 Peer Educators are specially trained young people who can provide Safety Card training for other young people.
Supported by workers, they provide good quality information about sexual health, deliver training, and free condoms.
Marie is a Peer Educator with the Safety Card scheme in Oxfordshire. Here's what she has to say about the her work:
The Safety Card, or “C” Card, is available for young people to get
quick and easy access to condoms. The C card is issued to young
people after they have sat down with a worker who is trained to
issue the card. The worker goes through the process with the
young people, teaching them a variety of things including…
- How to put a condom on correctly
- What to look for on the condom packet before using it
- How to open the condom packet correctly
- How to dispose of condoms
- The different flavours and sizes available as well as
different types such as female condoms and dams
- The things to watch out for when handling condoms,
such as chip fat
... and an overall general discussion about condoms, possible
places to get them from, sexually transmitted diseases, staying
safe and so on.
After this process is understood by the young person, the
worker is able to issue the C card along with a personal number
and a bag of mixed condoms. The young person is required to
show his/her card or just to give their personal number in order
to get condoms free, easily and confidentially.
I think the safety card is going very well… It is useful for young
people to get access to condoms without hassle and it is a fun
way to learn whilst going through the process to get the card.
I feel the safety card is benefiting young people a lot, helping
to keep them safe and healthy and most importantly reducing
the teenage pregnancy rate.
As a peer educator I think young people are more likely to come
to me, as a young volunteer, than go to a qualified youth worker.
This is because I am more of their age group, so I think they
would feel more comfortable coming to me. From experience,
when issuing the safety card, young people ask me for advice
and what I think of certain things, wanting to know opinions
from another young persons perspective.
Marie Biston - Peer Educator
You can also download Marie's article as a Safety Card Information Poster (PDF 200K) |
