With so many people living with Vaginismus, Sh! created Vaginismus Awareness Day in 2015 to shed light on this condition. 2 in 1,000 women experience Vaginismus once in their lifetime. Many more are too afraid or embarrassed to seek help. With a 95% chance of treating the condition, it's important to talk about Vaginismus.
With this in mind, we've created a virtual event for women & vulva-owners living with Vaginismus. We have an expert panel of therapists, educators, campaigners and artists with direct experience of living with or treating Vaginismus. The evening will provide a lively, inclusive forum to discuss the physical and psychological impact of painful sex and to empower and inform all who experience it.
Tickets For Vaginismus Awareness Day
- Date: Wednesday 15th September
- Time: 7pm
- Price: £3 - ALL proceeds will go to the Dilator Pay It Forward Scheme
- Book here: Eventbrite
The booking form has a space for adding your own questions to our panel, which will endeavour to answer as many questions as possible during the live event.
This is an online event, so you can join from the comfort of your home, with all your favourite drinks & snacks to hand.
Host & Special Guests
Evie Fehilly is a sex educator, sex clown and queer performer. Evie creates taboo-busting theatre and films, but also puts sex education at the core of her work – both hosting the sex-clown cabaret in London and running workshops at Sh!
Lisa Mackenzie, co-founder of the Vaginismus Network, a community for people with Vaginismus that raises awareness of the condition, and connects, supports and empowers those living with it.
Fran Bushe, actor, writer and comedian. Her book My Broken Vagina is one woman's funny, moving, and sometimes awkward quest to fix her sex life, but it's the story of millions of women everywhere - half of all women have felt pain during sex.
Sarah Berry, an experienced sex & relationship therapist who helps individuals, couples and groups overcome, manage and better understand all issues across the gender, sex and relationship fields, including Vaginismus, which she specialises in.
Audrey Cairo is a Confidence Coach for Vaginismus warriors. With her V.&Me coaching programme and the V.&Me podcast she has combined her personal & professional to empower women who are being or have been challenged by Vaginismus.
Lorna Meehan, poet, actor and solo theatre-maker, has an autobiographical show called NO ENTRY! about her experience of overcoming Vaginismus, ditching shame and busting harmful myths about sex. It recently had a sell-out show at the 'Calm Down Dear' feminist theatre festival at Camden People's Theatre and will be touring next year.
Vaginismus Survey
Studies tell us that at least 2 in 1,000 women & vulva-owners experience Vaginismus once in their lifetime, but we think this figure is far higher. If you have experience with Vaginismus, we'd appreciate a few minutes of your time. The results of this anonymous survey will help shape our panel discussion on painful sex on Vaginismus Awareness Day.
What is Vaginismus?
Vaginismus is a condition in which your vaginal muscles tighten up whenever penetration is attempted. This can occur during penetrative sex or even during tampon insertion. These symptoms are involuntary, and often need treatment to resolve them. Painful sex can often be a symptom, and those with the condition often describe it as a burning feeling, or as if the inserted item is 'hitting a wall'.
What is Vaginismus Awareness Day?
Sh! created Vaginismus Awareness Day on 15th September to open up the conversation about painful sex. Vaginismus Awareness Day helps shatter the isolation and helps eliminate the pain, by raising awareness, understanding and connections for people living with this condition.
Dilator Pay It Forward Scheme
Sh! created the Dilator Pay It Forward scheme as a way of helping women on a limited income to own a set of our vaginal dilators. The dilator kits are handmade from body-safe silicone here in the UK. Priced as affordably as possible, the price is nonetheless still prohibitive to some. Donating to our Pay-It-Forward scheme helps those on a limited income to own a set. Any donation is hugely appreciated!
Win a Free Dilator Set
Every year on Vaginismus Awareness Day, free dilator sets are awarded to women who need them. We cannot guarantee that everyone who needs one will get a free kit, so to make it as fair as possible, we organise a draw on Vaginismus Awareness Day. There are two requirements for anyone wanting to be entered into the draw:
- You must be in treatment for Vaginismus (self-diagnosing is not advisable)
- Tell your story in your own words for publication on our Vaginismus Awareness Website. Please email your personal experience of Vaginismus to renee@sh-womenstore.com
