A Year in Review from Brook’s CEO

In this blog Brook’s Chief Executive Helen Marshall, and our Chair Dame Sally Dicketts, proudly reflect on the strides we’ve made in our mission to ensure that excellent sexual health, mental health, and wellbeing are recognised as fundamental rights for all. 

In 1964 Helen Brook sparked a revolution when she provided unmarried women with access to contraception for the first time. In the 61 years since then, hundreds of thousands of people have benefited from our compassionate clinical care, as well as our inclusive, non-judgmental education programmes. Our work has not only helped equip people to better manage their wellbeing, but has transformed wider societal attitudes towards sex, relationships and identity. 

This is an incredible legacy that we work tirelessly to uphold.

In the past year, we have supported 1.44 million people and, through our innovative digital solutions, we are making our services more accessible than ever with 57% of our clinical users now accessing online provision. And we remain committed to finding new and creative ways to reach young people in the online spaces they already occupy with our TikTok content providing a beacon of reliable and relatable knowledge.    

We recognise stigma as a key driver of health inequality and, in 2024, we launched our Heavy Talk campaign to help normalise conversations about heavy periods, while our Big Period Lesson reached over 65,000 young people and teachers. We continue to collaborate with brands, corporate supporters and influencers to fight stigma and challenge inequality. 

We are proud of our initiatives to help tackle sexual violence.

In Wales, we have delivered education sessions addressing pornography, misogyny and gender stereotypes, while our new Bystander Intervention course for universities provides students and staff with practical strategies to challenge harassment on campus.

In Thurrock, we launched our new integrated sexual health service in April 2024. Through this digital and face-to-face offer, we provide free, confidential, non-judgmental support to people of all ages. Brook is now responsible for delivering five all-age sexual health services across the country ensuring that more people than ever can benefit from our life course approach. 

With STIs on the rise and mental health in decline, it is crucial that the links between sexual and mental health are understood.

Over the past year, Brook provided 3,500 mental health and wellbeing interventions.

Through our two new flagship Wellbeing Hubs in Cornwall and Blackburn, we are pioneering new approaches to early intervention support and empowering even more young people to make the decisions that are right for them.   

While our 60^th anniversary provides an opportunity to celebrate past achievements, it is also a moment to reflect on the work that still needs to be done, at a time when sexual and reproductive rights are under increasing threat. Brook remains as courageous today as at any point in our history and we continue to fight for a world where everyone feels empowered to make decisions about their health and identity.