Youth Programmes & Events
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Marie Stopes International presented at the 19th RYDON conference for youth workers and people who work with young people. The workshop, titled "Let's talk about sex - online" overviewed the sextxt service and looked at how online market research was conducted with youth to assess the success of the campaign. |
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Sex on the Mind?This month, students studying at universities and tafes in WA and Victoria will have sex on the mind - that is, safe sex! Following on from our contribution to O-Week activities across the country, Marie Stopes International has launched a major sexual health poster campaign aimed at raising awareness of sexual health amongst the younger population of Australia. The campaign will initially run in WA and Victoria only with the rest of the Sates to follow in coming months. If you would like a poster sent to you or any other sexual health resources, please send an email containing your name, organisation, contact details (including postal address) to publications@mariestopes.com.au |
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O-Week 2008This year, Marie Stopes International joined first-time tertiary students to celebrate Orientation Week at universities and tafes across Australia.Students were offered sexual health advice as well as a goodie-bag full of comprehensive sexual health information and condoms. |
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As Australia’s leading sexual and reproductive healthcare provider, we understand how vitally important it is for young people to have easy access to relevant and meaningful information and advice on sex, contraception and STIs. |
Would you like our youth co-ordinator to speak about sex education at your school? Call 03 9658 7525 |
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One in ten sexually active young Australians say they did not use any form of contraception the last time they had sex (1) and recent years have seen an alarming increase in the number of STIs reported among this age group in particular with Chlamydia notifications hitting an all time high (2). With statistics like these, it is more important than ever that young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their sexual health and that they are given the means to do so. That is why Marie Stopes International believes in providing young people with unbiased and factual information about contraception and disease prevention so that they can make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health, whether they are sexually active or not. |
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Marie Stopes International runs two main youth education platforms in Australia - likeitis and sextxt™.
The likeitis website is designed to educate teens on sexual health issues and help reduce the rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
likeitis provides straightforward information to address all of these areas, using language that resonates with young people.
Developed, written and designed in consultation with young people, likeitis provides teenagers with access to information on sex education and teenage life, covering areas ranging from puberty to contraception.
The likeitis website is proud to have Neighbours actress, Caitlin Stasey and Australian women’s surf champion, Jessi Miley-Dyer as ambassadors.
The latest addition to likeitis is the 'Love Bugs Battle' computer game which aims to tackle rising sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates among young Australians by reinforcing the importance of condom usage and safer sex.
For more information, visit www.likeitis.org.au
Sextxt™is a revolutionary text messaging service which allows young people to receive instant and accurate sexual health information direct to their mobile phones. It offers advice on everything from pregnancy through to sexually transmitted infections.
Users sms “sexinfo” to 19 SEXTXT (19 739898) and receive an immediate reply asking them to select a topic they’d like more information on. For example text “A1 for the morning after pill”.
Additional info on sex and sexual health is available from the sextxt™ website.
To support these initiatives, a number of promotional items are available which include likeitis and sextxt postcards and condoms. Please go to the Resources section of this website to see copies of the likeitis and sextxt postcards. If you are interested in obtaining these promotional materials for distribution at youth events or youth clubs, please send an email to publications@mariestopes.com.au or contact our Youth Co-ordinator on 03 9658 7525.
If you would like a representative from Marie Stopes International to come to your school and speak about likeitis and sextxt or sexual health in general please email us at info@mariestopes.com.au or contact our Youth Co-ordinator on 03 9658 7525.
Notes
(1) Results from the Australian Study of Health and Relationships indicate that in 2002, around
1 in 10 sexually active young people in Years 10 and 12 did not use any contraception at the last
sexual encounter (9% for males and 10% for females).
(2) Chlamydia notifications hit a record high of 47,104[2] in 2006, over half of which were amongst the 15-24 year old age group.
