PRINTSTD study has many feeling the burn
April 17, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
With sex reaching teenagers of increasingly younger ages, it seems like there are more than just naughty parts that are going uncovered. The national reaction to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been largely silent as many organizations have been slow to respond to the shocking new STD statistics.
One possible problem is the continued government support for sex education classes that promote an agenda based on abstinence, a plan President Bush also stands behind. “Missouri is an abstinence-only sex education-based state,” says Ellen Baker, education and outreach coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Columbia. “The message we are giving to teens in Missouri is: We are going to wait until you get into trouble and then teach you how to stay out of trouble — and you can’t handle the truth.”
As new statistics are unearthed by research, local and corporate organizations would do well to make their next moves effective before one in four teenage girls infected with an STD becomes one in two. Trojan's example would be one to follow.
The condom company had an immediate reaction when the statistic was released from the CDC, according to a Trojan spokesperson. The company ran a series of ads in major newspapers, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. “America is not a sexually healthy nation,” the ads read, followed by STD statistics.
Trojan also began a bus tour as part of its Trojan Evolves campaign. The Trojan bus will charge its way around the nation beginning in Atlanta, Ga. — the backyard of the CDC. The bus is full of interactive media and information that Americans can use to make this country more sexually aware.
