Content warning: This article contains potentially upsetting content, including references to sexual violence and mental health. For directions to university wellbeing support, email wellbeing@exeter.ac.uk or call 01392724381. To book an appointment at the Sexual Health Clinic, set up a Personal Health Record here. For more information about the content in this article, read Katie’s article about sexual health support in Exeter here.
When I took on the job of Online Editor-in-Chief, there were a few events that I’d really suffered from, many of which related to safety, sexual violence and mental wellbeing in Exeter. A few were personal to me, but many were the shared experiences from students, mostly women, that I’ve come to love in this city.
I’d personally struggled through the support systems in place, feeling frustrated and frankly unsupported. And I’d watched friends find it all difficult too. I wanted to investigate why there wasn’t enough support for sexual violence and mental wellbeing in place in Exeter. I wanted to tackle blatant sexism in Univeristy Society microcultures, using Exeposé as a platform to raise awareness of these issues. If I helped one other person, that would be a success.
If I helped one other person, that would be a success.
Even at the beginning of this process, I’m learning that the support systems do exist. It’s not that they’re imaginary, it’s that they’re often invisible or overwhelmed.
So, to have this conversation with three women at the Sexual Health Clinic was such a full circle experience. It felt like a conversation I should have had a long time ago, like a warm hug of reassurance that not everyone has to silently suffer.
The nurses I spoke to are women first and foremost. They’ve experienced it all too. There’s no shame at the clinic, only compassion and support. The clinic is a great place to go for any kind of support, but they also shared how much of the support for sexual violence in Exeter is through SARC. SARC is a section of the NHS in Exeter who support anyone who experienced sexual violence or rape, recently or in the past. It was one of many support systems that I had never heard of.
I was expecting to be angry with a broken NHS and a gendered system of imposed and understudied contraception, but I think I forgot that there is actually help there.
I was expecting to be angry with a broken NHS and a gendered system of imposed and understudied contraception, but I think I forgot that there is actually help there. My anger, therefore, was redirected at the lack of information that I and others had been given, an anger I’d previously felt unable to express.
In fact, this gave me a bit of a purpose. I’m now driven to share my research, to share my own story, and help other people within Exeter who might have had similar experiences to me find this support.
I’ve found a way to use my local platform for a little bit of good, and I plan to run with it.
Read my original article here for links to support in relation to: booking appointments at the SH Clinic; where to go for emergency contraception; pregnancy testing and support for unwanted pregnancies; STI testing, and sexual violence support.
