Welcome to the Vulval Pain Society, a UK registered charity supporting vulval pain sufferers.

Our aims are:

  • To promote and protect the physical and mental health of sufferers of vulval pain through the provision of support, education and practical advice

  • To advance the education of the general public in all areas relating to vulval pain

We offer advice and information on all vulval pain matters. You can read detailed information about vulvodynia, vestibulodynia (previously known as vulval vestibulitis), lichen sclerosus, and other vulval pain conditions. We also have information on sex and vulval pain, pregnancy and vulval pain, and other general good advice.

Find out more about us.

UPDATE - City, University of London vulvodynia study

We're pleased to able to report that this study, 'Experiences of psychological needs and support among women with vulvodynia', has had sufficient participant response for analysis and is therefore now closed. Any further updates and news we have about the study will be posted here and on our Older studies page.

Many thanks to all who participated in the study.

NEW - What is the vulva?

ASCII-style graphic containing a large white question mark on a jade green background. The question mark is made up of a list of the structures of the vulva in small font text

A basic guide to the different parts of the vulva, location and function. The page includes a labelled colour photo of the vulva (so may not be safe for work), plus a full text description of each of the structures indicated in the photo.

There's also a quick guide for health professionals to carrying out a vulval examination, and for patients, there's a link to our How to perform vulval self-examination page, which has a labelled black and white line diagram of the vulva.

The new page can be accessed from our main menu at What is the vulva? or by clicking on the green square above this text.

Participants needed for web-based study on female pelvic pain and self-esteem (London Metropolitan University, London, UK)

London Metropolitan University are looking for participants for a study regarding the impact of female pelvic pain on self-esteem. The aim of the work will be to find out how pelvic pain affects the self and how it relates to sexual distress.

To participate in the short online survey, you will need to suffer from a pelvic pain condition such as vulvodynia, vestibulodynia, interstitial cystitis, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, fibroids or other pelvic condition.

Full details of the study are available on our Current research page. 

Report from Your Pelvic Health Women's Coffee Morning held at Redruth, Cornwall on Saturday 10 June 2017

Cropped poster for the Women's Pelvic Health Coffee Morning, showing a cup of coffee with beans on a white background with a vertical magenta stripe to the left

Dr Liz Venner, Associate Specialist in Dermatology at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has very kindly sent us a short report following the Your Pelvic Health Women's Coffee Morning which took place in Camborne in Cornwall on Saturday 10 June 2017. The article summarises the presentations given by Dr Lisa Haddon, Consultant Sexual Health Physician, Dr Anna Weiss, Consultant Anaesthetist/Pain Consultant, Ms Rachel Collett, Women's Health Physiotherapist and Dr Venner herself.

You can read the article on the VPS website.

Participants needed for web-based study on vulval pain and eating behaviours (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)

The University of British Columbia are looking for participants for a web-based questionnaire study on vulval pain and eating behaviours. The main purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between eating behaviours and sexual functioning, particularly with respect to chronic genital pain.

Full details of the study are available on our Current research page.     

Cosmopolitan article on vestibulodynia

The VPS has been featured in women's magazine Cosmopolitan in an article on vestibulodynia. You can read the entire article on the Cosmopolitan website.