My Visit to the Sexual Education Centre

Happy February! In my last post, I wrote about all the super resources we have on campus that can help you lead a healthy student life. This week, I decided to investigate another great resource on campus - the Sexual Education Centre (SEC)!  The SEC is located at the Sussex Clubhouse and if you didn't already know, is famous for its nearly infinite supply of free condoms.

This was essentially the sole fact I knew about SEC before I visited. What I found was that while the office did indeed boast of an incredible quantity and variety of condoms (see the “menu”), it also contained a wide array of resources and supports for all things related to sex, sexuality, and relationships.

My welcome to the centre was quite positive. I was greeted by a number of smiling faces when I walked in, supplied with a wealth of information during my visit, and seen off with a “grab bag” filled with safer-sex products. The centre is open Monday – Friday, 10 am – 7pm, during the Fall/Winter semesters, and everyone is welcome.

SEC is funded by a student levy (one that you are very likely contributing to if you read this blog and have not opted out) and students are able to take advantage of their menstruation supplies, condoms of all types, safer-sex products, and informational materials.

The centre has an in-house library with books about health and sexuality, and even erotic fiction. The library, like all services provided from the office, is completely confidential. All that is required to take out a book is an email address.

The office can also act as a connecting point for other services. If or when students don’t know where to get information about where to get tested, abusive relationships, or understanding their own sexuality, SEC can help send them to the right place. The office is staffed by friendly students, who are there to provide peer to peer support. If you’d really rather not interact with anyone, you can also get condoms by the door without entering the office at all. Many residence dons will order condoms and sexual health supplies through the office too, so you might be able to benefit from their products without visiting the office at all. Outside of the office, the SEC has an external education team that delivers presentations about various aspects of sexuality and sexual health. I recall attending one to prepare for my position as an Orientation Week Leader and it was super informative. You can learn more about their presentations and workshops by visiting the Facebook page and following them on Twitter (@utsec).

This week, the office is hosting a week of activities with their education campaign called Sexual Awareness Week. Their goal is to make topics that are sometimes not discussed more open and easy to talk about in a safe, non-judgmental environment. Looking forward to conversations about Kink, making DIY Body Scrubs, and playing Healthy Relationship Bingo with SafeU next week! Have a fantastic week! Madelin