Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2026 is a dedicated awareness campaign aimed at educating people about cervical cancer, its prevention, and the importance of regular screening.
It was established to honour the memory of Jade Goody, well known as a reality television star and mother to two young sons, who tragically passed away from cervical cancer at the age of 27 years. Her story highlighted the importance of early detection and prevention.
Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease, and this week serves as a reminder to prioritise cervical health and take steps to reduce the risk of cancer by attending cervical screening appointments.
During 2026, Soroptimists will continue the work they undertook throughout 2025, raising awareness of the importance of women taking up their screening appointments.
Soroptimists throughout the UK, together with their fellow members in Africa, India and Trinidad and Tobago, are going out into their communities, speaking to women about the benefits of screening. They will also be emphasising that for cervical cancer to be eliminated, it is vital that both girls and boys are vaccinated against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
Cervical screening is estimated to save 5000 lives each year in the UK by preventing cervical cancer from developing, yet screening attendance is dropping year on year. 1 in 3 women are not attending when invited, and in some parts of London, this is as high as 1 in 2. Yet it is estimated that to eliminate cervical cancer, it requires at least an 80% take up of those eligible to attend, which is women 25 to 64 years of age.
There are many reasons why some are not attending their screening appointments: not believing cervical cancer is a risk, being asymptomatic, fear of embarrassment, women who have a physical or learning disability, who are carers and struggle to find time, those without flexible and understanding workplaces, as well as cultural issues, and the lack of translation services.
In June 2025, NHS England announced a major advance in women being able to self-test for HPV in their own environment, with self-sampling kits being available during 2026, for women who regularly fail to take up invitations for cervical screening.
This development followed a trial carried out by King’s College London in 2024, when a self-testing kit was offered to 27,000 people, either by having been at a GP surgery or through the post. The trial got overwhelmingly positive feedback from the 69% of those who were offered and completed the test.
However, it will take time to reach women in marginalised areas of society, particularly survivors of sexual trauma, trans and non-binary people, survivors of FGM, and many more groups who may find screening difficult or even traumatic.
The Survivors Trust is a membership organisation representing over 120 specialist agencies that work to support survivors of sexual violence. They provide a range of specialist services, including counselling, support, helplines and advocacy services for women, men, non-binary people and children.
In collaboration with the ‘Eve Appeal’ charity, the Survivors Trust has created a #CheckWithMeFirst campaign to help raise awareness of the challenges survivors of rape, sexual abuse and sexual violence may face when accessing cervical screening.
Its research has revealed that 1 in 4 girls experience childhood sexual abuse; 1 in 3 adult women experience sexual violence at some time in their life, resulting in many finding healthcare appointments distressing, particularly those which may involve physical examinations.
The Survivors Trust has published a guide that outlines information about attending cervical screening and offers tips to survivors of rape, sexual abuse or assault, which may help to make them feel more comfortable about taking up their screening appointments.
For further information, visit the Survivors Trust website: www.thesurvivorstrust.org
Its helpline number for survivors, professionals, family and supporters is 08088 010818.
When sharing information and supporting Cervical Cancer Prevention Week on social media, consider using these hashtags:
- #CervicalCancerPrevention
- #CervicalHealth
- #CervicalScreening
- #HPVVaccination
- #PreventCervicalCancer
- #CheckWithMeFirst