Laura Coryton

Tackling sex and relationship taboos with student workshops

Project

Sex Ed Matters

URL

sexedmatters.co.uk/

Twitter

@sexedmattersuk

Location

London

Theme

Education

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Tackling sex and relationship taboos with student workshops

Devon entrepreneur Laura Coryton is a long-time advocate for better education around menstruation, sex and consent.

In 2014, she started a petition to end the “tampon tax” on period products. The petition gained high-profile support from politicians including Barack Obama and ultimately contributed to the end of the tax in 2021.

As she explains, the experience taught her “the power young people have to speak up and make a positive difference”. It inspired her to start Sex Ed Matters, a social enterprise that aims to tackle sex and relationship taboos in UK schools.

Sex Ed Matters supports teachers with the delivery of the Department for Education’s new Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum. It creates student-focused resources and workshops on important topics like consent and healthy relationships, periods and menopause, gender and sexuality, and friendships and bullying.

Laura hopes that the Young Innovators Award can help her take the business to the next level. As she says:

“I know our business has the potential to help tackle many crucial societal problems, from sexual harassment to homophobia, but I’ve never had any business training or support before. The Award will provide the guidance I need to ensure our business reaches its full potential and makes the impact I know it can!”

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