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Sex and the censorship: Raven Faber talks about the difficulties of online advertising
“If you start talking about female pleasure then everyone starts clutching their pearls. We can’t say vagina or run any adverts that support vulva pleasure.”
FemTech World speaks to Raven Faber founder of EngErotics about online censorship, sex tech standards and what needs to change
The slogan for this years’ International Women’s Day was #BreaktheBias. However, it remains difficult for femtech or sex tech companies to even attempt this on the very social media platforms promoting the hashtag.
Over 40 companies have signed a petition aimed at highlighting, and ending, the discrimination faced by female-founded companies online. The companies say their posts and accounts have been blocked, shadow banned and paid advertising banned due to explicit content – including posts on endometriosis, sex tech, vagina health and other female-centric content.
Raven Faber founded EngErotics with the aim of moving into well-designed, accessible sex tech. She also began to include CBD in her business through different self-care products that enhance the experience for users. However, with the increase in online censorship, we ask if being in the cannabis industry and the sex tech industry has been difficult.
She said: “When I started EngErotics, I didn’t realise we were going to enter into cannabis as it was strictly sex tech because that’s what I knew. I didn’t know anything about CBD because I had been working in the corporate world where there were zero-tolerance policies.”
When a client reached out to Raven, she began researching what CBD was and also how it could be combined with sex tech to improve a user’s experience. Through research, she noticed that there was a huge issue with consistent quality and standards in the cannabis industry which was similar to the sex device market.
Raven said: “I discovered, similar to what we see in the intimate device work of sex toys that there were no design standards. There were no formulation standards as it was very much the wild west with no checks or accountability for quality, safety or efficacy. This was another place for engineering and tech to shine to help bring good practise and accountability into the industry.”
Online censorship
In the past few months, campaigns have been launched around the censorship experienced by sex tech or femtech companies online. This includes adverts being removed, social media posts taken down, accounts blocked and banned. Femtech companies are arguing that this has a huge effect on the industry – especially for women- as bans have included products specially designed for women. However, adverts for male products do not struggle with the same level of bans.
In a survey, the Centre for Intimacy Justice found that 60 per cent of femtech companies had had an advert removed by Facebook/Meta. Half of the companies who participated had had their accounts removed by Facebook while 100 per cent had had an advert rejected by Instagram.
Raven remembers how difficult advertising was when she started. After hearing reports of how difficult it was to advertise, she decided to use a grassroots approach with Facebook in comparison to a multi-platform advertising strategy or paid advertising.
She said: “I didn’t really bother with paid advertising as I was hearing from other people that they were having a rough time with it. People were having their social accounts shut down so I did the best that I could. We didn’t have an Instagram or Twitter for a long time but we had a Facebook page where people could find us.”
While Meta platforms cannot stop every account that features sex or fem tech, bots look for certain words to flag from obvious choices such as cannabis or sex to the more unusual word, men. It has led to influencers changing the way they spell certain words to avoid triggering a bot response. This is why accounts use words such as s3x, oud or m3n instead of the actual spelling.
Raven said: “In the beginning, it was just me making things up and hoping it would work. I didn’t censor myself so I would spell sex correctly or not abbreviate the word orgasm. We had to be very careful not to post anything explicit or show pictures of the toys or nudity. Maybe it would be a pretty picture of a black woman with a suggestive copy.”
She added: “How could we put this out there in a way that is going to look benign enough where we do not get shut down because so far our account hasn’t been closed. A lot of our growth has been organic, I never bothered with throwing money into paid advertising because a lot of people were getting shut down anyway.”
Social media censorship
Often with smaller, independent or start-up companies, social media can provide a valuable link between customers and businesses. It’s essential in a world where PR campaigns can be too costly for emerging entrepreneurs or start-ups.
Raven explained: “Social media platforms are necessary evils. It’s where people go looking for you now. I’m not against social media but I hate being told what I can and can’t say when it comes to sexual education because it’s important. However, when you deal with industries that are considered to be vice then this is what you run into.”
Vice industries is the term increasingly used to describe the sex toy, adult pleasure, sex tech and cannabis worlds. In many ways, it can feel like a community where the two have almost identical problems such as bans and banking. They can overlap in many ways when it comes to censorship.
Raven said: “It took us over a year to find a merchant processor. There are a lot of people who struggle to find banking in the intimacy device and cannabis industries. I lucked out because when I opened my business, I named it, registered it and got my tax ID before I started making a product. No one told me to do that but it made sense to do it that way. I saved myself a lot of pain by getting in good with a bank first.”
She added: “If you are looking to hire contractors then there may be certain ones that won’t work with you because of the industry you are in. If it’s not the sex tech then it’s the CBD. There have been a handful of people who don’t feel comfortable providing the service because you sell vibrators because of the stigma. It’s all about the perception of what is seen to be shameful or vice. They worry that it will rub off on them and tarnish their reputation.”
