Kent and Medway Working with Children and Young People who are Sexually Active or Displaying Harmful Sexual Behaviours
Kent and Medway Working with Children and Young People who are Sexually Active or Displaying Harmful Sexual Behaviours
In the same way that we look after other aspects of young people’s health, we need to also consider their sexual health to avoid sexual ill health or unplanned pregnancy. There are many free and accessible services to support good sexual health across Medway.
Contraception and sexual health screens are available across Medway and you can access some services online.
This can help a young person take control of their own sexual health by choosing the service that best suits their needs.
Free condoms for young people
Young people aged under 24 can register to receive free condoms by post or by picking them up at a contraception collection point.
Sexually transmitted infection testing at home
If you don’t have any physical symptoms but are looking for peace of mind you can get checked for sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) without leaving your home.
Get more sexual health advice from SH:24
The testing will be to the same high quality as if you went to a clinic but without the wait.
Contraception
You can get the full range of contraception from one of the sexual health clinics or if you prefer you can go to your GP to ask for the contraceptive pill.
Some GPs can offer the implant or the coil too. Call your surgery to ask which types of contraceptive they offer.
To book an appointment or have an online consultation, you can visit the integrated sexual health service at 4 Clover Street or one of the smaller clinics around Medway.
Procedures and practice guidance for working with children and young people who are sexually active and/or displaying harmful sexual behaviour
The procedures and guidance are designed to assist professionals to identify where children and young people’s sexual activity and relationships are through mutual consent, or present as harmful or abusive; and the children and young people may need protection or additional services. The sexual behaviour of young people is conceptualised as laying on a continuum from mutual exploration to behaviours that are seriously harmful to them or to other children or young people. This forms the basis of the Kent and Medway Risk Assessment Tool for children who are sexually active.
Guidelines on working with sexually active young people
We follow Gillick competency and Fraser guidelines which can help professionals who work with children balance the need to listen to children’s wishes with the responsibility to keep them safe.
Gillick competency and Fraser guidelines
This factsheet outlines key findings from a 1985 judgement by the House of Lords on a legal case which looked specifically at whether doctors should be able to give contraceptive advice or treatment to under 16-year-old girls without parental consent.
Since then, they have been more widely used to help assess whether a child has the maturity to make their own decisions and to understand the implications of those decisions.