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"Why Don't You Just Help Me?": This Report Reveals That Black Women Are Not Getting The Reproductive Healthcare They Deserve

Mary is 19; she’s in her second year at university in Bristol studying for her Creative Writing degree. Over the Christmas break – pre-COVID – she travels back home to South London to celebrate the holiday season with her family. During her stay, she’s looking forward to catching up with some of her friends, but she’s also hoping to spend some time with her long term boyfriend Leon, also from South London, who works as a Planning Manager for Transport for London. The couple has been in a relationship for just over two years.

With Mary studying in Bristol and Leon working in London, they don’t see each other often, which isn’t always easy for either of them but they make it work. They’re due to meet in the next couple of days, and when they do, they intend to have sex. But on this occasion, Mary realises she’s forgotten her contraceptive pill at her flat in Bristol. As a young couple who are both working and studying, parenthood is not on their agenda, so they’ve been practising safe sex since the beginning of their relationship. With their romantic link up looming, Mary decides to make an appointment at the local sexual health service to discuss contraception.