WORLDbytes, the online citizen TV station based in London, has launched Pitchfork: The morning after pill, a great piece of investigative reporting on emergency contraception, complete with secret cameras.

On the programme, young volunteers challenge the patronising way women are treated when they try to buy the morning after pill from high street pharmacies in the UK and the rip off price they are charged.

Interviewed in the video is Katherine O’Brien from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (bpas), who have demanded a drop in the price of the morning after pill, which usually costs around £25 to £30 at chemists, as well as an end to the mandatory consultation. She explains that the consultation is “clinically unnecessary”.

O’Brien suggests that what is behind the price and the intrusive consultation process, is “…this idea that if we give women access to this pill without the intervention of a medical professional, they will abuse it because they can’t understand it or they won’t comprehend it……They need to be told how to use contraception or warned about STIs. I think women are perfectly capable of understanding those issues themselves.”

Producer Marisa Pereira commented: “It is clear to me that if we truly believe in women’s freedom, we should demand that the morning after pill should be made available everywhere and cheaply too. Women should be able to decide for themselves if and when they use the pill and why not sell them in petrol stations and corner shops as condoms are. This is essential for women to control their fertility and to be treated as individuals capable of making their own decisions.”

The programme Pitchfork: The morning after pill is available to watch on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7fyDU88xyY

WORLDbytes welcomes reproduction, embedding and sharing of this report.
For more information and interviews contact:
Marisa Pereira at: world.write@btconnect.com Tel: 07411666464

Notes to editors:

WORLDbytes is a unique online Citizen TV channel featuring reports and programmes created by young volunteers learning to shoot “on the job.” Its programmes aim to get behind the headlines and promote a people-first perspective on a wide-range of issues. The channel’s motto is “don’t shout at the telly, change the message on it.”

WORLDbytes is run by the education charity WORLDwrite, registered charity number 1060869. The charity champions quality citizen reporting and provides free film training to make this possible.

The charity has a free film training opportunity for 16 – 25 year olds this Easter. For full details of this special Easter training package and others that WORLDbytes provide, check out the website here: www.worldbytes.org/become-a-volunteer/