Lipstick, toothpaste,

morning-after pill - the

essentials of teenage life?

The

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Mums are stockpiting it for their daughters, and boys

think it's a [icence to have sex. rs th morning-aftr
pitt good for girts? Eleanor Milts tatks to teenagers
for whom it's become the casual contraceptivi
Photograph: Johanna Parkin

n a stuccoed Gcorgian terrace in onc of

thc lcaficr parts ofcentral London, a

group of girls from some of Britain,s top

indepcndent schools are discussing the
morning-aftcr pill. Long{egged, lissom
and brimming with confidcncc, they arc mainly
drcsscd in hoodies, vests and tiny denim shorts
over thin black tights. Over several hours, thcy
flick their long hair and chat about thcir
scxuality and thc increasingly important rolc
a tiny yct powerful pill plays in their lives.
"I've taken the morning-after pill loads,
sometimes thrce times in one cycle," says

Sophic, 17. "I'vc been with my boyfricnd for

four ycars, so somctimes it's easier to havc scx
and then take it thc ncxt day... particularly if
you want the sex to bc really good..." She
laughs lasciviously. "I hate condoms. Taking
thc morning-aftcr pill is a rcally good way of
not having to use thcm."
The girls around her, all 16 or 17 and in
the middlc of thcir A-lcvcls, nod thcir hcads
in agreement. Then one of Sophie's fricnds
chimes in. "It's likc it doesn't matter how drunk
you've been, or what happcncd, or whethcr
your boyfriend uscd contraception or not, )D

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I've never forgotten to take thc morning-after

pill thc next

day. It's great, you just take the pill,

fcel pretty weird bccausc you get your period
for two days and that's it you'rc not

pregnant. Rcsult."

Another agres: "I'vc only taken it once,

after a one-night stand wherc I was so drunk
I couldn't remcmbcr the next day if we had
used protection. So I took thc morning-aftcr
pill as a prccaution. Loads of us do that, it's onc
ofthe main reasons you know ifyou arc,
like, unsure about whcther you used a condom.,'
For this generation of teenage girls, taking
the morning-after pill is like prcssing the dclctc
button on a computer
- a hassle-frcc solution
that wipes out any unfortunatc ramifications
ofa big night that got out ofcontrol.
o their parents

know they are

taking it? "Yeah," says Lucy, 18.
"My mumgave it tomc, actually."
She giggles with embarrassment.
"When I got a boyfriend she was,
like, I don't want to be a grandma
and I like Matt, but I don t want to hcar about
your sex life." More nervous giggles. "So she
gavc mc a boxof condoms and thc morningafter pill she d bought from the chcmist, thcn
asked if I wanted to gct one of thosc implant

things you put in your arm but I said no

because I hate ncedles. Thc whole convcrsation
was mawks [majorly awkward]."
Thc girls groan knowingly. "My mum found
out one morning that I wasn't sure if I d used

.THERE

This spcech is grceted with much approval;

thcy even stop guzzling strawberrics and
Kettlc Chips to tell me that you can get pubic
lice in your eyebrows, and how terrificd they
are about catching chlamydia. "you just don,t
know you'vc got it, but it can makc you
infcrtilc... PSHE Ipcrsonal, social and health
cducation] lessons at school are aimed to put
us off scx with their STD talk. We had to put a
strawberry-flavoured condom on a plastic
penis." Thc girls fall about laughing.
In 2O1O-11 thcrc were I2O,OOO frcc
prescriptions handed out by doctors and
scxual-health clinics for thc morning-after pill

protcction and shc litcrally marchcd me to thc

pharmacy, where I filled out a form and got thc
pill. That was mawks, too," says pippa.
Another talks about a younger sistcr who
camc back from a "slecpover,' agcd 13 with
lovebitcs all the way down hcr neck. She was
hazy about what had happened, so her mother,
a top civil servant, wcnt straight to thc
pharmacy. Bcttcr safe than sorry.
For thesc girls, the pill is a blessing. ,,It's
totally reassuring that if something goes wrong
a condom splits, or thc boy docs withdrawal and
you arc worricd it didn't work, you can go and
gct the morning-aftcr pill. For our gencration,
lvc don't nced to link scx and prcgnancy at all.
In fact, wc're muchmorc worricd about STIs
Iscxually transmitted infections].',

tnc sunday tim cs Magazinc

22,7.2012

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WAS NOTHING IN SCHOOT

OR ENCOURAGING GIRTS TO

WAIf'

