Are women judged for taking the morning after pill?

Do you think women feel judged for taking the morning after pill? That’s the first question ellaOne put to women on the streets of London.

When we spoke to 1,000 women at festivals last summer, only 11% of you said that you felt confident buying the morning after pill. Our #MyMorningAfter campaign aims to change that figure, and to do that we need to understand your attitudes to emergency contraception.

We’ve listened to, and published, your stories. Now, we’ve hit the streets of London to learn from the people whose opinion matters most: you.

This is the ‘ellaOne Question’; a series of real life insights from real women. We ask them a different question in each episode.

Emma Marsh, senior brand manager at ellaOne, said: “Real women and their experiences are the beating heart of the #MyMorningAfter campaign. We are doing our best not only to listen and learn from your experiences, but to make steps towards making the experience of purchasing emergency contraception more comfortable for women. Part of that is lifting the stigma, but we are also taking practical steps like launching the consultation checklist in pharmacies, a short questionnaire on which women can give their answers discreetly so the pharmacist can make sure ellaOne is the right choice for them, to make the experience more comfortable.”

Embarrassed or empowered? Confident or concerned? However emergency contraception makes you feel, you should be able to talk about it. ellaOne is on a mission to make sure that every woman is armed with the facts when it comes to navigating the morning after.

In February 2019, ellaOne made history with the first advert for emergency contraception being shown in UK cinemas. This conversation has hit the main screen, it’s right in front of us: we are not averting our gaze and avoiding the topic anymore.

The lingering taboo around the morning after pill is the same stubborn stigma around female sexuality. It’s time to call it out and flip the script.

Do you want to be part of the movement? You can share your story here, tweet us @ellaoneuk or use the hashtag #MyMorningAfter.