Study: Half of Young Americans to Get Sex Diseases
Half of all young Americans will get a sexually transmitted disease by the age of 25, perhaps because they are ignorant about protection or embarrassed to ask for it, according to several reports issued on Tuesday.
The reports, publicized by two nonprofit sexual and youth health groups, said there were 9 million new cases of STD among teens and young adults aged 15 to 24 in 2000. They said the U.S. government's policy of preferring abstinence-only education would only increase those rates.
"For the 27 million young Americans under the age of 25 who have had sex, the stakes are simply too high to talk only about abstinence," James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, said in a statement. "Given the prevalence of STDs, young people need all the facts -- including medically accurate information on condoms."
The reports, released jointly by Advocates for Youth -- a nonprofit group advocating for sex education, and the sexual health-oriented Alan Guttmacher Institute, pull together information from several different publications. They include a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in the latest issue of the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, and a University of North Carolina report based on interviews with teens and young adults.
"Approximately 18.9 million new cases of STD occurred in 2000, of which 9.1 million (48 percent) were among persons aged 15 to 24," the CDC report reads.
Mp<
It said three diseases -- human papillomavirus or genital wart virus, a parasitic infection called trichomoniasis and chlamydia -- accounted for 88 percent of all new cases of STDs in 15- to 24-year-olds. Wart virus is the major cause of cervical cancer while chlamydia can cause infertility.
POTENTIAL CAUSES
The CDC report did not comment on potential causes, but the Guttmacher Institute did. "It is not surprising that teens and young adults contract a disproportionate number of infections," said Guttmacher's Sharon Camp. "Most young people are sexually active, and many are ill equipped to prevent STDs or seek testing and treatment." She said sex education that includes information on condoms is vital to preventing STDs.
"Although abstaining from sexual activity is guaranteed to prevent STDs, some adolescents and virtually all young adults will eventually choose to have sex," Camp said.
"Before they do, they need realistic sex education that teaches them how to prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancies. It is essential to have medically accurate information about condoms and other contraceptive methods, and guidance on how to access appropriate prevention, testing and treatment services."
Queer Asian & Pacific Islander PRIDE Scholarship
Are you...
* In need of money to help pay for your education?
* Asian or Pacific Islander (A&PI)?
* Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQQ)?
* 22 years old or younger?
* Living in the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa,
Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, San Francisco or San Mateo
county)?
* A high school senior, high school graduate, have your GED or
attending college?
If you answered "yes" to all of the above, the Queer Asian & Pacific
Islander PRIDE Scholarship is for YOU! Edward Cheng Ming Tang, a
generous and conscientious Chinese gay man, wishes to help you to
achieve educational pursuits and dreams, proudly and without shame.
In partnership with Peninsula Community Foundation, this education
fund awards scholarships totaling $16,000 to deserving applicants,
with the goal of eradicating the isolation invisibility, homophobia
and heterosexism faced by thousands of A&PI queer and questioning
youth in the Bay Area and beyond.
Download an application.
Application Process:
The application process consists of two parts. The first part
included questions for you to answer. The second part included a
creative project.
Send in or drop off the application with your creative artwork by May
31, 2004 at 5 p.m. via mail or in person.
Attn: Sabrina Wu
Queer A&PI Pride Scholarship
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center
730 Polk Street, 4th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94109
The application form and artwork becomes the property of Asian &
Pacific Islander Wellness Center and will not be returned. Your
artwork may be used for publicity purposes.
If you are feeling stuck or have questions on how to fill out the
application form, just contact Sabrina at sabrina@apiwellness.org or call 415.292.3420 x315.
Selection Process:
A selection committee including A&PI LGBTQQ youth and adults review
the applications and select scholarship recipients. We establish a
new selection committee for each year. Selection factors included the
following: financial need, personal and societal challenges,
creativity and originality, community involvement or the imagining of
a queer A&PI community.
Each year, the selection committee comes up with the range of award
amounts. For the year 2003, the committee decided to give awards
ranging from $1,000 to $5 000.
Even More Scholarships!
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes seeks nominations
for its 2004 awards. The Barron Prize recognizes young people ages 8
to 18 who have shown leadership and courage in public service to
people and our planet. Each year, 10 national winners receive $2,000
to support their service work or higher education. Nomination
deadline is April 30, 2004.
----------
Youth Service America and AT&T have partnered to present the AT&T
CARES Youth Service Action Fund, which will provide support to young
people as they improve their communities through service on National
Youth Service Day, April 16-18, 2004. Fifty grants of $500 each are
available to young people (ages 5-25) and organizations to implement
service projects for National Youth Service Day. Deadline for
submissions is February 13, 2004. More information is available on their website.
----------
The Surfrider Foundation's Thomas Pratte Memorial Scholarship program
has $10,000 in funds available to college students for 2004-2005.
Applicants should have a major field of study pertaining to
oceanography, marine affairs, environmental sciences, public policy,
community planning or natural resources. Applications are due March
15, 2004.
----------
The Chafee Grant Program (Formerly the ETV program)
Foster youth ages 16-21 can apply for Chafee Education and Training Vouchers to pay for higher education (up to $5,000 per year). Funds can be used for the 2003-2004 academic year and the 2004-2005 academic year. California received $8 million, which must be used by September 2004. The state may also receive additional funds that other states do not use.
To find out more information, call the California Student Aid Commission at 1-888-224-7268 extension 3 with any questions. Applications and Frequently Asked Questions are also available at this website.
|
Wellness Center
Christy Parsons (Wellness Coordinator) is available daily.
Ian Enriquez (Community Health Outreach Worker, Youth Outreach Coordinator) is available daily.
Monica Murphy (Nurse, Tobacco Intervention Coordinator) is available from Monday - Wednesday and Friday.
Sharon Wong (psychologist) is available Tuesday and Thursday.
Sheening Lin (psychologist) is available Monday and Wednesday.
Chris Pepper (peer resources) is available daily and teaches classes during 4th and 5th period.
Marie Chen (drug counselor) is available on Tuesday and Thursday.
Susie Li (Mandarin speaking counselor) is available on Wednesday and Friday.
Laura McGourty (counselor) is available on Monday and Tuesday.
Beth Ringheim (counselor) is available on Mondays.
Talia Korenbrot (relationship counselor) is available on Thursday.
James Guay (therapist) is available on Wednesday.
Reconnecting Youth classes held 5th and 7th period.
Teen STD Rates
Teens 15 and older who have had sex have the highest STD rates of any age group in the country, and the United States has the highest STD rate of any industrialized country, according to CDC and World Health Organization figures.
The University of North Carolina report attacked federal policies that encourage abstinence-only education. "Abstinence is, of course, the only 100 percent effective prevention strategy," Shawn Carney, a 17-year-old member of the UNC youth panel, said in a statement. "But with 70 percent of young people having sex by the age of 18, we need to hear about more than abstinence. We need to know how to prevent STDs when we do have sex later in life."
[The San Francisco School District does discuss sexual health in its curriculum and only 25% of our students are sexually active, much lower than the national average.]
|