- that's 2,3OO a wcck. But it is also available

for over-16s at a pharmacy, costing be twecn
2O and 25. The girls prefer to get it over the
countcr. At thc clinic, as Sophie puts it: ,.They
ask loads of qucstions, which is cmbarrassing,
and you have to wait with cveryonc knowing
what you are there for. It's not vcry private.,,
When thc morning-aftcr pill was introduccd
in thc 197Os, it was billcd as "cmcrgcncy
contraccption"
- to bc uscd only whcn rcgular
contraccptivcs failcd. It has a pretty good
success ratc: if taken within 24 hours of
unprotcctcd scx, it is 95%o cffcctivc in prcvcnting
prcgnancy. It works by flooding the body with a
synthetic form ofthc hormonc progcstcrone,
changing the womb's lining so a fertilised cgg
cannot scttle and stopping or delaying ovulation

and thickening the mucus in thc ccrvix, making

it difficult for sperm to reach thc womb.
It is not pleasant: when I took it mysclf
many years ago, I fclt nauseous, suffcrcd
stomach cramps, a splitting headachc and had
to go to bed. Lcvoncllc, thc brand most widcly
available in Britain, lists its sidc effects as
hcavy blecding, hcadachcs, nausea and
vomiting, plus a confuscd cyclc. This chimcs
with the experiences of thc girls I met. They
report it plays havoc with menstrual patterns,
particularly for those who takc it a lot. Most
worryingly, thc pill was only dcsigned to bc

GENERATION EXPOSED
Some ofthe teenagers

who spoke fnnkly to

Eleanor Mills about the

morning-after pill

another third said

taken it more than once
they had taken it cven more frcqucntly.
Thc morning-aftcr pill has bccn acccptcd as
altcrnative
form of contraception. Somehow
an
it has crept up on us and is bcing marketed
alongside morc bcnign forms of contraception
without side effccts. At Christmas, womcn werc
advised through a high-profile advcrtising
campaign to stock up on the pills; and bizarrell',
to coincidc with the Olympics, the British
Prcgnancy Advisory Servicc has launchcd a
ncw Just in Case kit, containing a morning-after
pill and condoms. These days, the pill is not so
much about emergency, but normality.
It sounds great freedom from the old
scourge ofunwanted pregnanc]4 a second
chancc whcn normal contraccption isn't
available or accidents occur. But thc morningaftcr pill is no longcr simply a boon to womcn;
it is also having unintcndcd and unforesccn
consequcnccs for somc of thc most vulncrablc

girls in our socicty as I discovcrcd when

I recently took a trip to the south coast.
hc train pullcd out ofCharing Cross,
hcading for the coastal rcsort of
Hastings, and rain trickled down the
windows. At frrst it zoomcd along,
reaching the smart commutcr towns of
Scvcnoaks and Tunbridge Wclls spccdily, but
thcn thc stopsbecamc morc frequent, thc
stations grottier and the passengers morc likcir'

wcaring shell suits than pinstripes. At

Warrior Squarc in St Lconards, the Georgian
villas had scen bcttcr days. Hcrc thc stucco is
to bc

