We are a multi-disciplinary team from across the world, with many of us currently studying at the University of Edinburgh. As members of the Buchanan Institute, a student-led think tank which facilitates pursuits to enact change, we have followed our shared passion for reforming current contraceptive care and health in Scotland.

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The committee oversees the organisational strategy, vision and direction of CERT. We discuss the outputs of each of CERT’s teams and collaboratively create solutions to any issues that may arise alongside setting goals for future projects. 

This year, we have been working on our ‘Make Stealthing Illegal’ campaign and laying the foundations for a second CERT branch in Glasgow. It’s wonderful to work so closely with such passionate, determined and all round brilliant humans!

Outreach is responsible for all external communications and CERT’s public-facing presence. We research, create and manage CERT’s social media to disseminate our core messages in a creative and  accessible way. 

We collaborate with other related organisations to champion the diversity of voices in the contraceptive and sexual health field. 

Fundraising and Events

The Events & Fundraising team is responsible for organising events to promote CERT, collaborate with organisations that align with our core values, connect to the wider Edinburgh community, and raise money for charitable initiatives. This year we ran a round table discussion event at Peanut Press Cafe, a creative workshop at August 21 Cafe in collaboration with Clitbait Zine, and several  CERT member socials.

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The most rewarding event we ran in 2022 was the ‘Gossip Ball’ at the Caves in April in collaboration with Girls Against, Girl Up Edinburgh, Sanitree, Sexpression, and Edinburgh University Feminist Society. We hosted 200 guests, raised over £2000 for Shakti Women’s Aid, and had a fabulous time! In April we also launched CERT Glasgow and held a launch event with live music and poetry performances, in support of Glasgow Women’s Aid.

Campaigns are responsible for progressing CERT’s campaign recommendations. This year we have worked on ‘Make Stealthing Illegal’; turning a research paper with a recommendation to explicitly criminalise stealthing into roundtable discussions and meetings with MSPs; a petition with over 500 signatures;

Campaigns

extensive research and planning as to the best political route; legal, political and media contacts; and plans to begin a bill, host a launch event and release radio programmes this summer. 

Morning
After Pill

The Morning After Pill Project is researching how education about emergency oral contraception could be made more effective in Scotland. More specifically, we are looking into how Scottish Secondary schools engage with this in sex education, and how they could improve. Ultimately, we will make recommendations for changes in Scottish school curricula to include a more comprehensive and accurate explanation of emergency oral contraception. We hope to end stigma and misconceptions around the Morning After Pill. 

The Libido project is examining how hormonal contraceptive methods affect libido. We are aiming to understand the different experiences of pill users and combine our knowledge to produce a comprehensive policy paper that can influence better informed decision making by all parties. 

Libido

Secondary Uses
of Contraception

We are looking at the various non-contraceptive uses of hormonal contraception. We are examining the social and scientific ideas which have led to hormonal contraceptives being used to ‘treat’ many gynaecological and hormonal conditions. Currently we are writing our literature review and discussing the lack of research into why people suffer from

certain gynaecological conditions, something which we feel would allow more appropriate treatments to emerge, helping the root cause of hormonal problems, such as PCOS, Endometriosis, hormonal Migraines and menorrhagia. 

We are excited to move into the next phase of our research which will involve speaking to the public and targeted groups about their experiences with gynaecological diseases and the prescription of hormonal contraceptives. 

Mental Health

The Mental Health Research Team works to explore whether there is a clear link between mental health well-being and contraceptive use, specifically hormonal contraceptives. Our research is taken from a biomedical perspective but considers the personal experience of users, as well. Through this research, we hope to expand on existing information surrounding the topic and determine whether or not mental ill health should be listed as a side effect so contraceptive users can make more informed decisions around their contraceptive choices.