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Rachel Gambling, a Health Promotion Specialist at our all age service in Southend, talks about her career progression from podcasting at university to doing outreach work with Brook, and about her thoughts on the role of online spaces in the world of sexual health and wellbeing. When I was in my second year at the… Read more

We spoke to Jo Redding, Senior Sexual Health Nurse in Dudley, about her career journey, how her role at Brook has evolved, and why it’s so important to feel supported and valued at work. For as long as I can remember, my mum has worked in sexual health so she has been a massive influence… Read more

On 6 April PM Boris Johnson made a statement in an interview with Sky News that undermines Gillick competence and young people’s rights. Brook’s Head of Policy and public Affairs Lisa Hallgarten explains what Gillick Competence is and why it is so important. What does Gillick competence mean?  In 1985 a court ruled that a… Read more

Lisa Hallgarten, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Brook, discusses the importance of creating positive culture change by addressing the root causes of sexual violence. CW: This article describes a range of harmful sexual behaviours including sexual violence, domestic violence, and discrimination based on gender and sexuality. Five years ago in February 2017 the Children… Read more

Brook is deeply disappointed by the Government announcement that telemedicine for early abortion care in England will not be made permanent. From August this year it is intended that service providers will revert to face-to-face consultations only.   The provision of telemedicine abortion in England was approved in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, to… Read more

Helen Anderson, Digital Manager at Brook, shares her insight on Brook’s Digital Front Door Journey and overcoming the challenges of safeguarding through digital tools  Over the last 12 months we have designed, developed and implemented three new innovative digital tools that form phase one of Brook’s Digital Front Door (DFD). Our online STI testing tool our signposting… Read more

Brook experts Nick Dunne and Sarah Simons tell us what it was like to deliver a virtual RSE Lesson to 15,000 young people in celebration of LGBT+ History Month  On 9 February we delivered the UK’s biggest ever virtual RSE lesson, with 15,000 young people from over 620 schools across England and Wales tuning in… Read more

Crossline Theatre (Kara Chamberlain & Natalia Knowlton) is a London-based female-led theatre company. Their latest play, Friday Night Love Poem, highlights the impact of the 00s misogyny and over-sexualisation of virginity on Millennial and Gen Z women. Currently streaming on demand until January 22nd. Find out more.  “Nothing comforts anxiety like a little nostalgia” –… Read more

Raeena Hirve, Sexual and Reproductive Health Coordinator at Brook, discusses the links between Gender Based Violence and HIV and why work to prevent either must take both into account. [Content warning: discussion of gender based violence including rape] Gender Based Violence (GBV) describes violence that establishes, maintains or attempts to reassert unequal power relations based on gender. While… Read more

In this blog BBFC Compliance and Education Manager, Sarah Peacock, explains how the BBFC’s approach to classifications of sex on screen has changed over the years. Sex on screen, and how it’s classified, has always been a hot topic – not just for people watching at home or in the cinema – but for the… Read more

Brook Education and Wellbeing Specialist Francesca Fiennes gives some tips on how to use examples from film and TV to support education about sex and relationships. As Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) becomes mandatory after lockdowns, organisations such as Brook seek to provide specialist and professional advice to support this. A great way to start thinking about… Read more

Following the launch of Brook and Sussex University’s new report Digital Intimacies and LGBT+ Youth, 22 year-old RSHE educator Demi Whitnell reflects on their personal and professional experience of online spaces for the LGBT+ community and explains why we need to understand the importance of these space for young people. Online platforms are a double-edged sword.… Read more

For World Contraception Day, Brook’s Head of Nursing explores what it means now that the progesterone only pill is available to purchase over the counter from pharmacies. Earlier this year the progesterone only pill (POP) became available to purchase over the counter in pharmacies. This was a long overdue step – and it will improve access to contraception and help prevent… Read more

The theme of Sexual Health Week 2021 is Consent: Do You Get It? In this blog, we hear from Ethan Haw , a Brook Champion aged 19, about how limited RSE meant he had to learn about sex and consent on his own, and what he thinks RSE should include to properly equip young people with… Read more

The theme of Sexual Health Week 2021 is Consent: Do You Get It? In this blog, we hear from Toby Hollins, a Brook Champion aged 20, about how RSE could benefit from drawing on the current culture to facilitate conversations about consent. The 1980s have undoubtedly left footprints on our society: lycra, legwarmers, the biggest haircuts you’ve ever seen… Read more

The theme of Sexual Health Week 2021 is Consent: Do You Get It? In this blog, we hear from Madam Storm, International Dominatrix, writer, teacher, speaker and women’s empowerment coach about what we can learn about consent from the BDSM community. I entered the world of BDSM in my twenties and was quickly educated on… Read more

As part of Sexual Health Week 2021 we hear from Ellen Goodey, Project Support Assistant at Mencap, who explains what consent means to her and why it’s essential that information about consent is accessible for everyone. I am engaged to get married to my fiancé, as he is now. He was my boyfriend for 3… Read more

