hatch had stated that sex education needed to be reviewed. Never the less I could see that attitudes of a lifetime would not be changed over night.

And now I find that I have been invited to speak again and to my horror I have noticed another deep rooted issue http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/14/malaysia-seminars-spot-gay-children?intcmp=239 about attitudes to same sex relationships http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/14/malaysia-schoolchildren-gay that I will need to consider carefully while I am planning my sessions. In no way do I want to offend my audience. I am privileged to have been invited. But the cultural differences are so great that i know this is going to present me with a huge challenge as it's so clearly in conflict with my own beliefs and values.

Compact Contraception Kit

Have you seen the  Compact Contraception Kit - it's ideal for parents of teenagers, teachers in secondary schools and youth workers - all of whom will be able to use this resource to show the most popular contraceptives and have a good discussion about the best contraceptive choices at different stages in relationships and in life.

Study Day Reminder

Hi everyone,

Just a reminder to book on to our Study Day on the 9th July 2012 in Glossop Cricket Club

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Contraception-Education-Study-Day-9-7-2012.html?soid=1102122234407&aid=WyTevjugNdk

Look forward to seeing you there...

Barbara

7 habits to keep you safe online posted in Rod Laird Organisation

So, if you would like to make use of on line social networks to promote health? then here are Barbara's 7 habits to keep you safe online  as published in Rod Laird Organisation's website.  This is in preparation for the webinar which is scheduled for 19th June 2012.

How to use social media in health promotion - WEBINAR 19/6/2012

How to use social media in health promotion work | Rod Laird Organisation

Join Barbara as she shares her tips on using on-line social networking to promote health, staying safe and being savvy.   Set up accounts while you are on line, and start using them on the day!