NUS warns that more and more students in England are turning to dangerous methods in order to afford the £9000 a year University fees.

According to the English Collective of Prostitutes, which runs a helpline for people working in the sex industry, the number of calls it receives from students has at least doubled over the last year.

Research from the University of Kingston suggests that 20% of women working as lap dancers are students and 16% of all students asked said they would consider working in the sex industry.

Sarah Walker, who works for a prostitute helpline, has noticed an increase in calls since the government announced the planned rise in tuition fees. She told the BBC: “they [government ministers] know that the cuts they’re making are driving women into things like sex work. It’s a survival strategy so we would hold the government responsible for that.”

One young woman has revealed how she started working as an escort when she was 17 in order to fund her £70 weekly travel expenses to college.

The woman decided that in order to complete her A levels and eventually make it to University, she would have to find a job that didn’t clash with her study hours. In the end a friend encouraged her to work for his escort agency and she accepted.

According to the BBC, the young woman now thoroughly regrets her decision and has lost self-confidence and trust in others as a result. She encourages other young people in her position to find out as much as possible about available grants and benefits before making such life-changing decisions.

In light of these worrying reports, the Department of Education has released plans to offer £180 million worth of financial support to the most vulnerable 16-19 year olds hoping to go to University.

If you have worked or are working in the sex industry and you want to speak with a counsellor, you can find out more about the help on offer by visiting Types of Distress. Alternatively you can search for a counsellor using the search tool on the Counselling Directory homepage. 

View and comment on the original BBC article

A ten-year-old child, born as a boy, has returned from the summer holidays dressed as a little girl.

The child has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition that means an individual believes they are not the gender they were born with.

The child’s mother has explained to the press that, growing up, her daughter always felt uncomfortable dressing in boy’s clothes because she had a girl’s mind trapped in a boy’s body.

Before the summer holidays, other children knew their classmate as ‘him’. When they returned to school, they were gathered in an assembly and told that their friend has become a girl, and that they must now refer to him as ‘her’.

Relatives and teachers have praised the child for revealing the new look to her classmates, despite having apparently suffered verbal abuse and bullying at the hands of some outraged parents.

Sex change surgery is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 but the youngster already plans to start taking hormone tablets before puberty. The hormones will help counter the effects of puberty by restricting hair growth, aiding the development of hips and breasts and preventing the voice from breaking.

Her mother said: “It’s going to be a hard school life for us and for her as well. But she is a strong person and I’m sure we will get through it as a family. The other pupils have been little stars who have accepted my daughter into the fold.”

The school fully supports the pupil’s extraordinary decision and has allowed her to dress in the female version of the school uniform. Some parents, however, are unhappy with the decision and have since lodged complaints.

15,000 people in the UK have gender dysphoria. If you or someone you care about has this condition and you would like help and guidance, you may wish to speak with a counsellor. A counsellor can take you through every single stage of gender transformation, from the initial surgery to the time spent recovering and adjusting afterwards. Visit the Counselling Directory to find a counsellor dealing with gender dysphoria near you.

View the original Metro article here.

However, a recent article featured on BBC News recalled a story relating to gender identity which will hopefully contribute to spreading awareness of the topic.

The story begins back in the 1960s when Canadian couple Janet and Ron Reimer began to notice their seven month old twins Bruce and Brian were having difficulty urinating.

After seeking medical advice, the parents took the boys to the hospital for a routine circumcision operation, where sadly a malfunction in the electrical medical equipment meant that Bruce’s penis was completely burned off.

His brother Brian’s operation was cancelled and the Reimers took their children home.

One evening when the Reimers were watching TV, sex change psychologist Dr John Money was featured on a show commenting on how he believed it is how we are raised which determines if we are male or female.

The Reimers made an appointment with Dr Money, who saw the situation as an opportunity to conduct an experiment and bring up Bruce as the opposite sex, resulting in a 17 month old Bruce becoming Brenda.

Four months later Bruce underwent his first surgical step to becoming Brenda, castration. Her parents were then told by Dr Money that in order for the sex change to work completely they should not let Brenda know she had been born a boy.

The family visited Dr Money on a yearly basis, where he tracked the twins progress but kept their identity a secret, instead referring to them in his papers and articles as John/Joan. In 1975 when the children were nine, Dr Money published a paper on his observations which concluded that the experiment had been a total success.

However, by the age of thirteen when reaching puberty, Brenda was feeling depressed and suicidal. Her parents commented that she was extremely rebellious and masculine, pointblank refusing to do anything feminine and growing up with barely any friends.

The Reimers eventually decided to tell Brenda the truth, who within just a few weeks chose to became David and underwent reconstructive surgery.

Eventually David married and a few years later was appalled to discover that his case had found its way into a vast array of medical and physiological textbooks as a ‘successful’ case.

Now well into his thirties, David became depressed, lost his job, separated from his wife and in 2002 received the news that his brother had died from an overdose.

Two years later on 4 May 2004, aged 38, David decided to take his own life.

Though cases such as Bruce/Brenda are extremely rare, there are still decisions being made about whether a child should be brought up as a male or female if they suffer from Disorders of Sex Development.

Polly Carmichael from Great Ormand Street Hospital explains that in order to prevent cases such as the Bruce/Brenda tragedy, they have well-functioning multi-disciplinary teams around the country so that the decision will be taken by a variety of professionals.

“One of the wonderful thing about working with children and their families is that children are amazingly resilient. With support, I’m constantly amazed at what children are able to take on and manage.” She said.

If you would like to read the full story or download as a podcast please visit the original article here.

If you are struggling to come to terms with your sexual identity and would like to talk to a counsellor in confidence, please use the search tool located on the homepage to locate a qualified professional in your local area.

Support will be offered through a variety of mediums that young people feel comfortable with. They can receive counselling online, over the phone, via text or of course face to face. This money isn’t just going to benefit those who seek counselling but also the local community who will have a chance to get involved through mentoring and volunteering opportunities.

Christine Mead, Head of Wellbeing Services at THT, said:

“This is a breakthrough for THT in our drive to develop more comprehensive services, led by young people for young people.”

She also said that by using technology they are aiming to reach out to a growing number of young people who ordinarily may not have engaged with traditional services. The fund enables THT to bridge the gap between mental and sexual health and instead looks at the well being of the whole person.

The three year project will begin this month and is aimed at young people who are concerned about sex, sexuality, relationships, sexual health and sexually transmitted infections. The charity said the projects working title is T2T (an abbreviation of Talk to Terry) but the final name ill be selected by the young persons executive group.