Contemporary Sexuality - August 2008 - (Page 8) Quick Hits: Sex in the News New youth survey is ‘troubling’ Slightly more teenagers engaged in riskier sexual behavior last year than in 2005. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), there was an increase in the number of students reporting that they had ever had intercourse, had intercourse in the past three months, had intercourse before age 13 and had four or more partners. The YRBS collects data from more than 10,000 high school students (grades 9-12) every two years. “We have a number of signs that are all going in the wrong direction,” said Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “All of us in the field are on red alert.” Here are highlights from the 2007 YRBS data: • 14.9 percent of students had sexual intercourse with four or more persons during their life • 35 percent of students were currently sexually active, which was defined as having “had sexual intercourse with at least one person during the 3 months before the survey” • Among the 35 percent of students who were currently sexually active, 61.5 percent used a condom during their last sexual intercourse and 16 percent used the birth control pill to prevent pregnancy before their last sexual intercourse • 7.1 percent of students had their first sexual intercourse before age 13 • 47.8 percent of students have had sexual intercourse Teen pregnancy rates have dropped by more than one-third since 1991, but have leveled off in recent years. Howell Wechsler, acting director of the division of adolescent and school health at the CDC, says the most recent data from the YRBS is “troubling.” “What’s really important here is we’re running out of steam,” Wechsler adds. “There’s no reason for panic, but there is reason for concern.” (Washington Post, June 5 and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, June 6) More info: www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/yrbs/ index.htm Conservatives fight transgender rights laws Since 1993, 13 states and about 90 cities have enacted legislation aimed at ending discrimination against transgenders. However, two recent victories in Colorado and Montgomery County, Maryland have sparked a backlash from conservatives. When the Colorado Legislature recently banned discrimination against gays and transgenders in housing and public accommodations, James Dodson, chairman of Focus on the Family, protested. “Henceforth, every woman and little girl will have to fear that a predator, bisexual, crossdresser or even a homosexual or heterosexual male might walk in and relieve himself in their presence,” Dodson wrote. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, says that’s never happened. “It’s entirely fabricated,” Keisling says. Meanwhile, Maryland Citizens for Responsible Government is making similar claims after the Montgomery County council voted unanimously to ban transgender discrimination in the affluent Washington, D.C. suburb. The group has created a website (www.notmyshower.net) and gathered signatures to put the measure to a vote in November. Gay rights groups are working to block the vote. Despite the tough battles, Keisling is optimistic about long-term trends to protect transgenders from discrimination. “The arc of history is clear — we will get our rights,” she says. (Associated Press, June 12) “We have a number of signs that are all going in the wrong direction. All of us in the field are on red alert.” — Sarah Brown Cuba approves sex reassignment surgery Twenty-eight Cubans who have asked for sexual reassignment surgery seem likely to receive it. President Raul Castro has approved the operation, several of the nation’s doctors have received training from Belgian surgeons and the health care system will pay for the operation. Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education supports the new policy. Its director is Mariela Castro, daughter of Raul. She is a member of the World Association for Sexual Health Advisory Committee. (Associated Press, June 7) 8 Contemporary Sexuality www.aasect.org | August 2008 Vol. 42, No. 8 http://www.notmyshower.net http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/yrbs/index.htm http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/yrbs/index.htm http://www.aasect.org
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