Interview 15

Age at interview: 21

Brief Outline: She had Chlamydia for which it was given a course of antibiotics that cleared the infection completely. (Played by an actor)

Background: Currently she works in a bar and plans to go to University next year. She thinks herself 'lucky' to have been diagnosed with Chlamydia early on and avoiding the risk of becoming infertile. (Played by an actor)

Describes how she decided to have an implant. (Actor)

(The accompanying video and audio clips are played by an actor)

Because first, before I never thought about implant, and when, when I knew it was working and everything I found it really marvellous. I was like, wow, for three years, and you don't even need to take the pill every day to remember it, and this kind of details. 

But it makes it better. And now it was nice, I felt nice when I read the prospectus about it, I found it really nice, so I thought, I'm gonna start to study next year, I'm not planning to have children the next three years and anyway, if I change my mind I can take it out. 

My metabolism will come back normal as soon as you take it off, contrary to the pill that, it takes time for the ovaries to work properly and everything. So, I don't know, I found it more safe somewhere, like for your body and everything, so I decide to change. Maybe in three months I will complain and I will say that it was a really bad idea, but I want to see '

Makes the point that condoms are too expensive. (Actor)

(The accompanying video and audio clips are played by an actor)

They feel less concerned because they can't get pregnant. So they feel less concerned about, about all those things. But the only thing, the only thing I will say is about sexual disease, I mean using condom and everything. There is one thing I will reproach. First you talk about it at the beginning, everybody talk about it, you have to wear condom. 

And I don't know, like on TV, I never saw any advertisement on TV about condom here. And after you go to the pharmacy and it's extremely expensive to buy condom. And for sure you can have it for free in the Family Planning, but maybe you don't think, or before you don't plan 'Oh tonight I'm going to have sex, so in the afternoon I'm going go to the Family''  

So it makes that if you are in the street, I'm sorry but I found it really expensive. I think for me a condom it should be about 10p. One, and not three, four'I don't know, it's too expensive. And they are just little things that make you forget that you are.. not make you forget, I mean you, you forget yourself,  that you have to use condoms. But I don't know, it's' for this I found that really should improve a bit. 

I think so, the condom it should be less expensive. It's a stupid thing but it's true, because the minimum wage is '4.20 per hour here when you are working, and after you go to another pharmacy here, I think for five condom it's something like '4.00 or something. So you know, I mean it's ridiculous to talk like this but it works like this. It's like, when you have just a little job to make you survive, each penny you think about it because maybe it will help you to eat properly the day after. So I don't know, it should be less expensive.

Discovers that her mother had Chlamydia only after she told her of her own experience of contracting the same infection. (Actor)

(The accompanying video and audio clips are played by an actor)

After I told my mum about it, she told me that she had it as well, so she explained to me how it worked, then she was quite happy that they discovered it quickly because like for her, she had it a long time. She was complaining that she didn't really have the same symptoms as me, and the thing is because of it now, she can't, she can't be pregnant anymore, because she had - how do you call it in English - the 'trompe' ?

The Fallopian tubes.

Yeah. One of them, no I mean both, I think both, are blocked, so she can't, I mean she can't be pregnant anymore, so' And this, she never explained to me why it is she couldn't be pregnant, so, I was quite happy that I discovered it quickly and I didn't wait that long to '

In your mother's case what symptoms did she have or did she have no symptoms? 

She was complaining that she had pain, she had pain and she went many times to see the gynaecologue, and he was like, you know, he didn't really care and she had been really disappointed because she was always explaining to him, I have pain, I have pain and he was like, no it's nothing, I don't know. I don't know exactly, but she, she felt the pain for a while. She told me many times but he didn't even want to check, so she went to another gynaecologue and this one told her what she had got '..but it was too late. If you have been waiting too long time, the first one has been waiting too long time so'

So she became infertile?

Yeah, because of it.

Talks about the symptoms she was experiencing and that in a way she was lucky to have contracted Chlamydia and not something more serious. (Actor)

(The accompanying video and audio clips are played by an actor)

I was working, and in the middle of the day I say, I can't work anymore, and I went directly to the Emergency, and at the beginning they thought I had a urinary infection, and I told them I couldn't have a urinary infection, so they told me to go to the Family Planning. And I went to the Family Planning and they told me that I had Chlamydia, and I mean after this, now, when I'm thinking of it, I mean it was Chlamydia only. 

I mean in some way it was lucky because, you know, you take antibiotic for two weeks and that's it, but it could be worse, I mean, it could be something else. It was ' and this make me understand that no, after the second time you are not safe, you know, you still need to wear condoms

How long did you have this pain before you went to the Emergency Department in the hospital?

I was waiting for five days because, I mean the pain is progressive, it's like little by little you feel more and more and, you arrive at one point that you can't walk anymore and I was bleeding. Yeah, I couldn't walk anymore and after I felt the pain for five days and the fifth day I was bleeding like if I had my period, but the thing is I had my period one week before, so I thought something wrong is happening, that's why I rushed to the Emergency.  

Thinks that a one night stand is a selfish act that people do to compensate lack of affection. (Actor)

(The accompanying video and audio clips are played by an actor)

When it's just for one night you're doing always the same, and you don't share anything, so in fact you, you are a bit selfish. You don't really care of what you are doing, it's 'yeah, you don't get anything after, you don't learn anything. That's it, but with a long-term relation you want to give pleasure to your partner and it means that you've got another behaviour, and you will listen what he will like to have and, I mean, you expect the same from him, he will listen what, what will make you happy, and it makes such, much more and it makes that after it's much better as well, because it's not the same. 

Yeah, it's not the same at all. I found that for one night, yeah, you are a bit selfish and in fact you don't really have pleasure as much as you can have with a long-term relation. That's my opinion.

Yeah, that's it, I mean you compensate the lack of affection by sex. I mean I think sex and affection are together but in that case, it's not really, not affection, it's only sex. You can't, you can't get confused with this, it's only sex, it's not affection. I mean, okay,  you've got a nice partner, it's not like it's something violent or something, no, it's alright, but what I mean is after the feeling I'm not there, so it's not really affection, it's not really love. It's nothing special, it's just sex, but sex, like really the raw way of sex, like, I don't know, it's my'.