Rosemary Goodchild Award for sexual health journalism 2012

The Rosemary Goodchild Award celebrates the best writing about sexual health issues.

The annual £500 prize is decided by FPA and a guest health journalist. Winning articles have discussed themes as varied as vasectomies for men and the best sex toys for women.

The award was established by the family of former FPA Press Officer, Rosemary Goodchild, who died of ovarian cancer in 1988.

2012 Award

The 2012 Rosemary Goodchild Award is part of the UK Sexual Health Awards set up by FPA and Brook to celebrate outstanding work in the field of sexual health throughout the UK.

Nominations for the 2012 award are now closed and shortlisted nominees will be contacted in due course.

The awards ceremony and dinner will take place in London on 15 March 2012. Information and tickets for the awards.

Who can enter?

The award is open to all national and regional press, consumer magazines and professional journal writers.

Commissioned articles appearing as online content on UK websites only are also acceptable.

All articles submitted for the 2012 Award must have been published between 1 January and 31 December 2011.

Articles should meet these criteria:

• Must be primarily about a sexual health issue. This could include sex and relationships education, sexual health services, sexually transmitted infections, sexuality and gender, sex and the law, pregnancy, abortion or contraception.
• Must be factually correct
• Must be medically sound.
• Should help encourage positive changes in people’s behaviour.

Further information

For more information about the Award email gerryh@fpa.org.uk or call Gerry Halliday on 020 7608 5265.

The 2011 Award winner

The winner of the 2011 Rosemary Goodchild Award for excellence in sexual health journalism was Catherine Bennion-Pedley for Company magazine.

Her contraception feature asked ‘Do you think the coil still looks like this?’, and marked a third win for Company since 2003.

The article was chosen from a strong shortlist of features this year by the judging panel, who were: Julie Powell, Health Director of Good Housekeeping magazine, Trevor Goodchild, journalist and Award Trustee, Julie Bentley, Chief Executive FPA, and Rebecca Findlay, Press and Campaigns Manager FPA.

The judges described it as an exceptionally well-targeted, well-resourced and empowering article.

Julie Bentley Chief Executive FPA said: “The Company feature highlights a very real issue – that many women are not aware of all the contraceptive choices available to them and don't understand the benefits of different methods.”

Award winner Catherine Bennion-Pedley of Company magazine pictured above with Trevor Goodchild, Award Trustee, and Julie Bentley, Chief Executive, FPA, at the FPA Summer Reception held at The House of Lords on 22 June 2011.

The winning article

Read Do you think the coil still looks like this? (PDF) by Catherine Bennion-Pedley of Company magazine.