ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to explore preparedness for the HIV self‐test among men who have sex with men (MSM) and those involved in HIV prevention and care.MethodsA mixed methods exploratory research design was employed, detailing awareness and willingness to use the self‐test and the perceived barriers and facilitators to implementation. Quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis were completed in parallel. Descriptive and inferential analysis of cross‐sectional bar‐based survey data collected from MSM through a self‐completed questionnaire and oral fluid specimen collection (n = 999) was combined with qualitative, thematic, analysis of data collected through 12 expert focus groups (n = 55) consisting of gay men, National Health Service (NHS) staff, community organizations, entrepreneurs and activists. Findings were subsequently combined and assessed for synergies.ResultsAmong MSM, self‐test awareness was moderate (55%). Greater awareness was associated with increased educational attainment [adjusted odds ratio 1.51; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00–2.30; P = 0.05] and previous history of sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing (adjusted odds ratio 1.63; 95% CI 1.11–2.39; P = 0.01). Willingness to use the test was high (89%) and associated with meeting sexual partners online (unadjusted odds ratio 1.96; 95% CI 1.31–2.94; P < 0.001). Experts highlighted the overall acceptability of self‐testing; it was understood as convenient, discreet, accessible, and with a low burden to services. However, some ambivalence towards self‐testing was reported; it could reduce opportunities to engage with wider services, wider health issues and the determinants of risk.ConclusionsSelf‐testing represents an opportunity to reduce barriers to HIV testing and enhance prevention and access to care. Levels of awareness are moderate but willingness to use is high. Self‐testing may amplify health inequalities.

The aim of this article is to explore some of the ways in which British South Asian women survivors of sexual violence (in particular, those who are either British born or have lived in the UK for most of their lives and are fluent English speakers) construct the effects of `culture' within their accounts of sexually violent experiences. We present a discursive analysis based on semi-structured interviews with eight English-speaking women of South Asian origin living in the UK, who had either escaped from or were currently seeking help for sexual violence. Our analysis discusses how a discourse of `culture as problematic and unchangeable' is both accepted and challenged simultaneously. Culture is presented as the reason why family and community members hold problematic views about sexually violent experiences. However, these women simultaneously resist this discourse through demonstrating their disappointment and ambivalence with their family and community-held views. Furthermore, we discuss how such constructions intersect (or not) with service provider constructions as reported in previous research. We also discuss the implications that our analysis may have for service provision and propose a set of theories and models that might inform them. This study forms part of a larger project on South Asian women's experiences of sexual violence.

In this paper, we explore some of the issues facing professionals in the UK currently involved in providing services for South Asian women who have experienced sexual abuse. The study describes part of a wider Economic and Social Research Council funded project, based upon interviews and focus groups with both professionals and women survivors of sexual abuse. Drawing on semistructured interviews and two focus groups with 37 professionals including psychological therapists, refuge and project workers, from a range of organisations, our aim in this paper is to provide a discursive analysis of some of the key dilemmas faced by professionals working with sexual abuse in South Asian communities by exploring two central interpretive repertoires: 'culture not self' and 'symptom talk as solution'. The analysis indicates that professionals face a series of dilemmas when working with South Asian women survivors. They highlight the tension between individualised models of personhood in many psychological therapies and the challenge to these by South Asian communities who hold a more relational view of the person. One of the strategies used by professionals to work with the tensions between 'culture' and the 'reality' of the survivor's pain was the translation of women's distress into symptoms of mental disorder. However, the consequences of this intervention raised some serious issues, including further pathologisation and stigma. The implications of these findings will be discussed in terms of how to understand the experiences of South Asian women from a more socially grounded perspective and to explore the issues they face in accessing and receiving appropriate services to deal with the aftermath of sexually abusive experiences.

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the difficulties faced by teachers of issues related to 'race' and racism in psychology when trying to develop anti-racist practice in their teaching. I argue that the promotion of anti-racist practice can be impeded by the institutionalised cultures of some psychology departments and that such cultures have developed out of an over-reliance on positivist ideas. Positivism obscures the fact that knowledge is constructed from positions of power and privilege, which in turn obscures the social and ideological construction of 'race'. This is clearly a problem when trying to develop anti-racist practice in teaching. It also leads to fixed ideas about what should be included in teaching content and what can be considered as good pedagogical practice, where notions of 'balance' and 'neutrality' are advocated, effectively overriding arguments for understanding the dynamics of knowledge production. It also obscures the power and privilege associated with workings of 'whiteness'. I illustrate this by presenting examples from my own experiences of teaching 'race' issues on undergraduate degree courses. I conclude with suggestions for developing anti-racist teaching by proposing a collective reflexive approach to changing institutional cultures that are currently at odds with anti-racist practice. I also invite further discussion and suggestions on how best to achieve such collective conscientisation.

Reasons for undergoing elective plastic surgery were retrospectively explored with seven female postoperative participants aged 34-55, who were interviewed using a semistructured interview format. Interviews were analysed using an adapted version of interpretative phenomenological analysis (e.g. Smith, 1996;Smith, Jarman and Osborn, 1999;Jarman, Smith and Walsh, 1997). The results of the analysis showed that the participants all experienced positive physical and psychological outcomes of surgery: several master themes were identified relating to their initial reasons for embarking upon surgery including 'age appropriateness', 'body integrity', and 'wanting to look normal'.These themes are explored in relation to ideas prevalent in feminist and evolutionary psychology.3