Monday, 8 May, 2006
Public Health Minister, Caroline Flint, will be the keynote speaker at a one-day Brook conference entitled Confident about Confidentiality? Working with sexually active young people, taking place at the King’s Fund on Tuesday 27 June 2006.
The conference will examine what the revised Working Together To Safeguard Children guidance means for professionals who work with sexually active young people; how can they use it to help them make decisions in the best interests of young people; and how can they influence the way the guidance is implemented in their area.
For more details download a flyer and booking form for this event.
Thursday, 6 April, 2006
Brook welcomed the fact that the new Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance does not require professionals to automatically pass on information about sexually active young people to social services or police purely on grounds of age.
Jan Barlow said:
"The Working Together guidance makes it clear that decisions about whether to share information about a young person should always be based on an assessment of that individual's situation, and that this also applies when the young person is under 13. Confidentiality should only be breached where a young person is at risk of serious harm and cannot be persuaded to agree to a referral being made."
Read the full press release here.
Wednesday, 8 February, 2006
Coronation Street actors Richard Fleeshman and Helen Flanagan are backing Brook’s Wise Up! campaign to promote and protect young people’s rights to confidential sexual health advice and services.
Richard and Helen’s teenage Coronation Street characters, Craig Harris and Rosie Webster, are involved in a relationship and recently visited a doctor for advice about contraception. However, Rosie’s parents, Sally and Kevin, refuse to accept the relationship and are trying to split the young couple up.
Speaking in the run-up to Contraceptive Awareness Week 2006 (13-17 February), Richard and Helen said:
“Rosie and Craig’s situation shows why it’s so important for teenagers to know they have a right to confidential advice about things like contraception. Some young people don’t feel they can talk to their parents or carers about sex and relationships. They need to know where they can turn for information and advice from someone else they can trust.
“That’s why we support Brook’s Wise Up! campaign to protect and promote young people’s rights to confidential sexual health advice.”
Read the full press release here.
Monday, 23 January, 2006
Brook welcomed the decision in the judicial review of the Department of Health’s guidance for professionals on sexual health advice for under-16s. Jan Barlow said:
“This decision upholds the guidance that health professionals have been following for 20 years. I very much hope that we can now draw a line under the unhelpful debate about whether young people should be able to get confidential sexual health advice.
“What matters is ensuring young people can get the information and support they need; and we know that confidentiality is their top concern when they want advice on sexual health issues."
Read the full press release here.
Tuesday, 10 January, 2006
Brook has published the findings of an opinion poll which reveals massive public support for confidential sex and relationships advice services, with 94% of people agreeing that young people who don’t feel able to talk to their parents about sex and relationships should be able to get confidential information and advice elsewhere.
More information about that opinion poll is available here.
Bliss magazine is supporting Brook’s campaign as part of its own ‘Be Sexy Be Sussed’ campaign and has included a feature about confidentiality in its February issue. Bliss has also featured the campaign on its website and is now inviting readers to sign up to the campaign to protect confidential sexual health advice for young people. We look forward to hearing more about the views of the magazine’s readers.
Thursday, 15 December, 2005
Action on Rights for Children (ARCH) has published a legal opinion on the protocols on working with sexually active young people adopted in Sheffield and London, which was commissioned on behalf of the coalition of organisations ARCH has convened, including Brook. The decision heavily criticises the protocols, stating that they are likely to be in breach of the Human Rights Act; do not include adequate safeguards about access to the information held by different agencies, including the police; and leave ‘little or no scope for the exercise of professional judgment’. More details about that legal opinion are available here. Brook's response is available here.
Friday, 4 November 2005
Statements of support have been received from the Royal College of General Practitioners, Get Connected and Ashton, Leigh and Wigan Primary Care Trust as well as individual practitioners. Read their statements of support here.
The Early Day Motion has attracted the support of 45 MPs so far.
Monday, 24 October 2005
An Early Day Motion in support of the campaign has been tabled in the House of Commons by Stephen Williams MP. (An Early Day Motion is a kind of petition that MPs can sign). Other signatories include Dr Phyllis Starkey, Danny Alexander, Julia Goldsworthy, Annette Brooke and Tim Farron.
EDM 829 Confidentiality of Sexual Health Advice for Young People says:
That this House commends the new campaign “Wise Up! Your rights on sexual health” launched by Brook, the sexual health charity for young people, which aims to protect young people’s right to confidentiality in discussing matters of sexual health; notes that this campaign is supported by organisations including the British Medical Association, the General Medical Council, the Royal College of Nursing and the National Youth Agency; further notes that a recent survey by Brook found that 64% of young people, and 74% of young people under 16, said they would be less likely to seek advice on sexual health issues if they knew that health workers could pass on information about underage sexual activity to social workers; recognises that doctors can already breach confidentiality to protect young people from sexual abuse but that any plans to make it compulsory to share information about the sexual activity of young people will be a strong disincentive for young people to receive sexual health advice and services, which could lead to a large increase in the number of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections; and urges the government to protect the right to confidentiality for all young people discussing matters of sexual health.
We are pleased that we have also received statements of support from ChildLine, Education for Choice and agony aunt Dr Petra Boynton. Read their statements of support here.
Wednesday, 19 October 2005
Brook's new campaign Wise Up! Your rights on sexual health was launched. A launch event held at the Houses of Parliament was attended by a wide range of organisations and individuals with an interest in sexual health and youth issues.
A press release was also issued to national and specialist media, resulting in coverage in the Guardian, the Times, the Mirror and the Daily Mail, and on the BBC website.
The British Medical Association also issued a press release backing Brook's campaign, in which Dr Michael Wilks, Chairman of the BMA’s Ethics Committee said:
"The BMA is backing Brook’s campaign as we are extremely concerned about guidance that could threaten the trust young people have in doctors. Although confidentiality is not absolute, and can be breached where there is a risk of serious harm, mandatory reporting of non-abusive relationships threatens the trust that underpins the relationship between doctors and patients...
"If the goal of mandatory reporting is to identify potential abuse the policy is self-defeating – all young people, including those who are being abused will refuse to talk to health professionals."
The other organisations who have already signed up to support the campaign are: the General Medical Council, the Royal College of Nursing, the UK Youth Parliament, the National Youth Agency, Action on Rights for Children, the fpa, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care. Read their statements of support here.
