Lipstick Lesbian Catch

^{Who’s Voting for the Best Sex Ed for Queer Women?}

^{Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) in UK schools is "not good enough" says Ofsted, but we, as queer women, already knew that.}

^{Few of us need to be told about the gap in our education system that fails to cover much outside of 'how not to get pregnant', and an incomplete assortment of STI’s. Even if you were lucky enough to receive a more comprehensive education, it is almost guaranteed that the SRE you sat through was not LGBTI-inclusive.}

^{The campaign to get better SRE in UK schools is on-going. Last year, an open letter was written by Cliff Joannou, the editor of QX magazine, and the National AIDS Trust (NAT) to David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, as part of the #SameSexSRE campaign, calling for them to commit to making comprehensive and LGBTI-inclusive Sex and Relationships Education statutory in all English schools. This letter was signed by 28 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans* and Intersex (LGBTI) individuals, charities, allies and organisations.}

^{Since then, the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties have committed to statutory, age-appropriate SRE in their manifestoes, which includes “content” on same-sex relationships, should they come into power. The Conservative party however, have not. Whilst they acknowledged the importance of PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education), they ignored the request for SRE to be LGBTI inclusive, with David Cameron’s response being that “Schools should consider the needs of their pupils, which differ from school to school…”.}

^{In effect, David Cameron believes schools should be able to choose whether they acknowledge and accommodate the presence of LGBTI young people in their classes, or not. The real life consequences of this being that, based on a postcode lottery, thousands of LGBTI young people will leave school without the information they need to make safe, informed decisions when it comes to having sex and getting into relationships.} 

^{The message this gets across, to the LGBTI individuals and their classmates, is that LGBTI sex and relationships are not important, not relevant, and not "normal". Whilst others in the class may enjoy having their desires and feelings validated, those who can't relate to their heteronormative and gendernormative educations can be left feeling shame and embarrassment. Reinforcing the ignorance and confusion that is often also found outside the classroom means that these pupils are more likely to bully, and be bullied.}

^{According to the National AIDS trust,}   

^{“Across the board LGBTI young people have worse sexual health than heterosexual people. In fact HIV diagnoses amongst young gay men have doubled over the past ten years. Worryingly one in three 16-24 year olds report they don’t know enough to prevent HIV transmission during sex”.}

^{This scary fact is actually not that surprising considering, for those who don't get SRE at school or for those whose SRE is limited, then porn, the internet or their peers (with all their inconsistencies and inaccuracies) become the next port of call - that is, of course, if they have access to any of these things at all. On top of this, many young people do not bother to look for information on safer sex unless it is actively given to them, because ultimately, they don't think they're at risk.}

^{This is especially true for lesbian and bisexual girls and women. Last year, staff and volunteers (including myself), from the LGBT Foundation (formerly the LGF) in Manchester spoke to lesbian and bisexual women about their knowledge of safe sex and sexual health. The vast majority (over 70%) hadn't heard of dental dams, weren't sure of how to use toys safely, and were completely unaware as to how HIV can be transmitted between women. Again, this is not at all surprising when, in a different survey, not a single one of the women asked had received SRE whilst at school that covered sex between women.}

^{So as queer women, what do we do when our education system lets us down? Well, the answer might be nothing: there is a myth going around that STIs can't be transmitted between women! On top of this, if and when you do catch something, the information you receive from your GP might be equally inconclusive.}

^{That was my experience: my GP admitted that she couldn't tell me confidently which STIs I was at risk of catching, and advised that the best thing to do was just not to use toys. Luckily, I found a really informative blog that taught me the multiple ways I could keep safe, and still keep all my toys (that's regular washing and religious condom-using, if you're still in the dark).}

^{The arguments against not giving school pupils age-appropriate, comprehensive, LGBTI-inclusive SRE include the suggestions that it's just "teaching children how to have gay sex", that it's going to encourage more pupils to have sex at an earlier age, and that it's going to make being LGBT more common (and acceptable – god forbid).}

^{To the first I say, take note of the "age-appropriate" request in the campaign. Nobody that is seriously campaigning on this issue is asking for anything different. Effective SRE needs to reach young people before they have sex, so yes, primary schools should participate. However, what "age-appropriate" means is that initially, it would focus on things such as personal boundaries, safety and friendships.}

^{To the second: no evidence actually exists that indicates SRE encourages people to have sex quicker, in fact, there is a substantial amount of research to show the opposite: it delays a person's first time, possibly because they feel more in control of their body, boundaries and are more aware of the risks.}

^{And to the third, my personal favourite, I say "good". If inclusive SRE means that those individuals, who are actually going to be LGBTI whether you like it or not, feel less "abnormal" and "unnatural", and more accepted, understood, prepared and safe, then that is an improvement on the current state of things.}

^{Refusing to give all pupils age-appropriate SRE that speaks to them, and covers topics such as consent, porn and the internet, sexual violence and unhealthy relationships, is both dangerous, and an act of discrimination.}

^{In conjunction with the #SameSexSRE campaign, I created a petition that makes the essential request of comprehensive, age-appropriate, LGBTI inclusive SRE to be statutory in all English schools. I invite you to please offer your support by signing and sharing it. In addition, if you want to do more in line with Voting season, please pester your local MP to remember to make any improvements to SRE, LGBTI inclusive.}

^{The reality is that even if Labour or the Lib Dems get into Government this year, there is no guaranteeing that the promised improvements to SRE will actually be made. In addition to this, the likelihood is that the improvements will not include accurate information on Trans* and Intersex identities. If this is the case, more campaigning will have to be done, but please offer your support in advance by sending a letter to your MP, signing and sharing the petition, use the #SameSexSRE on social media sites, or just by making people aware that our LGBTI community is currently being ignored within the Education system as a whole.}

^{For more information on how to support the campaign CLICK HERE}