.rsed occasionally. Thcre has been no research

:aio ihc long-tcrm cffccts ofrcgular usc. "It
i.cls a bit like you've tippcd blcach down your
r.productivc systcm," onc girl said. "It's toxic."
Dr Alyson Elliman, vicc-prcsidcnt of thc
r rcultr of scxual and rcproductivc hcalthcare
at thc Royal Collcgc of Obstctricians and
Gr naccologists, thinks thc risks arc small:
-It may intcrfcrc with mcnstrual pattcrns if
rakcn morc than oncc in a cyclc, causing
hcavicr blccding. Othcr than that thcre are no
long-tcrm cffccts. But ifpcoplc are using it cach
:imc thcrc is unprotcctcd scx thcy will not have

thc same lcvcl of contraccptivc covcr as if thcy

uscd a rcliablc rcgular mcthod."
Howcvcr, use of thc morning-aftcr pill has
cxplodcd sincc 2OO1, whcn it was first madc
availablc without a prescription. Onc survey
by thc Co-op chain of pharmacics found that
onc in five 18- to 3S-ycar-olds has uscd it within
the past ycar. Figures from the Officc for
National Statistics suggcst that about 25O,OOO
women have takcn it at lcast thrce times in onc
year. I spokc to two groups of tcenage girls and
in both, more than half had takcn the morning-

aftcr pill. A third ofeach group said thcy had

pecling, fast-food shops abound, and scaside

tourists stay at the caravan park.
This is one of the most dcprivcd arcas in thc
southeast, its largc, chcap propertics oftcn uscd
as cmcrgcncy housing by a local authority that
is doing its bcst to kccp thc lid on a tcctcringlv
high pilc of social problcms. In Silchcstcr Road,
up from thc bcach, is thc Rcspond Acadcmli
This school/youth club/pupil referral unit trics
to hclp thc most marginaliscd youngstcrs of
all: thosc who havc bccn cxcludcd from school,
havc lcft carc homcs or have been cast adrift by
chaotic familics who think nothing of taking
young tccns drinking, clubbing or "a-robbing".
Thc Rcspond Acadcmy, backcd by the local
MP, Ambcr Rudd, tries to light a spark in the
hardcst-to-rcach kids through the arts. )) >
Thc Sunday Timcs M agaz,nc 22.7.22

Many are bright but disaffected and bccome

talented DJs or artists. Having ignited that
passion, they get the kids entry-level and then
GCSE-equivalent qualifications or higher. In
thc cheerful reception area manned by pablo
McFec, a friendly Rasta musician, exam
certificates are proudly displayed. pablo and
his wife, JC, support and educate the kids for
many of their students, the academy is the
closest thing to a family they have ever known.
This Friday afternoon, a group of regulars
have all met up to talk to mc about the morningafter pill and the sexual culture it engenders.
The walls are adorned with art made by the
pupils. Onc striking manga-stylc drawing is the
work of Chloe, 17, an elfin-faced girl who looks,
and draws, like a young Tracey Emin.
Jerri, tall
in an Iron Maiden T-shirt, is playing the piano
and singingwhilcJade, Tasha and Hannah, all
16, sit and chat. Glamorous Natalie,24, in a
floral maxi (who is studying biology and has
been coming here for 1O years), entertains her
two-ycar-old daughtec Annabcl, and talks to
old pal Kasey, 22, who hclps out herc and is
sportingblackAdidas leggings. Devon, lZ a shy
girl in an ovcrsized black hoodic bclonging to
her boyfriend, perches bird-like on a chair.
he girls are all familiar with thc
morning-aftcr pill. More than half

