Our Sex Sense team is hiring! We’re looking for folks to join our staff! Sex Sense is a free and confidential sexual health referral and information service open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. PST. Our team of registered nurses, clinical counsellors, and sex educators offer information and resources for people living in BC. Learn more about this opportunity here. The post Job Opportunity: Sex Sense Supervisor appeared first on Options for Sexual Health ..read more

It’s an exciting time for Options for Sexual Health: we are hiring our next Executive Director! Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director is responsible for the overall strategic and operational leadership of this provincial sexual and reproductive health non-profit organization. The Executive Director oversees the delivery of Options’ vision, mission, and strategic priorities through the development and delivery of programs and services, financial sustainability, fund development, operations, and external communications. To learn more, you can view the full job description a ..read more

It’s that time of year again – the time of year where we celebrate Sexual and Reproductive Health services, care, information, and rights in Canada! SRH Week is the opportunity for us to highlight our services, and bring awareness to the work we do. This year’s theme is Sexual health is for everyone and we could not agree more! From education, to clinics, to Sex Sense, we provide access to information and care. Our tagline is “All About Choices”, and that really encompasses all that we do; we provide information, education, and services for people so that they are empowered to make the best c ..read more

It’s officially time to announce our 2023 Annual General Meeting! Although a little later than usual, we will be hosting our AGM on January 26th 2024. This year we will be hosting a hybrid AGM with an invitation for those interested in person to join us at our Provincial Office, and for those interested in joining remotely to join us on Zoom (Zoom details will be sent to those who register for the online version of our event). Our agenda can be found here. Reminder: In order to be eligible to vote at our AGM, you will need to be a member in good standing as of December 26th 2023, so please mak ..read more

After 6 years as its Executive Director, Michelle has decided to leave Options for Sexual Health. During her tenure, Michelle worked to bring substantive change, including supporting the province’s decision to make contraception free and accessible to all British Columbians. Moreover, Options continues to be a national leader in sexual and reproductive health care and education. The Board would like to thank Michelle for her service and wishes her well as she takes some time to herself and decides on her next adventure in life. Michelle’s last day with Options will be September ..read more

Sometimes having a vagina can feel like driving a car with no real idea what’s going on under the hood. From periods, to BV, to Bartholin’s cysts, to bladder infections (and of course the bedroom!) there can be a lot going on down there. Likely, your sex ed as a young person was woefully insufficient. So now what do you do as a grown adult with a vagina? Take an – ahem- deep dive into the vagina with some excellent podcasts! Hi, I’m Robin and I use they/them pronouns. I am a Sex Sense Supervisor and many people call and email us to ask questions about their vaginas. People also like to know wh ..read more

This week, we’re going to take a bit of a different approach and write about an important topic that we DON’T get a lot of calls and emails about at Sex Sense, but that we wish we did! Do you have a a penis, prostate, and testicle or testicles? Ever wonder what you should be checking out and when? If you answered “Yes”, then read on! The Penis Let’s start with the penis part of the penis, prostate and testicles. Routinely examining your penis can give you greater awareness of the condition of your genitalia and help you detect changes. Regular checkups also help ensure that problems affec ..read more

Being an Askable Adult “My daughter is 9 almost 10. She has questions about her body. How do I talk to my kid about puberty?!”* The short answer: It’s great that your kid has come to you with her questions! It’s great that you even WANT to talk to your kid about puberty! That means you are already being an “Askable Adult”. Options’ Education Director Kristen Gilbert describes being an Askable Adult as: “Someone who welcomes questions, even when they are tough, and engages thoughtfully and with kindness. Their kid knows it’s OK to ask questions, and that the adult is a reliable source of inform ..read more

Access Depends on Where You Live At Sex Sense, we frequently get calls and emails from people about abortion access in BC. An unwanted pregnancy or one that happens in circumstances where it can’t be continued is often a very stressful situation, and we are always here to help our clients navigate it in the easiest way possible. Abortion access varies depending on where you live. For those who live in Vancouver, abortion access is good: there are four clinics in the city. Places like Victoria and Kelowna also have larger publicly listed clinics. And fortunately, the advent of medication abort ..read more

Hi! My name is Robin and I work on the Sex Sense team. I’m totally a sex nerd. I love it when people ask me questions about sex, sexuality, and sexual health. You can find out how to ask me your questions at www.sexsense.org. A VERY Common Question Just about every shift, someone calls who has just been diagnosed with HSV (also known as herpes). They often think their life has ended. Or at least their sex life. It’s a vulnerable moment, and it’s not for me to tell anyone how to feel. If you’re newly diagnosed with HSV, or struggling with an older diagnosis or navigating a herpes diagnosis in ..read more