Firstly, the site claims that Irish teens are worried more about contracting STIs than getting pregnant. My response to that is: How is this a bad thing?
I am not sure about you, but I see nothing "worrying" about this. If anything we should be happy that teens now regard STIs as something that can be fatal to them and their sexual partners. They also seem to recognise that the social stigmas surrounding teen pregnancies are outdated and, for the most part, unjustified. Having joined the ranks of adulthood a number of years ago I can confidently say that looking at teens today, it makes me happy that they are even aware that unprotected sex can severly alter their lives thanks to STIs. While teen pregnancy is not something we should be encouraging or take lightly, and while it is indeed still negtaiely stigmatised by many today, there are many routes whereby teenagers who find themselves mothering and fathering a child have the means to lead normal lives and not lose their adolescence and young adulthood the same way as they might have twenty or thirty years ago. However, some STIs are far more than a matter of calling to the local Doc. for an injection or a cream. Many of them present serious and potentially fatal health risks. The fact that teenagers are aware of the risks of STIs, even in a general and vague sense, is something we should be grateful for. Is it not fair to say that STIs would be a greater deterrant for teenagers to engage in sex? We will never stop teenagers from engaging in sex, we need to realise this now. If anything, their fear of STIs might provoke them to at least wrap it up!
As far as Irish teens' lack of knowledge about specific STIs goes, what's new and what do they expect?
The Irish education system leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to informing our younger generation about sexually transmitted infections, teen pregnancy, general risks of and the practice of safe-sex. If anyone over the age of 25 can recall their 'Sex Ed.' experiences in class, they will most likely give a similar account to mine. We were sat down in a Class Meeting for an hour by our science teacher and were shown a large drawing of both male and female genitals. A video presentation which showed what were arguably two poorly drawn cave people engaging in sexual intercourse was played to us. However, little was said about STIs but rather, the grand focus was on teen pregnancy. "Mary is 16. She goes to school and enjoys hanging out with friends. She lives with her parents and two siblings. But what none of them know is: Mary's PREGNANT". Apparently Mary and her friend "John" got a little carried away after a night of hanging outside their local chipper and Mary ended up "up the duff". I don't recall a video which said that "Johnny shags all around him and has more STIs than a Rolling Stones groupie conference combined and has been complaining of a terrible itch". With that, the school could wash their hands of the matter and say that they had done their part to prevent the "undesired consequences" of pre-marital sex. Sufficient?
So why are we surprised that our teens know little about the symptoms of STIs? I'll tell you in simple english; because it's not as important than knowing that you can get STIs in the first place. Sure, it is great to know the signs of STIs, you can cure and treat some of them. But really, how many people can put their hand up and honestly say that they know the symptoms or potentially harmful effects of Human papillomavirus? I couldn't, until I checked it out on Wikipedia. The truth is, the reason these kids are ill-informed is that we don't give them enough information. The first time I saw a poster teling me the dangers of Gonorrhea was during my first year of University on the door of a bathroom stall! However, by then I knew that unprotected sex could potentially kill me so the primary issue was having a rubber so that I didn't get an STI or get someone pregnant.
The other issue that was addressed was the notion of social embarassment taking presidence over the health impact of STIs. Again, I see no problem with this. If anything, it should promote more sympathy for teenagers who o have STIs. Rather than people saying "Oh there goes Johnny like the clappers, he's got Gonorrhea!". Teenages may think in the back of their heads "I don't want to be that guy" and in turn, may actually look out for eachother in the event of one of them catching an STI. Even if this is not the case, by teens understanding that currently ther are major social stigmas surroundingte contraction of STIs, they might decide to wear a condom instead of not using protection. Now, before I start recieving a tonne of hatemail about 'my views' note that this is NOT an endorsement of the social stigmatising that currently comes with having a STIs, I deplore that behaviour. I truly believe that if someone is unfortunate enough to catch an STI they should not endure ostricism under any circumstances. My point is simply; at least they are concerned about STIs in the first place. Is that not the point of all of our campaigns to help people avoid catching them? Since when has it mattered about ones underlying concerns of the infections? Is it not enough that they are aware and take the necessary measures to prevent getting them?
SHC
