USI launches SHAG campaign

“Whoever you like this Valentine’s Day, love safe sex”

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) launches its Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance (SHAG) campaign this week in collaboration with Think Contraception, Durex and Merck Sharp and Dohme. The campaign, which will be rolled out in campuses across Ireland over the next fortnight, will be launched in UCD today at 11am.

45,000 SHAG packs will be distributed to college campuses. The packs contain a condom, a sachet of lubricant and information regarding safe sex and STIs. USI is also launching shag.usi.ie – the first website dedicated to informing third level students about safe sex.

With almost a third of Irish men and women (30 per cent) never receiving any sexual health education in school, information provided within each SHAG pack aims to help students have safer sex and make informed decisions regarding their contraceptive choices. Despite the low number of people who have received formal sex education, there is a thirst for knowledge among Irish students, with 81 per cent agreeing that sex education enables people to be more responsible with sex.

Organisations supporting the campaign: 
Cura
IFPA (Irish family planning association)
Dublin Aids Alliance
Think Contraception Eco Cabs
Aids West
Red Ribbon Project
Treoir
Rape Crisis Network

For more information visit www.usi.ie