Are you ready for sexual health awareness week? It’s only around the corner

Sexual Health Awareness Week (SHAW) starts on May 28 and it aims to open up the public's eyes to the dangers of unarmed frontline warfare, and some other serious issues.

Sexual Health Awareness Week (aka. SHAW) is being run by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) and the awareness campaign will include public meetings, debates and workshops which will take place in the College on Kildare Street, Dublin. Better yet, it’s all free and open to the public. Sounds pretty good to us.

It’s not just about learning to wrap up when 'docking the space station'. Some SHAW events will deal with very topical sexual health issues, such as choice in contraceptive provision, skills for parents when talking to their children about sex, the age of consent for sexual activity, transgender patient issues and care for victims of rape and sexual assault. So there’s some fairly hard-hitting issues talked about too.

Dr Stephanie O’Keeffe, Director of the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme and one of the lead coordinators of SHAW, said, “Sexual Health Awareness Week promotes the message that sexual health is not just about the prevention of crisis pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

“Sexual health and behaviours are a universal component of human development and wellbeing and it is central to relationship and family formation, community development and sustainability.

“I am delighted to see so many statutory and community groups participating in SHAW, highlighting the broad range of issues central to positive sexual health in Ireland.”

So if you’re in the area on the week of May 28 why not pop into the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland? You never know what you might learn.

For more on SHAW click here.