Above: Own It campaign imagery by Grade
Cervical cancer is the most preventable cancer. Screening for cervical cancer is so important – more than 70% of Australians diagnosed with cervical cancer are under-screened or have never screened. Own It is aimed at raising awareness of testing in priority populations.
Women and people with a cervix aged between 25 and 74, who have had sexual contact, should screen every five years.
This national campaign focuses on empowerment and choice in cervical screening following the Government’s introduction of self-collection in 2022. Self-collection allows women to do their own test, in private, at their local clinic using a swab.
Own It has been developed for women and people with a cervix who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, multicultural, sexually and gender diverse, rural and remote, or living with disability.
ACON Deputy CEO Karen Price said: “This new and innovative national campaign builds on ACON’s original and highly successful New South Wales-focused cervical screening campaign Own It which ran in 2023, and was supported by the Cancer Institute NSW.”
“The new national campaign takes the same authentic approach to delivering adapted and tailored messages for a broader national audience. We are proud to be working and collaborating with partners who share a common goal – the pursuit of health equity and the elimination of cervical cancer.”
The Australian Government campaign aims to raise awareness of eligibility and testing options in priority populations, including the option of self-collection, which allows people to do their own test, in private, at their local clinic using a swab.
Learn more about Own It at www.ownit.org.au
The campaign was developed by co-design and will be delivered with the following partners:
• The Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer
• The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)
• The Australian Multicultural Health Collaborative, an initiative of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA)
• The Department of Health and Aged Care
Find the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney MP’s media release about the campaign here.