by Vithya Murugan @vithyamurugan Defined as a systematic, repetitive pattern of manipulative behavior used in order to gain and maintain power and control over a current or former partner/spouse, intimate partner violence (IPV) includes physical, sexual, psychological and/or financial abuse. Each year in the United States, 7 million women experience IPV.1 The experience of IPV […]
Latest articles
BDSM Consent in Non-BDSM Sex
By Kayla Beare In a post-#MeToo world, the need for a clear-cut and comprehensive definition of sexual consent has become a topic of conversation for many. The BDSM community is often said to be ahead of the curve in having this conversation, and there is much that can be learnt from this community. BDSM, an […]
Questioning Colonial Legacies in Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Interventions
by Kayla Beare Contraception has improved the lives of countless since entering the mainstream in the 1960s. However, like most facets of sexual and reproductive health, contraception is imbued in a history of colonialism. As someone who was born and raised in a previously colonised country, the presence of colonial legacies in global health have […]
Transforming abortion access beyond the pandemic: patient experiences with at-home medical abortion through telemedicine in Australia
By Laura Fix,1 Jane W Seymour,1 Monisha Vaid Sandhu,2 Jacquie O’Brien,2 Catriona Melville,2 Danielle Mazza,3 Terri-Ann Thompson1 Telemedicine delivery of medical abortion is common and safe In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has emerged as key to sustaining access to essential reproductive health care services. Medical abortion care provided via telemedicine has been […]
Hormones and Lesbians: What We Still Don’t Know
by Catherine Meads With all the talk of love drugs and sex hormones influencing how people feel and behave, or even who they love or feel that they are (for example, in cross-sex hormone trans debates), we thought it would be worthwhile re-examining the evidence on differences of sex hormones in female sexual orientation. Our systematic […]
How to include the perspectives of women living with HIV in research
By Florence Anam1, Cecilia Chung2, Teresia Otieno3, Martha Tholanah4, Alice Welbourn5 As the 23rd international AIDS conference nears, we reflect once more on what it takes to ensure that issues facing women living with HIV are adequately addressed, especially in the context of COVID-19 and increased rates of domestic violence globally. We know how violence […]
The ethics of State-sponsored and clinical promotion of long-acting reversible contraception
By Dr Jeffrey Wale & Professor Sam Rowlands, Bournemouth University @rowlands999 @bournemouthuni Global responses to the Covid-19 pandemic offer a good opportunity to re-examine the role of State actors (policymakers, regulatory bodies, clinical commissioning groups, service providers) and healthcare professionals in the promotion of health-related behaviours. Just how far should healthcare professionals go in promoting, […]
Understanding the new normal: your chance to submit evidence to the Inquiry into Access to Contraception
By Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP The ‘new normal’ is a phrase we’re hearing a lot at the moment. The Cross-Party Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health in the UK needs you to help shape a ‘new normal’ for access to contraception after the pandemic. We were formerly the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and […]
Vaginal Examinations, Consent & COVID-19
By Anna Nelson (@Anna_Nelson95) As with all aspects of the NHS, a number of changes have been enacted in the operation of maternity services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many of these changes are important and justifiable in order to protect the safety of pregnant people, maternity staff and newborns, it is […]
Signposting patients to sexual health online – don’t forget the health (or the sex)
Dr Julia Bailey, University College London eHealth Unit @juliavbailey The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted an unprecedented shift to remote health services as a response to social distancing for patient and practitioner safety. Sexual health clinic capacity has been cut as staff have been deployed to other parts of the health service, and patients are now […]