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had takcn it. They tell me they first

hcard about it, and contraception in
gcneral, at school when thcy were 10
or 11. "Thc lessons wcrc a joke,,, says
Jcrri. "Thcre was a malc tcachcr sucking a
femidom [female condom] and a song t the
tune of a Lily Allen track, all about ,putting my
willyinsidc of you'. Itwas all sex is fun, and
don't get sexually transmitted infections. Thev
told us to use condoms.,'
Some of the girls say theywere shocked.
"Mum said babies just fell from birds in the
sky," says Hannah. "I didn t know anything.',
Another girl adds: "But at 1O or 11 some kids are
thinking about it. Some round here start to
have sex at 12 and 13." By 14, somc local girls arc
giving blow jobs for packs of fags in thc alleys.
Thcre is a van with a mattress where others do
full sex for f2O. "There's a girl who is 12 years
old who's slept with 15 peoplg,,says Hannah.
"It's like the schools are promoting sex,"
says Natalie. "It was all saying, .Sex is fun, go
do it, just be safc.' That summer when we were
12, after we d had thc sex education at school,
lots of friends went on to do things that were
sexual and inappropriate. Therc was nothing
about relationships, or intimacy, or trust, or
lovc, or sayinggirls should wait and they didn,t
have to do it, or encouraging them not to.,,
rirc Srnaay timc s

Maga.,ane 22.2.20tJ

A heated discussion begins regarding the

sexual double standard:',If guys sleep with
more than one pcrson, they are a ,legend': if
girls slecp with more than two men, thcy are a
'slut', a 'red bitch," says Hannah. It sounds like
The Scarlet Letter. "It's really unfair, they slag
you off but then they want you to havc sex.,,
"If you're 1 or 17 and don't wear make-up
and revealing clothes and look sexy, you don,t
have a boyfricnd
- and then you don,t value
yourself," explains Natalie. Devon agrees:

"When I was

15,

my boyfriend said, ,I want you

to have sexy underwear and make-up.','

One of the girls pipes up: .,Most times I feel
pressure to have sex. It's about people-pleasing.

I thought that if I didn t, theyd do it anyway. If

you say, 'But you haven t got a condom', they
just say, 'Go down the clinic and get the
morning-after pill tomorrow., If you don t get
lovc from your parents, you go somcwherc elsg
and sex can feel like love
- or a substitutc for
love. It's like, because of the morning-after pill
mcn don't have to take responsibility for
anything any more. They don't want to wear
condoms and they don't havc to. If you say you
don t want to have scx, they say, ,Give it up,
don't be silly, get down the clinic.,,,
The girls describe a culture in which casy
access to contraception fuels a kind ofsexual
frce-for-all. "Sex round hcrc docsn,t happcn
betwcen two peoplc who love each other. Girls
are now expected to have sex when they don,t
even talk to the boy, whcn they don,t even
know cach other. There's no discussion about
protection, it's just assumcd the girl will takc
the morning-aftcr pill,', says Rochcllc. Anothcr
girl adds: "I took the morning-after pill when
I was 13 because I was too young to even think
of getting pregnant. I thought it was
responsible. But boys push you into scx bv
saying you can takc it the ncxt day.,'
The notion of ' going down the clinic,' isn t
an easy end in itself, however
- it presents the
girls with other social prcssures. .,It,s like
Euston station in there, it,s a big glass buitding
and everyone can sec you. This is a small town,
everyone knows what you,re there for,', says
Tasha. They say they oftcn have to wait for two,
three, even four hours to get hold of it. .The
boys never have to do that," she adds. '.It,s not
fair that all the responsibility falls on us.,,
"Yeah, and when you speak to thc
receptionist, even though it's about personal
things, evcryone in therc can hear you,', says
Natalie. "I d rather spend f26 and get it from
thc pharmacist," says Kascy. The others nod,
but 26 is a lot of money to these young women.
One girl tells me how she had an abortion and
afterwards was given a box of morning-after

pills to take home, "so I wouldn't havc to go

back again for another one, the nursc said,,.
So

why do thcy do it? "sometimes it,s easier

just to give in and have sex rather than have

them punch you in the head, then youjust get
the morning-after pill," says one of the girlsin a
chillingly flat tone. "Most men use their fists
when you stand up to them. When you,rc in
that head space, you think you lovc them. so

