Despite pornography rarely being out of the newspapers, the media recently reported that all is not well in the airbrushed garden. The Daily Mail was alarmed that more than nine million men - almost 40 percent of the adult male population - logged onto sex websites last year. The number...
'What are the editors of a once fine journal of medical knowledge doing, to let such an opinion piece be published?'asks one reader.[1] Another despairs that,'After 30 years of reading the BMJ, Savulescu's article was the first to make me feel physically sick'.[2] The cause of the avalanche of protest...
Cervical cancer is a major cause of disease and death in women worldwide with over 450,000 new cases each year. Though in the UK, there are just over 1,000 deaths annually from cervical cancer, in countries that do not have any cervical screening programme, the death toll is much higher. ...
Contraception-focused sex education had an increasingly critical press this summer. In the UK, as latest figures showed the rate of pregnancies in under-16s in England and Wales increased by 1%, Beverley Hughes, the families and children's minister admitted that Government can do no more to reduce the UK's high teen...
Solo sex is a good definition of masturbation. It cuts to the chase. When I write or give lectures on the subject (yes, I can think of easier ways to earn a living too!) I will use formal definitions of masturbation, such as: The act of exciting one’s own sexual organs...
This is a highly useful resource for anyone interested in sex education, whether or not they are working in Scotland. Within its mere 88 pages of densely packed text, it covers a wide range of topics. Consisting of two parts, the first summarises the sexual health scene in Scotland and...
Human papilloma virus (HPV) was back in the news on both sides of the Atlantic early this year. The UK press was euphoric about a new vaccine against HPV which would be available 'within the next five years'. [1] This is indeed good news but predictions of women no longer...
There are so many books available exploring both theological and personal Christian perspectives on homosexuality that any new addition to the field should offer fresh insights. This one does. The chapters were all originally papers given at a symposium at Oak Hill Theological College in April 2003. Although the chapters...
The latest annual report of the Government's Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health[1] was published in October 2004. The group was set up to monitor progress and advise the Government on the implementation of its sexual health strategy. It is chaired by the Labour peer Baroness Gould of Potternewton who...
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists called it 'morally repugnant'. In an editorial the New York Times called it 'politically motivated'. The BMJ couldn't say a word in its favour. The USA's Food and Drug Administration's refusal to permit sales over the counter (without a prescription) of an emergency...