Happy birthday to us!

Dust off the party poppers, EFC is 20 years old this year!

We were founded back in 1992 as a result of a lack of good quality educational resources on pregnancy and abortion. Teachers were finding that despite the topic of abortion being on many syllabi, there was very little support in terms of teaching it in a sensible and balanced way. Sure, the old anti-choice stalwarts SPUC and Life had been around for a good 20 years, but their offerings tended to be (and still are) partially inaccurate, biased and often insensitive to young people's experiences of pregnancy. A group of sexual health professionals therefore got together to form 'Education For Choice' and ensure that young people could learn the facts about abortion.

Over the past 20 years we're stayed true to our mission - to provide young people with reliable information about pregnancy options. We've done this directly, by providing workshops in schools, colleges and youth centres, but also by producing resources and training up professionals who work with young people. We reckon we’ve reached around 1.8 million young people through this work. Not bad for a tiny project with limited resources eh?

Our 20 years of experience means that we are experts on young people and abortion and are often contacted by the press to provide information and comment. Recent years have seen us work to expose rogue crisis pregnancy centres offering inaccurate information, and highlight the problem of anti-choice speakers giving misinformation to young people in schools. No one else in the UK is doing this vital and unique work.

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but while sex education remains a patchy subject and anti-abortion groups continue to mislead young people about their health and wellbeing we think it’s important that EFC continues to shout loud for young people’s right to good education.

We’re asking you to support our work by giving us £20 for our 20 years. Or a monthly donation – even a small amount will make a real difference. To spice things up we’ll be posting some classic tunes from 1992 to now, culminating in our birthday extravaganza in London on 22nd November. We’d love to see you there.

If you believe young people deserve to be give the facts about pregnancy and abortion, then please give what you can to support EFC’s work.

Standing up for young people's reproductive rights!

Today is the International Day of Action for Women's Health and to mark this, the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights issued this call to action:

“Full Recognition of Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights! Recognise Reproductive Rights! Mobilise for Reproductive Justice!”

This means:

• The right of young people to decide on all matters related to their sexuality
• Access to sexual and reproductive health services, including safe abortion where legal, that respect confidentiality and do not discriminate
• The right of youth to comprehensive sexuality education
• Protection and promotion of young people’s right to control their sexuality free from violence, discrimination, and coercion 

Have a look at the full report here. 

We thought we'd let an actual young person tell you why they support this call to action. Here's what Jacob, friend of EFC and founder of S4SRE (Students for Sex and Relationships Education) had to say:


"These issues are important to me because a world of people more comfortable with their sexualities is a place I want to be. I think we need to invite young people to ask directly what sort of help they'd like from sex education, and to be more trusted as the major source of support we are for each other... these questions need not be some sort of public spectacle, like TV 'health entertainment' shows. Access to the services and resources that make sure sex can be safe and supportive is another factor that means youth sexuality stops being a punishable reality, and instead a healthier part of growing up."

Well said Jacob!
If you're a young person with an interest in these issues you might want to submit an essay or opinion piece to the Reproductive Health Matters journal which is currently looking for submissions on 'Young people, sex and relationships'.

 

EFC Youth Advisors produce short film about pregnancy testing

We're very pleased to announce that the short film produced by our lovely Youth Advisory Group is now up on our You Tube channel (and you can view it below!)

The group wanted to make a film which would give other young people information about pregnancy testing and pregnancy options but which would also make the process seem a little less intimidating.

Chau: 'I have definitely learned more about sexual health and am able to tell others more precise facts'
Namratha: 'It's a great resource for young people to know of their concerns and options locally available to them'
Nataliah: '(the film allows) young people to gain information on services available to them without feeling embarrassed or intimidated to directly ask someone.'

Well done guys!

EFC Professional Training - Special Offer!

Education For Choice has been delivering well-evaluated training days for professionals working with young people for years. We are currently offering our most popular day, 'Abortion: Decisions and Dilemmas' at the discounted rate of just £850 per day (for up to 15 participants). And throwing in some free resources if you book now. A bargain!

