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I am as alarmed as everyone else by the declining average age at which kids have sexual intercourse these days. But we need to realize that the only impact we can have on this trend is by engaging our youth in an open and honest dialogue -- not by preaching a singular, moralistic message, which they are likely to ignore at some point. And besides that, AOUM is a message that gay and lesbian teens have no way of relating to, unless they live in Massachusetts, which is the only state that recognizes same-sex marriage.
In order to start reducing the numbers of infected teens, we need parents, as well as our public health and educational systems, to start providing adolescents and teens with the information they need to one day make healthy decisions for themselves. They will act responsibly if they are treated as responsible individuals. They do not want to be lied to. In 2004, a federally commissioned review of 13 AOUM curricula used by two-thirds of federally funded AOUM programs found that 80 percent of the curricula material contained "false, misleading, or distorted information about sexual health." Isn't it about time that we start telling kids the full truth?
What else can we do?
Check the sidebar for more information about the most common STIs. Too often, these infections have no major symptoms, and can be unwittingly passed on if the person does not use safer sex methods. The only way to catch these infections is through routine screening. If left untreated, the infections can lead to infertility, and some types of HPV are known to cause cervical cancer.
The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for sexually active women under the age of 25. They also recommend that girls and women between the ages of 11 and 26 who have not been vaccinated or who have not completed the full series of shots be fully vaccinated against HPV. The vaccine Gardasil was approved by the FDA in 2006. Washington, D.C., and Virginia, have recently passed laws mandating HPV vaccination for school admission, and more than 20 other states are currently considering mandating this vaccine.
In order to aggressively address the unacceptable rate of teen STIs before the situation gets any worse, here's what we have to do: We need to talk openly to adolescents and teens about sexuality, while sharing our values and expectations; launch a public health education campaign geared toward teens as well as parents and caregivers; and focus on providing comprehensive sexuality education, confidential STI screening, access to treatment, as well as vaccination. How hard can that be? It's not like putting a man on the moon -- and we accomplished that almost 40 years ago.
Annette Owens, MD, Ph.D., is certified by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. She sees clients in her Charlottesville office and answers questions online at LoveandHealth.info and Sexual Health.com. This story originally appeared the C-VILLE, a news and arts weekly in Charlottesville, Va.
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