📚 It's STI Awareness Month! 📚 ✔️ Reducing STI Stigma More than half of the nearly 20 million new STIs reported in 2020 were among young people aged to 24. Every April, we recognize Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Awareness Month as an opportunity to educate and fight stigma about STIs, prevention, and treatment. Stigma causes people to avoid talking about STIs with their partners and can keep people from getting tested or treated. Even the most “sex-positive” among us might find ourselves inadvertently stigmatizing others. One obvious way is to avoid using “clean” language. The unspoken implication of “The test was clean” is that someone with herpes, genital warts, HIV, or any other STI is dirty. Here are some messages to reinforce that help reduce STI stigma: - STIs are common. Over half of the people in the U.S. will become infected with a STI in their lifetime. - There’s no “certain kind of person” who gets a positive STI diagnosis. They infect people regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. - It only takes one sexual partner to end up with an STI. Having an STI says very little about your sexual history. - Stigma is harmful because some people may not get tested, which means they can continue infect partners or suffer longer-term consequences of untreated infections. Less stigma = more testing and treatment = healthier communities. - STI testing is a normal part of managing your health, just like testing your cholesterol or screening for cervical cancer. ✔️ Resources - Condom Demonstration https://sexedtogostudents.thinkific.com/courses/condom-demonstration - Sexually Transmitted Infections https://sexedtogostudents.thinkific.com/courses/sexually-transmitted-infections-stis - Consent https://sexedtogostudents.thinkific.com/courses/consent - Online Safety https://sexedtogostudents.thinkific.com/courses/online-safety ✔️ How to GYT - Information https://www.cdc.gov/std/saw/gyt/howtoGYT.htm - Free/low cost clinic search https://gettested.cdc.gov/