Sexual health @ YUHS

Today's YDN has an article on last week's University Health Services survey (which I believe RALY was involved with) reports mixed responses from the student body. The survey had several questions about reproductive health, specifically emergency contraception (EC).

The preliminary results, according to a YCC member, showed that "some were specifically unhappy with urgent care wait times and the availability of contraception" but that 80% of those surveyed were satisfied with YUHS' emergency contraception services. The article suggests that many thought EC should be available in advance, which would avoid the Urgent Care backup. It does not, however, discuss other types of contraception, or the response from the written feedback section - hopefully that information will be released later.

In our role as feminist activists, we've heard a lot of bad stories - particularly about YUHS facilities to deal with rape and sexual assault, but also about STD/pregnancy testing and about EC. We're glad to hear the YCC is signing on to increase the availability of sexual health resources, but it seems the survey defined this rather narrowly. EC only applies to part of the population (straight women!) and feminists believe that everyone must be both informed and provided-for in order to be responsible and healthy. In other words, we need to make sure that sexual health is not just seen as a "woman's issue."