Texting service answers questions on sexual health

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This article was published 28/03/2024 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new texting service rolled out by the Sexuality Education Resource Centre can help people in remote or rural areas access sexual health information, a SERC project co-ordinator says.

TextEd, an anonymous texting service in which questions about sex, sexuality, and relationships can be answered by professionals, was rolled out late last week by SERC. And so far, the service has gotten more than double the response that SERC received with its previous email service program.

“With TextEd, our team can give specific advice and answers based on individual needs, and it’s almost as quick and accessible as searching something up on the internet,” J. Fiedler, the TextEd project co-ordinator, who previously worked at the SERC location in Brandon, stated in a press release. “To give people a chance to answer their sexuality and relationship questions, regardless of who they are or where they are, is very exciting.”

Fiedler told the Sun said that usually the email service would receive 15 to 20 inquires per month, but so far, the new text message-based system has received 60 inquires.

“This service is not only going to give people a safe, low-commitment way to talk to a professional, but it’s also going to increase access to education around sexuality and sexual health,” Kaitlyn White, a sexuality and reproductive health facilitator and program coordinator at SERC, said.

The texting service allows anyone of any age in Manitoba to text 204-982-7801 with any question they have about sex or sexuality and receive a response within two business days from a SERC professional. It is a continuation of the organization’s existing email service, Facts of Life, Fiedler said.

“A big piece of our work is filling that gap of lack of sex ed,” Fiedler said. “Even if you get good sex ed, even if you have a great health-care provider that you’re linked with, there’s still the stigma, there’s still the shame sometimes.”

The texting option is targeted at the younger, more tech-savvy generation, the release stated. And while the service cannot give medical advice, Fiedler says a lot of the questions received by the organization are questions about how to access particular sexual health needs like birth control or abortion. Fiedler added that sometimes people just need help with knowing what language to use to ask for the service they need.

The project co-ordinator likened the texting service to the “tested and true” tool used in sex ed by teachers — to have a question box for anonymous questions.

“It’s nice to have an anonymous way to ask these questions, where you’re not face to face,” Fiedler said. “You don’t feel any judgment and you can get that information.”

Health Canada funded the service’s setup and its first year of operation, but Fiedler says SERC intends to continue to fund the program after the initial year.

“Hopefully, it’s helpful for people to access across all of Manitoba and certainly around Westman as well,” Fiedler said.

The feds provided $880,235 to SERC after an announcement last fall that Health Canada would provide close to $1.3 million to enable access to sexual and reproductive health services and reduce barriers to care for underserved communities across the Prairies.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

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