Terrence Higgins Trust will be celebrating sexual health week (6 – 12 August) by giving out 8,000 ‘Sun, Sea, Sand, Sex, Sorted’ goody bags to young adults in Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull.   The goody bags will include sexual health advice and information along with special condom packs supplied by Durex and Pasante.

The goody bags will also include keyrings, pens and bottle tops to protect people from having their drink spiked. THT is hoping that raising awareness of the risks of sexually transmitted infections and providing free condoms will encourage young people to have safer sex.

Young people from the West Midlands once came out top in a Foreign & Commonwealth Office survey of the risks taken by young holiday makers, with 64% of people surveyed from the West Midlands reporting "having casual sex" as a favoured holiday activity, compared to the national average of 28%.
 
Al Green, Sexual Health Worker at THT in Coventry said "Many young people will be going away on holiday during sexual health week or enjoying a break at home. Some of them will inevitably be having sex.  HIV & Sexually Transmitted Infections are on the increase, so it’s important for them to be armed with more than suntan lotion as protection.  We don’t want people getting more than they bargained for this summer."
 
"Durex is proud to be partnering with THT to promote the safe sex message this summer. It's important to relax and enjoy yourself on holiday but it is just as important to protect yourself and your partner by playing safe," said Charles Shepherd of Durex.

Events rundown:

• THT workers will be in Coventry town centre on 4th August to launch the week and give out goody bags while dressed in Hawaiian shirts, sombreros and flip flops, they will also be targeting nightclubs.
• THT will be holding a Grease-Themed "Summer Lovin'" event at Rainbows nightclub on Friday 10th August
• THT will be supporting a play called Bouncers at the Wheatsheaf Players Theatre in Wyken on Saturday 11th August, staff will be giving our goody bags on the night

Ends

Notes to Editors

• Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing a wide range of services across England, Wales and Scotland.  The charity also campaigns and lobbies for greater political and public understanding of the personal, social and medical impact of HIV and sexual health.

• Foreign & Commonwealth Office survey of 16-30 year old holiday makers, June 2005:
  15% of young tourists said having sex was a priority, this rose to 29% among those from the West Midlands
  64% of people surveyed from the West Midlands reported 'having casual sex' as a favoured holiday activity compared to the national average of 28%
  14% of people surveyed from the West Midlands reported having 'unprotected sex' compared to the national average of 5%
  A third of those interviewed agreed with the statement: "I usually end up doing stupid things, but it doesn't matter because it's all part of enjoying myself."