liberal-mindedwoman likc mc who has

always seen contraception as a plank of female
empowerment and freedom, to hear how these
girls have been cocrccd into unprotected,
casual scx bccause they canjust 'go and get the
morning-after pill" is shocking and upsetting.
Natalie sums it up: "Boys just think it's all
right. Makes it okay for them to be very
irresponsible - if it didn't cxist, they would
have to use other protection, have to think
about us morc. But we've got no comeback.
It's true that if they do it to you, you can gct the
pill the next day. It doesn't make it right."
Dawn Clark, a psychotherapist and
counsellor with the British Prcgnancy
Advisory Service on the south coast - who is
conducting research into negative scxual
behaviour - is also concerned. "I oftcn hear
vulnerable young women who comc in for the

To a

At this the elder girls, Kasey and Natalie, jump

in. "If someone loves you, they'll respect you
and stick up for you." "But thcy don't teach you
about relationships at school," chorus the
younger three. "They only tell you, 'This is
how you do it: gct thc morning-after pill, don't
catch sexually transmitted infections."'
"There's nothing about being committed,
being comfortable, being safe, having cuddles.
Nobody encourages you to wait until you feel
ready," saysJerri, sadly. Rather than talking

morning-after pill or a termination saying,

'He didn't want to wcar a condom because he
wants to do it like in porn.' I've heard that a
thousand times."
The privileged girls I spokc to in London are
also being forced to grapplc with thc double
standard. While some are happily in
relationships, revclling in discovcring their
scxuality (they would text cach othcr after a
grcat orgasm), others are more troubled. The'

DAY. THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT'

do it. I suffered DV [domestic violence]

for slx months - he bit my shoulder. He d just
got out of prison, he was manipulative, you do
stuff to contain them. We've had rubbish lives
- you take lovc or something whcn it comes
along, but it's a load of bollocks." The younger
girls nod. One says: "What does love look like?
It doesn t exist, it'sjust sexual attraction. Thcy
only want one thing, then they leave."

lou

about contraccption, adds Dcvon, thcy should

be saying: "Respect yourself. Be proud to say,
'I'm a virgin you ain't gctting mc tonight."'
The other girls nod vigorously.
We havc been talking for an hour and a half.
The girls look twitchy - the younger trio go
outside for a cigarette break. Onc of the older
students, who has gonc away to art school and
become succcssful in hcr own right, has been
sitting very quictly through all this. I turn to
hcr, cxpecting a wry smilc, or somc wisdom
born ofescaping her past. I ask what she
thinks. Her hair is in front of her facc, and
when she turns towards me, I realise she is
crying, wordlessly, so upsct shc cannot spcak.
I put my arm round hcr. This room, thcse livcs,
are full of pain. Onc of the girls was completely
frank about thc lcvcl ofdespair in her life. "I
cnded up as a prostitutc, I d gct drunk and high
and have sex. I thought, ifI was going to have to
do it, rather than giving it out for frec like loads
of young girls, I might as well gct paid for it."

talk of how boys will push their head down

into their laps and say, "Suck my doo*"; and
thc obsccne lyrics in the music thcy listen to.
Jane, 17, with long brown hair and huge brorvn
cycs, said: "I felt so clueless and powerless
when I had sex for thc first time."
This generation has a rcfrcshing openness
about scx. They are comfortable talking
about it and comfortable in thcir own bodies.
But the same tools that enabled them to
cxplorc thcir sexuality can backfirc. Travclling
back to London, I fccl saddcncd by what
I havc lcarnt. Thc girls I spokc to comc from
very diffcrent backgrounds. But thcy are all
bright, bcautiful, vulnerable - and they are
all being failed I
Additional reporting

b1t Serena

Esiri-Bloom

Watch a tive debate on the morning-after

pil.t's impact on teenage sexuaUty at
thesundaytimes,co,uk/morningafterpill

Thc Sunday Timcs

agazinc 22.7 2012