Why ‘vagina’ should be part of every young woman’s vocabulary

Call for young women to face up to embarrassment about gynaecological health as newcharity survey reveals dangerous knowledge gap amongst UK women
Young women in the UK are less educated than their elder counterparts about the symptoms
and issues around gynaecological cancers; and worryingly, more embarrassed to discussthem than older women. This is according to a new survey released today by women’s cancer
research charity, The Eve Appeal.
One in five women aged 16-25 years surveyed couldn’t name a single correct symptom of
any of the five gynaecological cancers, and less than a quarter said they felt confident thatthey were well informed about gynaecological health issues, compared to over 42% of women
aged 66-75.
Perhaps more shockingly, it’s the language of gynaecological health that is proving anadditional barrier to young women opening up about concerns around gynaecologicalcancers, with 65% saying they have a problem using the words vagina or vulva, and nearly
40% of 16-25 year olds resorting to using code names such as ‘lady parts’ or ‘women’s bits’ todiscuss gynaecological health.
Lack of basic anatomical knowledge is also an issue, with women in the younger age groups
struggling to correctly identify the five areas that can be affected by gynaecological cancer(womb, cervix, ovaries, vagina and vulva) on a simple diagram - just half of women aged 2635 were able to label the vagina accurately. In contrast older women aged 66-75 were muchbetter educated about their bodies, with eight in ten able to correctly label ovaries andnearly nine in ten the womb.
It’s not just a knowledge gap between the different generations that was revealed by thesurvey however, as the data also showed a distinct difference in attitudes towards talking
about gynaecological health issues. Whilst more than one in ten of 16-35 year olds said theyfound it very hard to talk to their GPs about gynaecological health concerns, and nearly athird admitted that they had avoided going to the doctors altogether with gynaecologicalissues due to embarrassment, these figures dramatically decrease amongst women in theolder age groups.
These findings are in direct contrast with the popular misconception that society is more
open these days, making it much easier for women of younger generations to talk about
gynaecological health. Nearly three quarters of all women surveyed across every age groupagreed with this statement, and over 60% said they thought that young women knew more
about gynaecological health than older women.
Helena Morrissey, Chairman of The Eve Appeal commented:

“At the Eve Appeal we know how important it is to promote straight talking about the signsand symptoms of gynaecological cancers to women of all ages, and this survey has
highlighted just how far we still have to go to make this happen.
“These cancers have some of the worst outcomes for women, with a 40% mortality rate.
Understanding the symptoms will save lives, which is why we are urging women thisGynaecological Cancer Awareness Month to talk more openly about these life-saving issues.”
With the survey results showing that over half of women (51%) would find it easy to talk totheir female friends about gynaecological health concerns, and more than a third (34%)
saying the same of their sister, The Eve Appeal is encouraging women to get together thisGCAM and visit www.eveappeal.org.uk to learn more about the risks and symptoms ofgynaecological cancers, as well as sharing their knowledge and experiences.
Currently 53 women are diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer every day in the UK, making
GCAM 2014 the perfect time to increase awareness of the need for greater understanding of
this issue amongst women of all generations.
For more information about Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month (GCAM)
visit www.eveappeal.org.uk.

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