On October 13th, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) kicked off this year’s Sexual Health and Guidance (SHAG) Week in collaboration with various Trinity societies. The SHAG Week events ran from October 13th to October 17th, , and involved a series of workshops and fundraising events.
The focus of the week is to spread awareness on the issues of consent, safer sex, and protection from Sexually Transmittable Diseases (STDs). Trinity students had the opportunity to obtain information about matters regarding sexual health at the Arts Block Info Stalls during the first two days of SHAG week. This was followed by two Sex Education sessions organised by QSoc, a longtime partner of SHAG Week.
QSoc’s Sexual Education sessions were directed towards the queer and transgender community, offering workshops featuring guest speakers. Closed spaces for the Aro/Ace community were also featured, offering a positive space for those to whom SHAG Week isn’t particularly relevant. The events’ main goal was to give students space to talk about their experiences and come together.
When asked about the students’ attitudes by The University Times, the Chair of QSoc said: “There’s more enthusiasm, I think people are trying to be more aware and informed about sex, trying to learn more about the queer sexual experience”.
QSoc’s work on sexual health awareness extends beyond SHAG Week – their Sex Education workshops are available to first year students in Trinity Hall every Freshers’ Week, alongside mandatory consent workshops organised by the TCDSU.
Fundraising is another of the main objectives of SHAG Week. On Wednesday, October 15th QSoc, DUGES, and TCD Women’s Health organised a pub crawl from which all proceeds were donated to Transgress the NGS, an organisation supporting Trans healthcare. Meanwhile, Trinity Cupids blind date event by Trinity Ents, TCD Engineer Society, Trinity Vincent de Paul, French Society and Trinity Entrepreneurial Society was a fundraiser for the Women’s Aid “Too Into You” campaign, raising awareness about domestic violence.
The culmination of SHAG Week was Friday’s Graduates Memorial Building (GMB) Takeover, which included the SHAG Fair by TCD Women’s Health and Cancer Society, bringing attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The newly launched GMBar also returned with DUDJ and live performances from DUAMS, DU Music and DU Players in Chamber.
All proceeds from the event went to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and the Irish Cancer Society.
