The Red Knob

Well, next week is sexual health week – an invention of those arbiters of sexual health, the fpa? Whilst it would be boorish (who, us?) to knock the earnestness of the fpa and sexual health week – and any of the other campaigns that are run pre-Christmas, St Valentine’s Day and whenever the whim takes whichever godfairy of sexual health dreams up these things, please can someone up there take a reality check.

Anyone involved in sexual health knows that this is something we should be raising the profile of everyday – not expending time, money and energy on a sincere, but ineffectual  week of media mummery  that may make some people feel as though they’re doing a worthwhile job – but begs a question as to whether it will make one single young man, or whover the well-intentioned campaign’s aimed at cap their knob-end with a condom. Possibly that’s the point – letting the taxpayer and HM Government believe that money is being well-spent (is it?), then putting away the campaign materials until they can come out of mothballs and be rolled out for the next  media-fest…  OK, perhaps we are being somewhat mischevious here ( someone has to…) We know the campaigns act as ‘reminders’, and yes we do need to raise the profile of sexual health – but throughout the year (which of course, any sexual health bod worth their salt does anyway), not just at those times when the fpa imagine that people are going to have sex (wow, it’s sexual health week – I’d better have sex then…doh )

If we are going to have a sexual health week, please can whoever decides these things move it to early summer. Why? Perhaps it has not been noticed, but most people have gone away on their hols by the first week of August, so any intention of profile-raising to the young, sun, sea and Club Newquay ravers will be lost  – well, unless you’re running an event on Fistral Beach, which brings me around to the point that all sexual health work should be targeted at specific populations – where they are, rather than blunderbuss national campaigns that miss the point and target populations, but I digress as usual…So, getting back to the point, yes we know that each year’s campaign has a theme – and no one should decry the theme of this (or any) year’s campaign, but during the summer months when torrid couplings (blimey, oo’er) take place  under upturned boats, amongst the sand dunes,  in the long grass, on the riverbank, and up the alley with Sally at the side of Woolworths, or wherever the damp British summer heat takes you, shouldn’t we really be making the population whose hormone levels are surging,  in search of sex,  and most at-risk – ie the young, aware of the implications of unprotected sex prior to heading for Bracklesham Bay or the airport and Falaraki?

Yes, let’s have a themed week if we have to have one (re this year’s campaign –  there aren’t enough good resources around to work with people with Learning Disabilities) but let’s also make it earlier in the summer so that we can tie work in with work with young people. Unless it’s in the context of sensationalised reporting around rising teenage pregnancy or STI figures, it’s hard enough sometimes to get the media to take notice of sexual health work – we’re often on the back-foot; campaign weeks – if run at the right time give us a chance of getting our point across in a proactive way. The timing of sexual health week needs to be changed. Perhaps someone could set a shining (hint, hint if you know what I cryptically mean…) example? How about an online petition for sexual health workers to sign, how about a campaign…

Every day in every way – make today your Red Knob day!

Filed under: Events, News, Op Ed