wonderful posting from a young woman

I had to post this on this blog. It is an email I recieved from a wonderful young woman who is concerned about all young men and women out there. This is being published with her permission. Feel free to copy and pass it on. Young people rock!!

Let me tell you a little about myself.... my name is Asha and I am 21 years old. I am the first child of Jo & Lud. My parents seperated when I was so young I don't have any memories of them being together. I was brought up between two houses, with my father and his girlfriend in the hills, and my mother by the beach. I have a younger brother and together we spent time with both sides of our family. I was showered with love and support throughout my growing years from both parents and I cannot imagine I could have come from a happier and more loving environment. Both of my parents have always been open and honest with myself and my brother. It is a relationship that is built on trust and friendship.

I don't know if it is because my father works in the youth sector or for any other reason - but to me, having a healthy and SAFE sexual relationship with anyone, just seems common sense. Not so. I am still shocked by how many of my friends, colleagues and peers can be so ignorant. I have had many chats with many different people in the last few months. These people come from all walks of life - different countries, towns, backgrounds and sexual prefences. Most of them are between 18 and 30 years of age. When I brought up the topic of contraception, the most common responses I got from males were "girls are all on the pill these days, I don't need to think about it" and "I'd know if I had something....!" A couple accused me of saying they were "dirty and diseased". I am not accusing you of that, BUT STI's DO NOT ALWAYS PRESENT SYMPTOMS!!!!!!! You may have had a check up 3 months ago, but how many times have you had unprotected sex since then, and are you absolutely sure the people you have had sex with are free of STIs? Not because you assume, but because you know and trust them when they tell you they have been tested.... recently and since having unprotected sex.

And no, not all girls are on the pill. I'm not. That doesn't mean I am going to have sex unprotected. If I am going to have sex with anyone, I will use a condom. I'm not meaning to cause offence by asking a man to wear a condom, but I actually value my health, and that means I don't want an STI! I don't know who you have had sex with, I don't want to know. And really - you don't know who I have had sex with either, so I'm not just asking you to wear one for the hell of it. They are made for a reason..!

Most girls I spoke with, were a bit more aware of the importance of using protection, but still not all practiced it. The reasons for not practicing it, generally were "being too drunk" so not caring at the time (probably more of a reason TO practice it!) and because the guy didn't want to wear one.... well, if you'd prefer to feel the pain and embarassment of Herpes, no worries, but I don't want to share that experience thank you very much.

Almost half of people I spoke with said they have had Chlamydia atleast once. They were all surprised that it is treated with just a tablet - I guess in that sense they are LUCKY that's all they had.. not everything will go away with just a tablet.

I remember afew months ago I was at the pub, I saw a man with his hand down his pants. I asked what he was doing. His reply was "I have Chlamydia, my balls sting, would you like to help by rubbing them better?" Worst pick up line in history, and No, I think I will stay away from your Chlamydia. Strange as it may be, that did not turn me on. At all!

Is this how society is? We see sexual health as a joke and nothing to worry about? I don't know what it will take to get through to these people! Even after talking with them about the importance of practicing safe sex and explaining that STIs don't always show symptoms, and just because you have a check up every three months doesn't mean your safe..... I know that some of them have still had unprotected sex...! Unprotected sex with friends, partners, "fuck buddys" and one night stands.

I'm not going to lie. I have had unprotected sex. You may call me a hypocrite, but we all make mistakes. For the record, it was with someone that I know and trust, and I know he had been tested and cleared. Still, I am wiser now! I wouldn't let it happen again. You just never know.

Whatever happened to prevention? You may have your regular check up, but by then you may already have an STI without knowing it!!! ...They do not all go away. They can be treated yes, but once you have Herpes, Warts or even worse AIDS, you are stuck with them! As well as that, some STIs can cause infertility if left untreated.
What more do we need to do? Seriously guys (and girls), buy some condoms... AND USE THEM!!!! If you can't afford to buy them, duck into your local youth centre or hospital and you can get them for free!!!!!

Sex in the media/Effect on young people. Whats the Harm?

I have been looking into the amount of sexual content in popular media ( A subjective term I know) and its possible effect on young people. Here is some of the information I have found.

In a US study by the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation called : Generation M: Media in the lives of 8 – 18 year olds it was found that they:
Watch 4 hours of TV a day
Listen to almost 2 hrs of music each day
Use the computer for recreational use 1 hr day
Play video games for almost 1 hr day
Read recreational material almost 1 hr day

SO WHAT, I HEAR YOU SAY??
SO.....WHATS THE HARM?

Of this group access to this media is often in their private bedroom:
68% have tv
54% have own dvd player
50% have video game console
31% have computer
65% have Mp3, Ipod etc

WHATS THE HARM??

In 2005
92% of movies showed sexual content
87% of sitcoms
87% of drama seriers
85% of soap operas
70% of news shows
67% of talk shows
28% of reality tv shows
(Sex on TV, A Kaiser Foundation Report 7398)

WHATS THE HARM?

