‘It’s an excellent service for a lot of young people and a place of trust for them’.
The clients and the shaping of Brook centres in Britain, 1964-1998.
Caroline Rusterholz (Cambridge)
First opened in 1964 in London for the 16-25 years old unmarried, with other openings quickly following in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol and Cambridge, to name a few, the Brook Advisory centres’ aims were ‘the prevention and the mitigation of the suffering caused by unwanted pregnancy and illegal abortion by educating young persons in matter[s] of sex and contraception and developing among them a sense of responsibility in regard to sexual behaviours’. As a charity but which had close connection with the NHS, BAC constitutes an interesting lens through which to explore young people’s experience with sexual health services. Drawing on archives material, mass media, teenage magazine, and oral histories with former clients of BAC, this talk will assess whether young clients influenced and informed sexual health policy. In particular, I will explore the extent to which their needs were met in practice and cases where young people’s agency was restricted.
Tuesday 29th November, 4-5.30pm
Room: CL201 in the Collins Building (Contact Hannah Proctor for Zoom details. hannah.proctor@strath.ac.uk )