Sex is a normal and healthy part of many people’s lives, but if you don’t want to have sex or don’t feel sexual attraction, that’s fine too. There are many ways to have sex. Some ways include penetration, some ways don’t. What works for you and the person you are with is the most important thing. Don’t judge your own sex life by what other people are or aren’t doing.

STI stands for Sexually Transmitted Infection. STIs are usually passed from one person to another during sexual activity (vaginal, anal and oral sex) and close body contact. Barrier methods such as condoms, femidoms and dental dams can help prevent the spread of many STIs. For a breakdown of the most common STIs visit the STIs section of our website.

If you are worried about STIs or think you may have one visit one of our drop-ins or speak to a worker on (01482) 291190.

Talk offers free and confidential pregnancy testing for young people in Hull. A positive pregnancy test is almost always accurate, but a negative one may not be. Most pregnancy tests will be able to give you an answer three weeks after the sex. A Talk worker can go through all of the options available to you if you get a positive result without judging your decision.

Sexuality is about who you are attracted to. Everybody has a sexuality. For some people their attraction is physical, sexual and romantic. For some people their attraction is emotional and spiritual. There are lots of combinations and it is not the same for everyone. It’s okay to question or be unsure about your sexuality. There are lots of sexualities. Visit our Gender and Relationships section for more information.

Consent is agreeing to what you will or won’t do – from kissing to sex and everything in between. Make sure that the person you are with agrees enthusiastically to anything you do together. If someone can’t say yes they also can’t say no. Drugs and alcohol can affect the decisions we make and this needs to be taken into account when negotiating consent. Someone who is asleep or unconscious cannot consent at all. It’s okay to change your mind about anything you have agreed to at any point without being made to feel guilty.

The age of sexual consent in the UK is 16.

There are two types of emergency contraception
• Emergency contraceptive pills (morning after pill)
• IUD (intrauterine device)

Emergency contraception pills can be used to help prevent an unwanted pregnancy up to five days after unprotected sex. An emergency IUD possibly longer.

Emergency contraception can be used if a contraceptive method fails, for instance a condom splits or a pill is forgotten or taken late, or if no contraception is used.

You can access emergency contraception at your local pharmacy or Conifer. Speak to one of our workers for more information on accessing emergency contraception
To search for a pharmacy near you for Emergency contraception click here: www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Emergency contraception

Abuse can happen to anybody and is not the fault of the person it’s happening to. It can take many forms such as sexual, physical, emotional, financial and coercive control. If you are worried about yourself or someone else call 999 if you/they are in immediate danger or check out the abuse section of our website.

Everybody has a gender identity which may or may not be the same as the sex they were born as. People experience their gender in many ways – this may be about the way they dress, express themselves or feel inside. Some people feel male, some people feel female and some people feel neither of these categories is right for them. Everybody’s gender identity is valid. For more information visit our Gender and Relationships section.