Vaginal Health - Let's Talk About It

Every girl and woman deserves access to the information they need to understand their bodies, without metaphors, euphemisms, oversimplification, or sexualisation. To realise their welcome ambition that “never again will women’s health be neglected”, the new Labour Government should prioritise cross-government action to ensure that everyone is educated on women’s health from an early age.

There is no turning back from the revolution that has occurred in how people access information and advice about their health. Many turn to social media and other online platforms for information,1 including about vulval anatomy and vaginal health. While this can be an effective way for trusted providers to reach different communities – particularly when we know that too many girls and women don’t understand their bodies – it does carry the risk of people being exposed to harmful misinformation.

Only 6% of women report learning about their intimate health through school and university education, with almost half of UK women worried about the appearance of their vulva. Gaps in current relationship and sex education (RSE) and health education provision put England behind much of the European Union, where most member states include awareness about genital anatomy in their RSE curriculums.2

A lack of understanding about what is ‘normal’, and when women should seek medical attention, can lead to unintended yet harmful consequences – not least the delayed diagnosis of gynaecological conditions, including cancers. The Eve Appeal’s Get Lippy survey, in which only 5% of women reported a good understanding of gynaecological cancers, highlights the repercussions of limited education. 

It couldn’t be clearer: the lack of a robust approach to intimate health education risks perpetuating misinformation, over-sexualisation and poor awareness on how to look after intimate health, including when symptoms warrant medical care.

The new Government now has several opportunities to put this right. Firstly, there needs to be alignment across government and the NHS – building on the platform of the Women’s Health Strategy – to raise the profile of women’s self-care, including intimate self-care. This should promote access to high-quality information, from trusted sources, to help people navigate a rising sea of misinformed or outright harmful information. The power of social media in breaking taboos around menopause illustrates its potential as a force for good, but it must be used with caution.

Secondly, the Department for Education’s recent review of the statutory RSE guidance must be revisited to ensure all young people can learn about vulval anatomy and vaginal health, in a safe space, underpinned by measuredly age-appropriate, robust, and evidence-based resources. Some aspects of the current guidance and debate surrounding the RSE curriculum risk undermining the many benefits of RSE and health education – including in equipping young people to look after their health and when to seek professional advice.

We know this approach works. In fact, Bayer has recently worked with a teaching body, the PSHE Association, to develop evidence-based lesson plans about vulval anatomy and vaginal health. The lesson plans have been welcomed by 100% of teachers taking part in a pilot, who reported that teacher guidance was helpful, and that learning was appropriate to the target age cohorts.3 The lesson plans form part of our wider initiative – The Truth, Undressed – aimed at freeing people from the shame and discomfort of intimate conditions.

Thirdly, these solutions must be informed by the experiences of women in looking after their intimate healthcare. The Department of Health and Social Care’s landmark review of women’s views on reproductive health provides a blueprint for sensitively collating such insights.

It is high time to turn the tide on outdated taboos surrounding intimate health and empower girls and women to understand their bodies. The new Government now has a unique opportunity to act as facilitator of this change – it must not be squandered.

///

1 Superdrug Online Doctor, Tackling Health Misinformation on Social Media, accessed September 2023.

2 European Commission, Sexuality education across the European Union: an overview, November 2020. accessed September 2023.

3 Bayer, data on file, accessed September 2023.