For details on the training see the website and for further information, or to book, contact us efc@brook.org.uk

Here's what some of our participants have had to say about the day:

"My knowledge about abortion, language to use and exercises to use with young people have been enhanced. I enjoyed the training very much. I feel well informed and I think the facilitator was very knowledgeable and engaging" - Youth worker, London

"A full, interactive course which exceeded my expectations" - Sexual health service provider, Durham

“I would recommend the Abortion Dilemmas and Decisions training to support the development of key members of the workforce, in a range of settings. The training is engaging, lively and thought-provoking and offers strategies to enable workers to talk about some of the difficult aspects of pregnancy choices, as part of their day to day work with young people” - Teenage Pregnancy Co-ordinator, Devon

"I didn’t know there was such a thing as an implant": Sixth Formers tell us about their sex education lessons

I recently visited a school in Essex to deliver EFC’s Talk About Choice presentation to the Sixth Form there. I was lucky enough to be able to speak to a few of the students afterwards to get their thoughts on the presentation and what they’d learnt.

I was surprised when the students told me that a lot of the information on contraceptive methods had been new for them:

‘The contraception methods I didn’t know about’

‘I didn’t know there was such a thing as an implant’

 ‘I didn’t know you could get injections’

‘We know the usual stuff like pills and condoms but we didn’t know the sort of more unconventional stuff’

As years 12 and 13 I had expected them to have covered basic sexual health topics such as STIs and contraception in earlier years but it seems that had been limited and worryingly, for most of them, had taken place in R.E lessons as a purely abstract discussion of religious views:

 ‘They did talk about some types of contraception but it was more about what religions thought’

‘It was sort of like, if you were Christian what would you think about abortion’

Sex education outside of R.E lessons had only been experienced by some of the students:

 ‘A good 60 people a year group don’t have that lesson so all they have is the RE side’

‘If you did triple science you don’t do it’

These students were articulate about what was missing from their sex and relationships education. Sadly, their clear need and desire for sexual health education was not being met thanks to patchy delivery. With little knowledge of their own rights and responsibilities, or practical information about local services the students recognised that they were less able to practice safer sex. As two pupils remarked on their lack of condom education:  ‘if you don’t use it properly then you’re gonna be at a higher risk’ and ‘if you don’t know how to do it then obviously you’re gonna worry when you do it and also then you might be more embarrassed and then you don’t use it’.

The students also gave an extremely mature and thoughtful take on what abortion education should look like. They appreciated having a talk about contraception and abortion which was not attempting to push a moral agenda but rather gave factual information:

‘(you)made it less daunting, like saying, don’t be scared to talk to who you need to talk to rather than saying like, I dunno, you’ll be punished and shamed’

 ‘I think when approaching the subject of abortion...you can’t be biased, like ‘abortion is completely wrong’ or ‘abortion is fun, it’s really good’ you have to be neutral, it’s neutral territory when it comes to approaching teenagers I think’

‘It’s good when you’re not really presented with ‘a viewpoint’, because a lot of the time you already have some form of viewpoint and if you just give the statistics, ...then it’s more like making up your own mind’

They were also concerned about the effect a strongly anti-abortion speaker might have on a young audience. When I asked how they would feel if a speaker used images in their talk, one young man said:

‘Doesn’t matter as long as they’re not being biased, like if they’re using it to influence...then it’s a bit unfair. Cos if there was a girl in that room for example who was pregnant she might look at that and feel awful’

It was refreshing and heartening to hear them speak so enthusiastically and sensibly about the need for a non-biased approach to abortion education, but it’s disappointing that a school which clearly had good intentions had so clearly failed to provide the students with what they needed. I’d like to think this is a blip, but all the evidence from surveys, questionnaires and anecdotes suggests it’s pretty typical.

Brook survey shows almost half of secondary school students felt that their SRE was unsatisfactory

Young women, pregnancy and domestic violence

A new study from the University of Bristol and the NSPCC represents the first UK research to focus on disadvantaged young people’s experiences of violence and control in their intimate relationships. The report gives some depressing statistics about pregnant young women and young mothers’ increased exposure to domestic violence. Two thirds of those interviewed had experienced physical violence in at least one of their relationships and nearly all reported some form of controlling behaviours from their partners.

