I saw patients suffering from long-term consequences of past decisions and events: emotional problems, sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancy...
For GP Dr Louise Parkin, founding and running Respected is a response to her experiences over 20 years in practice.
...with young people increasingly turning to pornography to educate themselves, Respected aims to tackle these issues head-on...
...but it wasn’t just these more obvious issues that concerned me. There were more subtle trends, especially amongst young adults that began to deeply trouble me: a real confusion around the area of consent, deep dissatisfaction with body shape and distorted genital self-image, persistent feelings of lack of self worth...
Dignity and value
I strongly believe in the implicit dignity and value of humanity, and relationships are a fundamental part of what it means to be human. I felt that young adults and young people deserve so much better than this. Setting up Respected is my attempt to address some of these complex issues.
Ability of young people
I also believe in the ability of young people to make healthy choices in this area of their lives when they are properly equipped and supported.
Inform to empower
So, rather than telling young people how they should behave, our Relationships and Sex Education programme equips students with the information they need to promote both their emotional and physical health, teaches critical thinking skills and counters misinformation and encourages students to reclaim respect and commitment in relationships.
High quality
Developed by teachers, youth workers, a Cambridge postgraduate in Education as well as myself as a GP, our programme is evidence based and factually accurate but also highly accessible to young people.