The perception of the vice industry and the stigma has also had a huge effect on brands during the pandemic. Vice brands in the cannabis and fem/sex tech worlds were denied a loan during Covid to help with staffing costs or keep businesses alive.
“In 2020, the government gave out loans to businesses that qualified during Covid but businesses they defined as lewd didn’t qualify for assistance. This could include owners of strip clubs trying to pay their bartenders or adult pleasure stores that couldn’t get help. Getting a loan can be really difficult,” Raven said.
“The activity I saw on social media during this time from business owners was that those offering intimacy devices were running into brick walls because the definition of what was defined as a ‘lewd’ business was too broad and subjective. It affected everyone from those who had brick and mortar stores to e-commerce or potentially even sex therapists too. A lot of people didn’t qualify and they were hurting.”
“The funny this was, that a lot of politicians or government workers were enjoying the products they were stigmatising. A lot of my peers in this industry had people on a payroll that they couldn’t afford to pay because they didn’t qualify for this loan.”
The sex tech industry has taken massive steps into the wellness industry in recent years. The backstreet stores and dodgy websites have been replaced by glossy marketing campaigns, well-packaged items with self-care instructions or free chocolates. The vibe in modern times seems to be more focused on masturbation as a part of your wellness and self-care routine making sex tech less scary or inaccessible to all.
Industry progression
But while the industry goes forward, the advertising channels and options seem to be going backwards.
Raven said: “It’s really backwards in that you can’t advertise now. There are some companies that get away with it but a lot of the smaller ones cannot. It’s really unhelpful because you know exactly what a good campaign can do. You pump money into your ad spend with a campaign to increase your reach substantially but it’s hard. It’s difficult to get organic growth and traction.”
She added: “It’s sex educators too who are having their accounts closed down. It’s good educational stuff to do with sex which is so badly needed. It’s heavily biased in that if we are talking about men then you can run ads for erectile dysfunction medication or erectile devices. But if you start talking about female pleasure then everyone starts clutching their pearls. We can’t say vagina or run any adverts that support vulva pleasure.”
When it comes to moving forward, Raven is focusing on the journey rather than the number of followers. She believes the smaller numbers of genuine fans or customers are better than the larger audience.
Raven said: “It takes a lot of tenancy to go after that organic growth. Do we have 40,000 followers on our Instagram? No, but we will get there after a while. What I have noticed with those who follow us is that they are really into what we do. If we have 1000 followers then 60 per cent of those are actual customers in comparison to those accounts with thousands of followers where no one buys a thing.
Make no mistake, social is important. Due to the obstacles and the red tape, I’ve been focusing more on the journey, and the quality rather than the quantity.”
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Yoga and omega-3 supplements may be as effective as talking therapies for pregnancy depression, a major review suggests.
Globally, nearly one in three pregnant women experience depression, but most receive no treatment.
When support is available, women are often directed towards talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, and mindfulness.
CBT is a structured talking therapy that helps people identify and change patterns of thought and behaviour affecting their mental health.
The review examined 115 clinical trials involving more than 12,000 participants across 30 countries.
It found that yoga, massage, omega-3 supplements and bright light therapy were broadly as effective as talking therapies at reducing depression symptoms during pregnancy.
Bright light therapy involves controlled exposure to bright light and is sometimes used to treat mood conditions.
The findings point to the importance of social support and increased connection, as all these approaches offer some element of contact or guided support.
Led by King’s College London, the research brought together trial evidence across every type and format of treatment for antenatal depression under a common framework.
Antenatal depression is depression that occurs during pregnancy.
The study was conducted as part of HappyMums, a European consortium led by the University of Milan that aims to improve mental health support during pregnancy and after birth.
Carmine Pariante, professor of biological psychiatry, said: “This is the most comprehensive analysis of treatments for depression in pregnancy ever conducted, and the findings should prompt a rethink of how we support women during this critical period.
“The evidence is clear that there is no single best approach. What matters is that women have access to a range of options, and that clinicians feel equipped to offer them.”
The researchers said yoga and omega-3 supplements could be legitimate treatment options, rather than stopgaps, for women on waiting lists or those who struggle to access mental health support.
However, the studies differed considerably in design, sample size and how results were measured, so the findings should be interpreted with care.
The team said non-psychological approaches could help women cope with long waits for care without ruling out other treatments alongside them.
Digital and online interventions, including apps and telephone-based support, were also found to be as effective as face-to-face treatment.
Researchers said this could affect how antenatal depression is managed, particularly for women who cannot travel or face long waits for in-person care.
The team found no randomised controlled trials of pharmaceutical treatments for antenatal depression, despite antidepressants being widely prescribed for depression outside pregnancy.