As the report points out, ‘an increased risk of domestic violence, in both pregnancy and after birth, is something universally experienced by women, irrespective of age or disadvantage. However, a young mother’s age, alongside the social stigma associated with teenage pregnancy, profoundly impacts on young women’s ability to protect both themselves and their children’.

The Include study mentioned in the report found that ‘young women are less likely to access services than other women and have fewer resources to help them leave relationships’. Some young mothers were reluctant to leave their partner and be seen as fitting into the stereotype of a ‘young single mum’. Another concern, which we’ve also heard anecdotally from professionals working with young people is that young mothers are afraid to report domestic violence for the fear that their child(ren) may be taken away from them.

Beyond the physical violence done to women during or post-pregnancy there is research to suggest that some young women are also victims of ‘reproductive coercion’. That is to say, their ability to control the sex they have, the contraception they use or the reproductive choices they make (such as whether to continue or end a pregnancy) is controlled by a male partner. This report makes clear that ‘for some young women pregnancy was not a personal choice due to their experiences of sexual violence and coercion’. Arguably, the choice to continue a pregnancy or to have an abortion may also be one which is heavily influenced by a controlling partner.

So what can be done? The NSPCC report recommends that work is carried out which challenges negative stereotypes around teenage pregnancy and that greater awareness of the issues relating to domestic violence and young pregnant women is encouraged. The Include research found that the majority of young women were accepting of screening for domestic violence during antenatal/abortion appointments and provided this is done sensitively and with thorough training it provides a chance to pick up on any violence or coercion a young woman may be facing.

There are some great charities such as Tender delivering educational work on domestic violence to young people. This sort of work seeks to raise awareness about what domestic violence is and challenge some of the gendered and societal assumptions which can form silence and acceptance around it. At EFC we’ve long been arguing (alongside most of the young people we meet!) that more attention needs to be paid to the ‘R’ in SRE. By giving young people a better grasp of what a balanced, safe relationship looks like we give them the tools to recognise coercion, and hopefully find professional help and support should they need it.

‘Abortion: The Facts’ – A film by young people, for young people

Last week saw the final meeting of the first EFC Youth Advisory Group. Sob. Thanks so much to Kiki, Ruth, Rosa, Rachael, Sam and Zalika for being involved and making it such a success. As well as attending events and focus groups on behalf of EFC the group worked hard to produce this short film to give other young people the facts about abortion. Please watch 'Abortion: The Facts' (below and also on our YouTube page) and let us know what you think – and do pass it on to any young people/educators who might be interested! Some closing comments from the YAG follow...



Kiki: We went to an exhibition concerning sexual health at City Hall where we got freebies, leaflets and met sexual health organisations. We also created a film of some of the facts about abortion to dispel the myths around the topic. The production was good fun as we collaborated ideas and did audio snippets.

Rachael: During my time at EFC I was introduced to the different views as well as facts of abortion. Personally I feel that I have learnt valuable information not only for myself but also family and friends. By contributing to the creation of our video: ‘The Facts About Abortion’ I have learnt how important it is to encourage young people to think about the subject.

Ruth: The film project came about after us noticing the lack of decent information about abortion online – particularly in video form. YouTube is populated with sometimes misleading anti-abortion videos. Young people deserve to have the facts to make an informed choice and they need to know their rights. What I found particularly interesting when making the video was the common theme of the lack of sex education in schools which addresses abortion. Perhaps our video can help to fill this gap and even prompt a discussion about how limited sex education is in UK schools. I’d like to share the film with anyone and everyone!

Rosa: From my time at EFC, I have learnt a lot. I was one of the many without a knowledge surrounding abortion that I should have got from school. I found that a lot of things I took as truths were not at all, and I have felt better within myself and feel that my autonomy has grown as a result. The making of the film was largely good fun, at times difficult, but with a strong group around us we could always find a way to laugh whilst we worked. I’m proud of the film but I can’t help but feel sad it’s all over. This is a fantastic organisation and I have loved being involved.

