Consultations with young people have been key to creating a campaign addressing the sexual health issues of young people in rural Victoria wanting to know more about privacy and confidentiality, STI tests, contraception, pregnancy options and abortion.
In 2019 the Youth Affairs Council Victoria and youth workers across rural Victoria recognised a gap in knowledge in the young people they work with and recommended developing a campaign to help them make positive and educated choices around sexual health and contraception.
So, amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, The University of Melbourne’s Centre for Excellence in Rural Sexual Health (CERSH), Women’s Health Victoria’s 1800 My Options and the SHOUT Working Party teamed up to develop this sexual health promotion campaign, targeted at young people living in rural/regional Victoria. The Be Proud of Your Choices campaign delivers positive messages to young people about taking the time to talk about their sexual health and contraception needs.
The campaign messages have been generated by conversations with the young people, via a series of focus groups held over Zoom, during the first Victorian coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown period. Two young people facilitated the groups and recruited attendees with the help of Youth Affairs Council Victoria and rural council youth officers. Existing sexual health posters and videos were critiqued and resulted in a series of six, short and snappy clips that address the key issues young people told us they want to know about going for a sexual health check-up, contraception and pregnancy options.
The clips are being shared on the 1800 My Options Facebook and Instagram accounts and all campaign resources, including free downloadable posters, are available at the campaign website. Rural workers who engage with young people are invited to order FREE campaign packs to promote the message to young people in their community.
Does your organisation have any other ideas to promote this campaign or need support to engage young people in your area? Go to the website for all the campaign resources or contact Bree Attwood from CERSH for more information about the campaign.