|
New Students
University can seem very strange especially if, like most people, it's your first time living away from home. At the same time however, it should be an excellent experience and one you'll never forget. It also gives you a chance to experiment with new things and part of our work here at UNISEX is to provide you with unbiased and confidential information and advice on issues relating to drugs, alcohol and sex.
What is UNISEX?
UNISEX is a sexual health, drug and alcohol service delivered
by students for students at both Brighton and Sussex Universities.
We run a drop-in service from both universities and you will
often see us out doing outreach at student club nights and
around the halls of residence. Outreach is where we go round
offering free condoms, advice and info in order to raise our
profile and awareness of sexual health.
At Sussex we run a drop-in
service from 10-2 every weekday except Wednesdays
during term time offering low cost condoms (5 for £1), pregnancy
tests (£1 per test), Chlamydia screening, and free, confidential
information, advice and referrals. We have a drop-in centre
located in the Student Advice Centre in Falmer House (the
Student Union building), just go up to the first floor, through
the common room and into the student advice centre where you'll
see our signs!
At Brighton we run a drop-in
service in room G35 opposite the Student Advice Centre at
Cockcroft on Mondays during term time from 1 - 3pm. It offers
low cost condoms (5 for £1), pregnancy tests (£1 per test),
Chlamydia screening, and free, confidential information and
advice. At Eastbourne the nurses in the medical centres offer
this drop-in service.
Students studying at the Falmer site can access the drop-in
at the Univeristy of Sussex (just across the road).
At Eastbourne, the nurses are available during the following
times:
- Monday - Friday: 8.30am - 12.30pm and 1.30 - 4pm
- If your enquiry is of a detailed nature, it may be a good idea to make an appointment (Tel: 01273 64 4447)
In addition, at all sites, including Grand Parade, you can buy the low cost condoms (3 for £1) from all UBSU shops.
What other services are there?
At the Universities the medical
centres offer sexual health information and testing (see the
individual centres for the services they offer). See Sussex
Uni Services or Brighton Uni Services
for contact numbers.
In Brighton there are loads
of sexual health, drug and alcohol sevices which provide confidential
testing, information and advice. In our Local
Services sections we have listed many of the local services
not just in Brighton, but also in Eastbourne and the national
helplines.
Emergency contraception is available free of charge from
GPs and family planning clinics. However, if you need emergency
contraception when the medical centres and clinics in Brighton
aren't open you can now buy it from chemists. It is called
Levonelle and costs approx £25 although this varies from chemist
to chemist. They will need to ask you a few questions and
you should be able to request to go somewhere where you can't
be overheard by other people if you feel uncomfortable. Levonelle
can be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex, however
the sooner you take it the more effective it is.
Another option could be to have a coil (copper intrauterine device - IUD) fitted up to 5 days after unprotected sex which may also prevent unwanted pregnancy. This can be used if you have gone over the 72 hour period or cannot take Levonelle. It must be fitted by a qualified doctor or nurse.
For further information see The Family Planning Association website
|
