Let's talk about sex

Who told you about sex, when you were at school? Was it a biology teacher, a parent, or a friend? It probably wasn't a medical student. You might be surprised that up and down the country medical students are learning how to teach about sex and relationships.

Sexpression is an international organisation of medical students committed to interactively educating young people in schools about sex and relationships. The organisation has branches in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Nottingham, London, Manchester, Denmark, and the former Yugoslavia.

“Peer education” is a Sexpression buzzword. Ella Tillett, a medical student in Leeds, explains, “Peer education is education by someone who shares your views, role models, or profession. Peer education could be a group of surgeons at an educational meeting. People think of teenagers, but it doesn't have to be. When we go into schools we are role models. But because we are students we are still within reach, in touch, and accessible in a way that teachers might not be.”