The theme for Sexual Health Week this year is Consent: Do You Get It? In this blog, 19-year-old Brook Champion Elise Perks shares her experiences of consent education at school and university, how she thinks it could be improved, and tells us why we need to normalise conversations about consent amongst our friends and family.… Read more

The theme of Sexual Health Week 2021 is Consent: Do You Get It? In this blog we hear from Jenefer Odell about what being an Intimacy Coordinator really entails, and what her work on set has taught her about consent in everyday life. Jenefer has worked as an Intimacy Coordinator since 2019 and her credits… Read more

Police and young people confirm sexual assault and harassment between young people is widespread. Police reports of thousands of sexual assaults between children, everyday experiences of harassment in schools and the increasingly ubiquitous sharing of unsolicited nudes referenced in the Panorama documentary (6/09/21) build on our existing concerns about the safety and wellbeing of young… Read more

We are celebrating 25 years of Brook Manchester. To find out more about the service and the role it has played in the city we spoke to Helen Carroll, who worked at the clinic when it first opened in the mid 1990s, and to Debbie Quinn, who has worked at Brook Manchester for the last 16 years.  When Brook opened its doors… Read more

Brook welcomes the news that the Wales education watchdog is to conduct a review of sexual harassment in schools. No young person should be subject to the behaviours described on Everyone’s Invited, particularly in schools and colleges, which should be a place where they feel safe. Sadly for many young people that is not the case, as… Read more

Sarah Simons, Participation Coordinator at Brook, talks about her experiences of youth social action during the pandemic as part of Power of Youth Day. Power of Youth Day is an annual celebration of the contributions children and young people make to society through volunteering and social action. It’s a chance to spotlight the achievements of… Read more

My Broken Vagina by Fran Bushe is one woman’s funny, moving, and sometimes awkward quest to fix her sex life. But it’s also the story of millions of women everywhere – half of all women have felt pain during sex. The below extract is taken from the introduction of the book. Introduction  My name is… Read more

Lucy Dabner and Amber Newman-Clark are Education and Wellbeing Specialists at Brook, and are in the Brook staff working group on RSE for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. In this blog, they talk about the importance of inclusive and fair RSE for disabled and neurodiverse young people. Working at Brook, we always talk about sex… Read more

Brook has been at the forefront of providing relationships and sex education, and clinical sexual and reproductive health services to young people for nearly 60 years. Brook staff are experts in safeguarding young people and educating them about consent, the law, and how to achieve healthy, enjoyable and safe relationships on and offline. What is… Read more

Brook Education and Wellbeing Specialist, Ramoya Randall, explains 5 top tips for teaching puberty to young people in an inclusive and effective way. As many of us are aware, puberty is a roller-coaster of changes that everyone experiences. This can be particularly overwhelming for young people if they are uninformed, especially as the speed that these changes happen will… Read more

Brook Education and Wellbeing Specialist, Elyssa Rider, explains why puberty education plays a fundamental role in equipping young people to navigate healthy relationships with themselves and their bodies as well as with others around them. Puberty education is arguably foundational to most other sex and relationships education topics. It encompasses not only body changes and… Read more

As part of National HIV Testing Week, Brook’s Assistant Director of Operations Jackie Redding discusses the hit Channel 4 show and reflects on her own work as an HIV counsellor in the 1980s. Within the first half hour of episode one of It’s a Sin, I was fully invested in the lives of the protagonists. I cared about what happened to them and I was routing… Read more

Megan Chambers is a Contraception and Sexual Health Nurse for Brook in Cornwall. She shares her journey of having various health and social care jobs before deciding to work in sexual health. Back in school, I was never sure what I wanted to do, I’d always been the “mother” of the friendship group, caring and… Read more

Trans young people must be reassured that the judgment in Bell v Tavistock does not affect their right to sexual and reproductive healthcare. The judgment in the Bell v Tavistock judicial review has caused significant distress to those Trans young people receiving and seeking treatment with puberty blockers. The clinical staff supporting them at the… Read more

Amber Newman-Clark, Education & Wellbeing Specialist for Brook in London, works hard every day to challenge stigma around sex and sexuality so that young people feel empowered to take control of their own lives. This is a week in Amber’s shoes… Why I do what I do   The message that sex, bodies and certain aspects of… Read more

Brook’s Assistant Director of Business Support, Sally Hutchings, explains how Brook’s four core values – collaborative, trailblazing, courageous and trustworthy – underpinned every stage of development of our bold 2020-23 Strategic Plan. Brook wants a society where all young people are free to be themselves. In order to make this a reality, we believe that our services must be… Read more

As we all adjust to these new ways of living, Brook’s Let’s Talk. Period team in Liverpool, give some practical advice for parents and carers on how to use this time to have important conversations with young people. Written by Education and Wellbeing Specialists Jenny Gilchrist and Emma-Louise Kemp, with support from Education and Wellbeing… Read more

Brook’s Chief Executive Helen Marshall celebrates the rapid response of Brook staff, and calls for a better support package for third sector frontline services at this critical time.

Education and Wellbeing Specialist, Lota Bantić, explains why teaching young people about consent and pleasure is an essential component of Relationships and Sex Education, and gives some tips for if you’re approaching these topics for the first time.