In 2005, Sex on TV4, a biennial study of sexual content on tv analysed over 1000 hours of content from ALL genres;
Overall 70% of shows included some sexual content averaging 5 sexual episodes per hour.
53% of sexual scenes that incuded intercourse were between couples in an established relationship.
20% was between couples that had met but had no relationship
15% were between couples that had just met
12% the relationship was unclear.
Almost no discussion regarding safer sex, risk, consent: No discussion regarding pain, fear, erectile dysfunction etcetc


WHATS THE HARM?

Research has shown that the exposure to sexuality in the media has been related to adolescent sexual behaviour ( Pardun et al, 2005)

Research has shown that increasing sexual content on on television is related to early sexual initiation in adolescents ( Collins et al 2004)

SO.....WHATS THE HARM? IS THERE ANY HARM?

Speak Plainly when Discussing Sex!

Well doh! However..... This new study identifies WHY it is sooo important to be clear about the things we talk about. Dont expect that when a young person tells you that they 'had sex' it will have the same meaning that YOU apply to 'have sex'. Here is some information from the study. To follow up go here


Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction and the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention. The study, published in the journal Sexual Health, examined how men and women in various age groups classify whether various physical acts constitute "having sex." Bancroft writes that the researchers asked respondents, whose ages ranged from 18 to 96, "Would you say you 'had sex' with someone if the most intimate behavior you engaged in was..." The question ended with one of 14 possible scenarios, such as manual-genital contact, oral-genital contact, penile-vaginal intercourse and penile-anal intercourse, with variations related to whether an act was performed or received, performed with a condom or performed for a brief period of time, according to Bancroft. Participants' responses varied by age and sex. For example, only 9.7% of men ages 18 to 29 thought that receiving manual-genital stimulation was "having sex," and only 40% thought that receiving oral-genital contact was sex,

Men who engage in domestic violence

Men who engaged in domestic violence consistently overestimated how common such behavior is, and the more they overestimated it the more they engaged in abusing their partner in the previous 90 days, according to new research conducted at the University of Washington.

Those men overestimated by two to three times the actual rates of seven behaviors ranging from throwing something at a partner to rape, according Clayton Neighbors, lead author of a paper to be published in a spring issue of the journal Violence Against Women.

"We don't know why men make these overestimations, but there are a couple of likely reasons. Men who engage in violent behavior justify it in their mind by thinking it is more common and saying, 'Most guys slap their women around so it is OK to engage in it.' Or it could be that misperceptions about violence cause the behavior," said Neighbors, now a UW affiliate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a professor of psychology at the University of Houston. "Another way of looking at this would be wearing a red shirt. If you think everyone is wearing a red shirt then it is okay for you to wear one too. Or if you wear a red shirt you might overestimate the number of other people who are wearing red shirts," he said.

TO READ MORE GO HERE. THIS WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WAY WE WORK WITH YOUNG MEN

Cool Young South Oz winner

How good is this!!
Just thought I'd pass on this email. I WONDER IF THIS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO GET SOME SEXUAL HEALTH INFO OUT THERE????

Hi All

It is with great pleasure I would like to announce that Oliver DelVecchio one of our Southern Fleurieu Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) members has recently submitted and won the National Youth Week Launch Competition.

This means on Sat the 10th of April we are having the National Youth Week Launch in Victor Harbor at the Warland Reserve from 1 pm - 5 pm.

This will be a huge event with National Bands, Celebrities, Video Hits and much, much more......

So again one of our local young people has achieved great recognition for our region and the fantastic achievements of our local young people, especially our Youth Advisory Committee.

I will send more information shortly.


Cheers Lucretia

Lucretia SperringYouth Development OfficerAlexandrina CouncilPh: (08) 8555 7000Fax: (08) 8555 3603Email: lucretia.sperring@alexandrina.sa.gov.au

National Youth Week

http://youthweek.com/2010/

Welcome to the brand new website for National Youth Week 2010!
National Youth Week 2010 will run from 10-18 April. The theme is Live it Now!
There are loads of ways that you can get involved. Whether it be by entering competitions, rocking up to National Youth Week events, or even organising your own. How will you Live it Now?

It would be really cool if some young people did a short film about sexual health in the 'Show us ya shorts' or something for NYW starting April 10.

Go to the link above to see whats available and how to get involved.

Writing Themselves an Report 3

Just a reminder:::

For those of you who don't know, the Writing Themselves in Reports are THE definitive source of information regarding the sexual health and wellbeing of young same sex attracted people in Australia. The first report was released in 1998, the second in 2005 and NOW its time to collect information for the 3rd report. YES Help young same sex attracted young people have a say. This information is IMPORTANT. The first two writing themselves in reports influenced (on a grand scale) policy and action Nationwide.Do you work with same-sex attracted kids aged 14-21 in Australia?If you do please encourage them to write themselves into Australian history by filling out the third national Australian survey on same sex attracted youth at http://www.wti3.org.au/This is THE survey that makes a REAL difference to policies and services; support it. The survey is open NOW and closes in April 2010.

Yaris Advertisement

An advertisement for a Yaris car. Again... I am speechless that organisations continue to support sterotyping, gender embalance, abuse, coercian etc etc.
What are your thoughts??

Throw away wife

Another advertisement showing how women get portrayed as worthless posessions. NO WONDER VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS SO PREVELENT