Sex and Relationships
If you or a young person you know need support related to sex and relationships, the following local and national organisations can help.
Relationship Abuse
Relationship abuse can be an on-going thing or only happen once. The controlling or threatening behaviour could be:
• physical
• sexual
• emotional
• psychological
• financial
When somebody’s behaviour is controlling, you might feel trapped, isolated and dependent on them. They might try and take away your independence for example: not let you leave the house, talk to friends or have your own money. They can also use threats and intimidation to try and harm, punish or frighten you.
Help and Support with Relationship Abuse
Help and Support with Sexual Abuse
Pregnancy
If you are pregnant or unsure if you might be, there are lots of organisations locally who can help. The FindItOut Centre offers free pregnancy tests and local support. You could also visit the Sexual Health Clinic at the Brow Medical Centre for pregnancy testing and medical advice. The Haven offer free and confidential support.
The NHS also offer advice and support.
Sexual Health
Contraception
The NHS Contraception Guide provides information on methods of contraception and how to access it. It aims to give practical information to everyone who wants to know more about contraception.
For information on emergency contraception please visit the Sexual Health West Sussex emergency contraception page.
The C Card Scheme provides free condoms, confidential advice and a Chlamydia testing kit from venues or for delivery across West Sussex. For details and to join the scheme visit the Sexual Health West Sussex website.
Sexting
More than 60% of young people (in a survey by Childline) said that they had been asked to create a sexual image or video ofthemselves and send it to a friend. In the survey lots of teenagers said that they felt under pressure to send out images and worried about where the images were going. Childline provide information and advice about sexting, including their free app Zipit, which can help you deal with a situation where someone is pressuring you into sexting. Secondly, Childline can help you if things go wrong: if an explicit image of yourself appears online and you want to get it deleted but feel scared to tell anyone else, call Childline on 0800 1111.
Sexuality
Allsorts Youth Project listens to, supports and connects children and young people under 26 who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or unsure (LGBTU) of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Switchboard is an LGBT+ helpline to help you with whatever you want to talk about.
This website is aimed at ages 11 - 18 years and not all content may be suitable for younger viewers.
The views of any organisations listed on this website are not necessarily those of the Town Council.