“Don’t be a diva it’s only a beaver”

[clairestandish]

Just seen this in big pink writing on FB picture being shared round from some sort of smear test campaign, followed by a ‘we’ve seen it all before! go for your smear’ bla bla bla

I keep seeing this kind of thing, lots of focus on the low figures of women attending cervical screening being down to ‘prudish’ women who are too embarrassed.

AIBU to feel annoyed that a lot of the campaigns take this slant? I really don’t think it’s the full reason women decline having cervical screening. Many women have been treated badly by medical staff during childbirth and have a lack of trust or find the process too daunting in light of that. Many women have a history of sexual abuse and can’t face it. I’m sure there are more reasons too and it would be useful to address all of them if we want to improve attendance of cervical screening.

phescreening.blog.gov.uk/2018/11/30/phe-to-launch-national-cervical-screening-campaign-in-march-2019/

Whoops, March. January was cervical screening awareness week. Same comment applies though.

www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/01/nhs-england-cervical-screening-backlog-revealed-national-audit-office-untested-samples-laboratories?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

This was a horrible campaign, as was all the media claiming that the only reasons women don't go for smear tests are 'embarassment.'
I used to go for smear tests dutifully, until I had abnormal cells removed with LLETZ. I was told nothing about the side effects of this procedure, and it basically destroyed my sex life, as well as causing all sorts of physically health issues.
Over a decade later I learnt that gynaecologists don't actually study neurology of the cervix! Many assume the cervix has no nerve endings, but it turns out that the cervix has vital nerves that bypass the spinal cord and go directly to the brain. So they perform LLETZ with no real clue of the real side effects, and then gaslight any woman that complains and send her to a counsellor because 'it's all in their head.'
After that I lost complete trust in the medical system and was too terrified to go back for a smear. Thousands of women are effected and the issue has been written about in articles like this, although nothing has been done to start informing women or admit what's going on. tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/kz5339/women-arent-being-warned-about-the-sexual-side-effects-of-this-procedure
I've heard a lot of terrible stories about women being forced into smear tests, (either verbally or with actual physical force.) It's more common than you think, and with everything they are doing to women it's no wonder a large number don't want to go for smears. The idea that it's just because they are embarrassed is a cover-up in my opinion of what's really going on with cervical screening.