Family Planning Association: Training Course on Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Sexual Health

This one-day course in London, which costs £120, aims to increase participants’ awareness of asylum seekers’ and refugees’ sexual health information needs.

A needs assessment recently carried out by Family Planning Association indicated a lack of support and information for professionals working with asylum seekers and refugees. Often staff struggle to make their services accessible and to engage with this hard-to-reach group of people. Some staff lack confidence in dealing with issues such as rape, HIV, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, trafficking and cultural issues.  Other problems include a lack of access to interpreters, as well as finding the resources to support service delivery. Staff also need support with knowledge pertaining to legislation and human rights.  Negative attitudes and values (which stem from both society as well as personal prejudices) towards working with this marginalised group of people need to be explored and discussed to ensure they do not impact professional practice.