{"id":696,"date":"2012-07-14T10:54:09","date_gmt":"2012-07-14T10:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.better2know.co.uk\/?p=696"},"modified":"2024-02-26T16:01:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T16:01:49","slug":"brook-and-fpa-sexual-health-under-renewed-and-sustained-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/brook-and-fpa-sexual-health-under-renewed-and-sustained-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"“Sexual health under renewed and sustained attack”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a joint statement on the Family Planning Summit being held in London today, Simon Blake CEO of Brook and Julie Bentley CEO of FPA said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe the Family Planning Summit is extremely important. And we are delighted that the government has committed investment and resources to international family planning. However, we are also conscious that at this time of great UK leadership within the international community, sexual health in the UK is under renewed and sustained attack, the likes of which haven\u2019t been seen in over a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday in England, there are London boroughs where women are restricted in accessing contraception. Intimidation and harassment of women visiting abortion services is increasing, with abhorrent vigils and pickets outside clinics. On top of this there is hysterical and ill-informed condemnation of good quality, appropriate sex and relationships education resources. This generates unnecessary concern among parents, and scares professionals from using resources in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven more absurd, in Northern Ireland – part of the UK – most women are not entitled to access abortion services. And those that need an abortion have to pay for one themselves. This is despite being subject to the same taxes as people in the rest of the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is of course crucial that the UK government plays its part in supporting sexual and reproductive choices on a global level. The best way to do this is to set an example of excellence in the UK. We urge the UK Government to put its own house in order and ensure that the progress made to improve sexual health outcomes in recent years is sustained through this period of great change in health and education systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brook and FPA are issuing this statement in reaction to the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Restricted access to contraception<\/strong><\/p>\n

The report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health in the UK (APPG) Inquiry into restrictions in access to contraception services found that restrictions included:<\/p>\n