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Useful Fact

From the NSW Agency of Clinical Innovation, these short animations help young people learn how to find a general practitioner and the process for getting a referral for new services or specialists.

Young people can learn about what to look for in a general practitioner and what questions to ask as they transition to adult healthcare and understand the process of referrals to specialist health professionals as they transition to adult healthcare.

Instagram Highlight

Condoms are the best protection to prevent unplanned pregnancy AND STIs. Condoms and the contraceptive pill can be used together!🤝🙌😘
👉@familyplanningnsw has some great info on contraception and protection!

📸@choose_jonny

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Campaign & Events

The first major TV advert in 40 years about HIV aired in Scotland. The film was informed by Scottish Government funded research from YouGov into attitudes and beliefs about HIV in Scotland and produced by Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity.

New research found worryingly low levels of knowledge about HIV. Just one third (35%) of people in Scotland would be happy to kiss someone living with HIV, despite it being known since the 1980s that HIV can’t be passed on through saliva.

The data also shows almost half (46%) of people in Scotland would be ashamed to tell other people they were HIV positive – demonstrating just how stigmatised a condition HIV remains today.

A lack of knowledge about how much progress has been made in the fight against HIV in the last 40 years is also clear in the data, with just a third of Scots aware that people living with HIV and on effective treatment can’t pass it on to partners.

Last year, the number of heterosexuals newly diagnosed with HIV was higher than in gay and bisexual men in Scotland for the first time in 15 years, according to the latest data from Public Health Scotland. Which is why it is important for everyone to know the realities of HIV and remove barriers to getting tested.

The reason why stigma is now more harmful than HIV is because of the huge medical progress in treating HIV. Treatment works by suppressing levels of HIV in the blood to undetectable levels, which means the immune system is protected from damage and HIV cannot be passed on to partners. But a lack of knowledge about this progress fuels stigma, negatively impacts people living with HIV and makes others too scared to get tested.

Know Your Websites

How do I see a doctor without my parents?

There are no laws that stop you from seeing the doctor without your parents or guardians. However, if you plan on going alone, you should contact the doctors’ office beforehand to confirm you want the appointment to be kept private.

While you can see a doctor without your parents or guardians, a doctor can only give you medical treatment (e.g prescribe you medication) if you give informed consent (except in emergencies where it is necessary to save your life or prevent serious damage to your health). Before you can give your consent to medical treatment, the doctor must make sure you understand the medical advice they have given you, the consequences of any treatment and any alternative treatments that may be available. 

You can also choose to have someone else come to a doctor’s appointment with you for support. This might be a friend, or another family member.

Youth Law Australia answers more questions about young people’s rights at the doctor such as: When can I consent to medical treatment? How do I keep my medical treatment private? How do I pay for medical treatment? What is Medicare?

Who are?

SANE is the leading national mental health organisation for people with complex mental health issues in Australia and for the families and friends that support them.

SANE is unique in their focus on supporting people who experience complex mental health issues, trauma and supporting the mental health of those who are autistic and people with an intellectual disability.

They provide a range of free digital and telehealth support services to bridge the gaps in mental health and support recovery including our peer support, counselling, community forums, peer-led groups, art and social groups and information resources.

On the Blog 

What makes you blush

It’s the middle of a conversation and suddenly if you feel heat in your cheeks, you are blushing! Toes may be curling and skin also tingling, but the glowing cheeks are a giveaway. The dictionary defines blushing as: a reddening of the face especially from shame, modesty, or confusion.

So, what makes you blush? Go on, tell us!

It was a lunchtime conversation with an external partner from a Non-Government Organization (NGO) last year that really got us thinking about this. Over lunch, the conversation led to books, and never missing a moment to self-promote, we casually dropped in our “What We’re Reading” library page. Whilst scanning the fabulous books in our collection, our NGO partner said “Oh em gee, those titles make me blush!”

Look, we get it. Talking about sexual health, relationships, vulvas, penises, anal sex and condoms could make you blush and we talk about it every day, so we’re used to it.

Still blushing? But why?

Read the whole blog.

Resource

Why sound heals

We can feel it when we turn on the radio and our favourite song happens to be playing, or when we sit quietly and listen to the rain.

There is a palpable peace when we are absorbed in quiet and a different kind of rejuvenation when we hear the wind in the trees.

There is no doubt that sound has subtle, but profound effects on our body, minds and spirits. How exactly does sound work, though, to heal us?

Read the whole article here.

Diary Dates

Thanks to all our fab On The Couch webinar guests in 2024 watch or listen to the episodes HERE.

Great new line up of guests in 2025 will be coming soon.

Complete free modules about sexual & reproductive health in your own time.