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Sexpressions 2009

By Anna Carter
October 20, 2009 at 4:26 pm

Now, now; don’t get prematurely outraged or too excited-this blog contains no adult content. The rather captivating title is not one that I can claim as my own. Sexpressions is the name given to a collection of highly motivated and enthusiastic medical students whose interest in sexual reproductive health led to the formation of a national organisation with international links and whose collective aim was to deliver appropriate education to young people about sex and relationships. Which is sounds good to me.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to meet some of these young people and talk to them about their views on peer-led reproductive health. Now, officially, this does not come under the heading of my Red Cross life but I am one of those (some say very enthusiastic, others bandy terms like obsessive and even compulsive around) people who are passionate about certain things. Young people’s access to accurate information about HIV happens to be one of those things. My passion for this subject sometimes blurs the line between my work and my non work life, but I enjoyed the day so much I thought I would share it with you.

The theme of this year’s conference was multiculturalism, entitled ‘A Cultural Affair’. This allowed the participants to explore issues surrounding diverse cultures, their attitudes towards sexual health, and issues around teaching sex education within a multicultural setting. The day was planned so that the morning contained lectures from guest speakers and the afternoon allowed for workshops in smaller groups. The guest speakers contributed to the multicultural theme. I was talking about HIV (surprise, surprise) and, to fit within the themes of the conference; looked at the global impact of the pandemic. The experience was only mildly terrifying and passed with very few technical hitches (thanks to the highly competent technician and in no way a reflection of my capabilities in this area).

 The workshop afterwards was what I found the most rewarding part of the day. I found the discussions about appropriate teaching in the classroom, the importance that the students placed on young people acquiring knowledge about HIV and the need for sensitivity when broaching controversial topics with young people hugely uplifting. We debated the relevance of learning about HIV in the UK, the importance of taking a sensitive standpoint when delivering awareness messages about HIV and their past experiences in the UK and, for the two Dutch students, in Europe . I found myself taking notes for my upcoming school speaker training day and asked them about their experiences of speaking in schools; what they found easy and where they had encountered problems. I came away hugely impressed with the dedication that these medics had for the sexual health education of young people in their university towns. I would like to say a huge thank you to the Sexpressions team for letting me share their day and in particular the Leicester Sexpressions team for playing the perfect hosts. Now, I wonder how long it will take the participants to discover the small present of the Red Cross school speaker volunteering form that I snuck into their conference kits…

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Tags: HIV, Humanitarian Education, school speakers, Sexpressions UK

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