Youth Advisory Group Update

You may have seen our excitable tweets about the new Youth Advisory Group here at EFC. You might even have read the excellent blogs written by our Youth Advisors Ruth and Zalika. Well, the group has been running for a couple of months now so we thought it was time for an update on the great work our young volunteers have done so far.

After an interactive training session (with lots of fruit tea!) the advisors have been using their knowledge and enthusiasm to advise us on our work as well as to create content on the topic of young people’s reproductive health. They’ve commented on a resource we’re developing, acted as ambassadors for EFC at a sexual health event and are now working on their own advocacy film about abortion. The film will bust some common myths about abortion and the group are interviewing their peers and sexual health professionals to present a range of views and experience.

Of course we’ll post the film up on our YouTube page as soon as it’s finished but for now here’s a little teaser with EFC Youth Advisor Ruth debunking the myth that abortion leads to infertility...

Caught in the net?

A recent report published by youth charity Get Connected found that 86% of under 25 year olds questioned had used the internet to search for help with a personal problem. Worryingly, more than half of these young people (53%) said that the information they found actually made them more anxious about their problem than they were before.

If you Google abortion you can see why this might be the case for a young woman looking for information about an unplanned pregnancy. As well as reliable information from sexual health agencies such as Brook, bpas, and Marie Stopes, there is an awful lot of misinformation out there. We often hear young people in our Talk About Choice sessions tell us about something they’ve read or watched online which feeds into the kind of myths we feature on this blog. Just searching using the term abortion I’ve found plenty of websites which proffer false information and graphic images related to abortion. Others present a seemingly non-judgmental, open environment for discussion of pregnancy options which, upon closer inspection, is unraveled to reveal an anti-abortion agenda, but perhaps too late for a vulnerable young woman genuinely unsure about her pregnancy.

Here at EFC we believe in presenting young people with the facts about abortion, in an unbiased manner. Only 18% of the young people questioned by Get Connected said that they would double check any information they found online with another source like a friend or parent. I worry that without proper access to genuine unbiased information about all their pregnancy options young people are at risk of reading things on the internet which simply aren’t true, or are shaped by a particular anti-abortion agenda. This isn’t to say that young people can’t be critical about what they read, but it means that we as educators, parents and professionals need to make sure we do know where to signpost for good, reliable information on abortion.

Teen Pregnancy Workers: Working Hard to Support All Young People

It’s a daunting task contacting numerous sexual health and pregnancy services for young people around England but it’s turned into an incredibly rewarding one. In order to create service audit tools for three pilot sites in England that I am working with and to learn how other services are evaluating their provision, I’ve been emailing and calling service providers, administrators and many different workers from all along the pregnancy services continuum – sex and relationships education (SRE), contraception, STI testing, and pregnancy testing services, pregnancy decision-making support, antenatal services, abortion services, and post-pregnancy contraception. Phew!

The workers I’ve spoken to all know that there won’t be much money for the vitally important prevention and support work they do. They know the Department for Education will ask local councils to decide how to cut budgets for their programmes, including teenage pregnancy. However, it’s heartening to hear from dedicated workers of their fierce commitment to implementing and maintaining the strongest sexual health and pregnancy services that they can provide for young people.

There is the UR Choice programme, a Sex and Relationships Education programme in Bradford and Airedale schools that hopes to expand into more schools. There is a great new pregnancy pathway resource used by health workers in the southeast to make sure young pregnant women have access to whatever services they need for whichever choice they make about their pregnancy. There is the robust teenage pregnancy team in the northeast that offers a number of education and health services for young people in schools, at clinics, and in other places young people are through outreach. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Our volunteer supporting this project commented on how impressed she was with the sheer number of services for young people in this country and that she wished she knew about them when she was younger (note: the definition of ‘young person’ varies from service to service, Brook accepts clients up to the age of 25 so do a bit of research before you book in; you never know, you might still be categorized as a young person!).

Despite budget cuts and a lack of public recognition, workers in teenage pregnancy services are working harder than ever and their commitment to the issue is crystal clear to me. Let’s give it up for our sexual health and teen pregnancy workers!

(We’re always keen to learn what’s going on in other parts of the country. Why not tell us what’s going on in your area in the comments section below?)