A randomised controlled trial is a study in which participants are randomly assigned to different treatment groups, allowing researchers to compare outcomes more fairly.
Evidence for drug treatment during pregnancy therefore relies on indirect research rather than trials carried out during pregnancy, reflecting long-standing caution around testing medicines in pregnant populations.
NICE guidelines recommend antidepressants for moderate to severe depression in pregnancy, while evidence from outside formal pregnancy trials suggests they can be safe and effective.
However, the researchers said trials are still needed, particularly for women who cannot access or engage with other forms of support.
Riddhi Laijawala, trial manager and PhD student, said: “Depression in pregnancy is common, but it is not inevitable, and it is treatable. What this review shows is that the options available to women are broader than many people realise.
“A yoga class, music therapy, or an online programme may not sound like clinical treatment, but the evidence suggests they can make a real difference, and for many women they may be easier (and quicker) to access than a course of therapy.”
Depression during pregnancy affects an estimated 28.5 per cent of pregnant people worldwide, but only around one in five receives appropriate and timely treatment.
The team said closing this treatment gap should be a priority for health systems because the condition can affect both parent and child.
The HappyMums project is supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
Type 2 diabetes is rising among women in their 20s in England, with experts warning of a worrying increase since the Covid pandemic.
The rise has largely occurred since the pandemic and is closely linked to increasing obesity levels, according to an analysis of NHS data from 2011 to 2024.
The condition is serious and can lead to severe complications, including heart attacks and strokes.
Diabetes UK said it tends to be more aggressive when it develops at a younger age, raising the risk of serious complications and shorter lives.
The charity said early diagnosis is vital for people at risk to help prevent long-term organ damage.
The condition can sometimes be put into remission through healthy eating and maintaining a healthy weight, without relying on glucose-lowering medicines.
Researchers said newer obesity treatments, including GLP-1 injections and pills, may also help alongside healthy eating advice.
About 90 per cent of the six million people living with diabetes in the UK have type 2 rather than type 1, or insulin-dependent, diabetes.
The risk increases with age, and older adults still account for the largest proportion of new diagnoses.
However, NHS England estimates suggest that 12,000 people under 30 are now living with the condition, with women making up more of the younger cases.
Common symptoms include feeling very tired, urinating more often than usual and feeling thirsty all the time.
Researchers at Imperial College London analysed NHS data from the English National Diabetes Audit to examine trends over time.
The figures showed that cases are falling slightly among older adults, who still account for the largest share of new diagnoses.
However, diagnoses are increasing rapidly among people under 40, with some of the sharpest rises among women aged 20 to 29.
Body mass index at diagnosis has also been rising more quickly among younger adults than in older age groups, pointing to obesity as a likely factor.
Body mass index, or BMI, is a measure of obesity based on a person’s height and weight.
Separate NHS data for England shows obesity rates have worsened since the pandemic, with nearly one in three people now affected.
The largest increases over time have been among younger adults.
Between 2019 and 2025, new obesity cases rose by 16 per cent among people aged 20 to 29 and by almost 20 per cent among those aged 30 to 39.
Rates fell among adults aged 60 to 79 over the same period.
Lead researcher Dr Shivani Misra said: “We think that the earlier onset of severe obesity in young people is increasing their type 2 diabetes risk in early life and pulling down their age at diagnosis.
“This is really worrying given the poor health outcomes from early-onset type 2 diabetes.”
Misra said much of the discussion about rising rates among younger people had focused on ethnic minority groups, which have traditionally been considered at higher risk.
However, the new data suggests the trend extends well beyond those communities.
She added: “We now see that incidence is also increasing in white populations too, showing that this public health challenge is broadening across the generations.”
Diabetes UK said better follow-up care is also needed for mums-to-be diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy because it raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes after childbirth.
Some studies have suggested that the risk of developing the condition may also increase after being ill with Covid, although the evidence remains inconclusive.
AstraZeneca’s breast cancer drug Etcamah has been approved in the EU as part of a combination treatment for advanced disease.
The European Commission acted on a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, the Cambridge, England-based drug maker said.
The decision followed positive results from the Serena-6 phase III trial, which showed a 56 per cent reduction in the risk of disease progression in advanced oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.
A phase III trial is a large, late-stage study used to assess a treatment’s safety and effectiveness before wider regulatory approval.
Oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer is a form of the disease that can grow in response to the hormone oestrogen.
Etcamah, whose generic name is camizestrant, was tested in combination with a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor.
Known as CDK4/6 inhibitors, these medicines block proteins that help cancer cells grow and divide.
AstraZeneca said the Etcamah combination has also been approved in Japan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia based on the Serena-6 trial results.
The company said breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death among women in Europe, with more than 140,000 deaths and more than 540,000 patients diagnosed in 2024.
AstraZeneca shares were down 0.6 per cent at 12,628 pence in London on Thursday.
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