Everyone knows that contraception is something that we have to take seriously – which is exactly why Mean Girls taught us not to have sex in case we ‘get pregnant and die.’ What Coach Carr perhaps failed to consider is the importance of protecting ourselves from STIs. STIs are, possibly, a bigger threat to female health than pregnancy, and pretty much everyone is vulnerable to them, including people of all gender binaries and non-heterosexual couples. Another huge aspect is the fact that many popular forms of contraception such as the contraceptive pill and the coil do not protect from STIs – if you are having unprotected sex with multiple people, or if you or your partner are carrying an STI, the risks are pretty high. All of the information on how to keep yourself safe is out there if you go looking for it. But with Cosmopolitan claiming that, on average, a quarter of students catch an STI during their first year of university, it does make one wonder whether institutions are making this information as widely available as they should be.

A survey on The Student Room claims that 63% of students have admitted to having unprotected sex, which makes one wonder whether the Pasante condoms that were thrust into our hands during Freshers week have been used after all. A recent, rather shocking, statistic has revealed that there is a new STI diagnosis in the UK every 70 seconds, and nearly half of all recent STIs are in those under 25. Yet, it’s also important to remember that STIs are on the rise outside of universities – the trend is an overall issue; whilst student STIs being on the rise is not good news, it seems that the overall discourse surrounding STIs in general has become too lax. STI diagnoses in over 65s have risen by almost a quarter from 2014 figures, so clearly attitudes towards protecting ourselves and getting tested on a regular basis are lacking overall.

Still, it is important to take into consideration what resources universities offer, especially as it can often be difficult to know exactly what universities can do for you. Here at UoB, the Guild actually offer a wide range of resources. Speaking to Welfare and Community Officer Millie Gibbins, I discovered that Guild Advice provides free condoms, sanitary products, STI testing kits, and answers to any sex or STI related queries students may have. She also told Redbrick that ‘We’re continually trying to improve what we offer and Umbrella now hold a pop up stall in the Guild once every 4 weeks, where they offer Sexual Health Advice, lube and STI kits. We’re also arranging Sex Week, beginning on the 23^rd March for a whole week of promoting safe sex with a wide range of activities on offer.’ Whilst these Guild services, and all the work that the Umbrella Clinic do in Birmingham, are brilliant, I for one was not aware of just how much was available. This makes me think that, in order to make sure that students use these valuable resources, perhaps universities could do a better job of sign posting their availability.

The resources are available for us to protect ourselves from STIs, but their importance is what needs emphasising – I can’t help that think that, even with all these things on offer, students just aren’t as concerned as perhaps we ought to be. Whilst I think the fact that there is now less stigma and taboo around STIs is a healthy and progressive move, I believe that the fact that treatments are more widely available now may be contributing to this lack of care. It’s great, of course, that treatments are available, but in a world where antibiotic resistance is increasingly becoming an issue, we should perhaps be relying more on our own choices and agency. Getting tested is still really important, especially when there are so many resources available to us, but the fact that we seem to have somewhat moved on from periods of scaremongering and shame around STIs is definitely a good thing.

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