It Is Sexual Assault Awareness Month & National STI Awareness Week
Three Things Thursday (x 2)
Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week.
And throughout April, we are celebrating the 22nd annual Sexual Assault Awareness Month and this week is Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Awareness Week!
Talking about sex may make you uncomfortable. And conversations about sexual violence, sexually transmitted diseases, and condoms may make you even more uncomfortable. I get it — we live in a society where it is taboo to talk about sex, sex education in schools is often a joke, and many assume that only others are contracting STIs or are victims of sexual violence.
But today — I am begging you to sit with whatever level of uncomfortableness you have and listen to me talk about sex.
Conversations about preventing sexual violence and STIs are essential.
And acknowledging (as individuals and a community) Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Awareness Week is imperative.
Hoping this post helps to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy communities.
Below are three things you need to know about sexual violence and three things you need to know about STIs. These facts are oh-so-important. We must talk about SEX. And recognize that our communities are not healthy or safe because sexual violence and sexually transmitted infections are so prevalent.
I want to remind each of you that (in the words of Will McAvoy from The Newsroom, which I have quoted often) —
“The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.”
If you haven’t watched The Newsroom, I highly recommend you take five minutes to watch this clip from the first episode to understand what Will McAvoy is talking about.
Recognizing Sexual Violence Is a Problem
This April, as we acknowledge Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), we are calling attention to the —
“fact that sexual harassment, assault, and abuse are widespread and impact every person in the community. SAAM aims to raise public awareness about sexual violence and educate communities on how to prevent it… racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, and ableism contribute to higher sexual harassment, assault, and abuse rates.”
You need to know the following three facts —
Every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted.
One in six (~17%) American women has been a victim of an attempted or completed rape.
Younger individuals are at the highest risk of sexual violence, specifically, individuals ages 12-34 years.
Recognizing that STIs Are A Problem
This week, as we also acknowledge Sexually Transmitted Infections Awareness Week, we are creating space to —
“raise awareness about sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, and how they impact our lives; reduce STI-related stigma, fear, and discrimination; and ensure people have the tools and knowledge for prevention, testing, and treatment.”
You need to know the following three facts —
Reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis all increased between 2020 and 2021 – reaching a total of more than 2.5 million reported cases.
Increases in syphilis and congenital syphilis (disease passed to developing fetuses) are most notable (a 32% increase).
Males ages 20-39 years have the highest rates of syphilis; chlamydia is most common in females ages 15-24 years; and gonorrhea is most often diagnosed in males and females ages 15-34. Sidenote — in 2021, more than half of all reported cases of these three diseases were among young people (ages 15-24).
It is time we stopped stigmatizing infections spread through sex. We need to recognize that many bacteria — syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea — and a few viruses — HPV, herpes, and HIV — spread via sex. The HPV virus — which causes cancer — is also a vaccine-preventable disease (read: get vaccinated if you are eligible).
We need to discuss this.
We need to make ALL young people aware of the diseases that can be spread from one sexual partner to the next.
What questions do you have about sexual violence? Or STIs?
And be sure to share these three things (x 2) with your friends and family. We need to recognize that sexual violence and sexually transmitted infections are a problem. Only after we recognize the problem can we work to solve the problem.
