‘NO’ to morning after pill shaming! Join us at The Helix, talking all things sex, stigma and female empowerment

Brought to you by ellaOne. 

Yep, we're coming to The Helix on Thursday March 7 ladies!

For #MyMorningAfter in association with the morning after pill brand ellaOne @ The Helix, our very own Niamh Maher from Girls With Goals will be joined by the It Galz' Lindsay Hamilton, plus Sarah Hanrahan (I Come Undone) and Molly Parsons (host of Molly's Minutes podcast) in The Gallery room. Lindsay is one half of the duo that started a podcast as an ode to Sex and the City (the anything-goes It Galz), Sarah is one of our all-time favourite food, fashion and lifestyle bloggers (I Come Undone) and Molly Parsnips is the retro chick whose Instagram pics you will adore. Yep, we're in good company! If you're wondering why the panel of amazing, chatty, spill-all-the-beans kind of gals will be joining students at The Helix on the day, well, it's for an all-important discussion surrounding women's health - namely sexual health - in advance of International Women's Day (March 8). ellaOne recently asked our readers to share their #MyMorningAfter experiences with us and the results were very interesting to say the least! The survey showed that 59 per cent of women aged 18 to 24 who have had unprotected sex said they have felt judged in real life, or through the media, for their decisions when it comes to emergency contraception. Almost 9 in 10 females aged 18 to 24 claim to have had sex previously where the contraception failed or where no contraception was used. Of these, 4 in 10 say they have had unprotected sex at least three times in the past year. While 91 per cent of those surveyed say they feel empowered to make the decisions that affect their body by themselves, 76 per cent of those surveyed believe there is still a stigma associated with taking the morning after pill. Now, we think that’s simply not on. So, a discussion is needed gals! Any conversation that gives us the confidence to take real care of ourselves, by putting our needs before any judgements, is entirely worth having. There shouldn't be any hesitation to do what's right for ourselves when it comes to making life and health decisions. It’s also remarkable that so many women feel this way when it’s not at all uncommon for condoms to break or for contraception to fail. Almost half of those who have had unprotected sex claim to have taken the morning after pill once or twice. Of those who have taken the morning after pill previously, almost a quarter (24 per cent) claim to have taken it more than once this year. While so much is happening in terms of women’s voices being heard, there’s still so much that needs to be done. One aspect that keeps coming to the fore, in terms of women’s health and sexuality, is the morning after. Let's be honest. Mistakes happen. Life happens. And when we need that back up protection the morning after, there should be absolutely nothing making us think twice to do what's best for us. Join our conversation that will surely ignite the fire in us all to have the confidence, the knowledge, the understanding and the assurance to do what is best for our own bodies when we need it. We promise there will be treats provided and there'll be no shortage of fun either! Register here (it's free!) and we look forward to having you join us on March 7. Brought to you by ellaOne. ellaOne is an emergency contraceptive pill that is available from pharmacies without a prescription. No other morning after pill is more effective at preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex. ellaOne consists of one film-coated tablet which should be taken as soon as possible, but no later than 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. Each film-coated tablet of ellaOne contains 30 mg ulipristal acetate. Always read the label.