Sexual Health Awareness Week plagued by low attendance

Week 8 saw the first Sexual Health Awareness Week (SHAW) descend on campus, with a wide range of events aimed at educating and engaging students about the importance of sexual health.

Participants were invited to attend a variety of lectures, workshops and film viewings, free of charge. Students also worked with societies such as Warwick PRIDE and People and Planet to bring fresh perspectives to the topic of sexual health. The organisers hoped to appeal to the entire student body and get as wide a turnout as possible.

The _Boar_ spoke to Francesca Doggart, a fourth-year student and member of People and Planet, who organised “A Birthday Party for the Forgotten Children”, an informal and informative event about HIV/AIDS and the lack of universal access to treatment.

The “birthday party” was a “creatively themed” event. Along with their birthday cake and party bags, attendees received the shocking fact that 90 percent of children living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, half of whom will not survive to see their second birthday. The juxtaposition of light-hearted games of pass the parcel and the sobering data made this a party to remember.

While those who went to the event benefited from the experience, the _Boar_ counted only 13 people in the room, including the organisers. The issue of low attendance was echoed by two of the NHS workers who were on campus running the Chlamydia testing clinic throughout the week. Danielle Brown and Bianca Bhika said they were “disappointed” with the low turnout. By mid-week, only 38 people had submitted samples for testing, with the number rising to just 88 by the end of the week. Given that one in twelve people in Coventry have chlamydia, and the fact that the infection goes undetected in about 80 percent of women and 50 percent of men, the apparent lack of interest or willingness of students was discouraging.

Bhika said that students had no excuse to neglect their sexual health, stressing that “a trip to the clinic should not be seen as being any different from going to see the dentist or optician”. Although volunteers at Monday’s “Top Pee” managed to get 106 people to submit urine samples for testing, and 322 students underwent full screenings throughout the week, the numbers are still disappointing considering the thousands of students who are on campus every day.

Francesca Piddlesdon, a Warwick graduate who was heavily involved in the organisation of SHAW expressed her mixed feelings about how the week had gone. While inspired by her experience with SHAW to pursue a career in this arena, she was “sometimes disappointed by the turn-out”, suggesting that the issue of attendance could be attributed partly to bad timing. As SHAW was placed directly between PRIDE and RAG weeks, and clashed with Palestine Week, the “gay community and charity-motivated students – two groups that are more supporting and compassionate about sexual health campaigning were exhausted or busy in preparation.”

The Students’ Union’s Welfare Officer, Sami Wannell, suggested the lack of adequate publicity as a reason for the low turn-out, listing this as being an area of improvement for future events. However, despite some disappointments, the dominant sentiment of all involved with SHAW was one of incredible accomplishment, with optimism, determination, and “plenty of scope to improve and make the week more vital for students” in years to come.