Weekly Links Roundup 2/10/12 - Condoms, Safe Sex, Sex Education
Friday Links Roundup 12/16/11 - Condoms, Safe Sex, Sex Education
Weekly Links Roundup 12/9/11 - Safe Sex, Condoms, Sex Education
Friday Links Roundup 10/28/11 - Safe Sex, Sex Education, Condoms
National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day - Sept 27, 2011
In spirit of National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness day we decided to give you a statistic run down on the American HIV/AIDS landscape today.
- Approximately 1.2 Million Americans are living with HIV.
- Gay and bisexual men make up nearly half of that population; around 580,000.
- 1 in 5 HIV positive men ,who have sex with men, don’t know their status,
- Gay and bisexual men account for nearly 53% of all new HIV infections in the U.S. annually.
- As low as 50% and possibly up to 75% of new infections come from people who don’t know they are infected themselves.
ONE Condoms urges you today to get tested, get educated, and spread the word about the urgency of this epidemic. Click here to find non-profit clinics, outreach organizations, and medical professionals that can help with your sexual health. ONE donates a portion of every sale to HIV/AIDS eduction and prevention efforts at home and abroad.
Parents to Opt-in or Opt-out of Child’s Sex Education Programs?
Boston social conservatives and lawmakers debated on Tuesday whether or not requiring parents to opt their children out of state legislated sexual education courses infringes on parental rights. Also on the agenda was the topic of mandatory sex education and its policies of a parental opt-in or opt-out system.
There are two schools of thinking in regards to the opt-in vs. opt-out system. Some think that having to opt out of the program isn’t enough because if parents aren’t actively engaged in their child’s education, then parents won’t be aware of the curriculum being presented. On the other side, others believe in a parental opt-in system, which would be more supportive of parents getting involved in their children’s education. This would require parental consent to state mandated programs. Which ever side you’re on most litigators agree, that sex is still being treated as taboo. This hindrance effects the growth and physical developments of kids being able to make healthy choices.
What is lacking now is worthwhile and meaningful sexual education. Curriculums currently teach lessons limited to biology and not healthy decision-making and relationship building. The issue of safe sex education is not “a liberal issue or a conservative issue,” Robin Loconte, a Healthcare official argued. “It’s a health issue.”
The changes to the program that need to be made, according to Sumru Urkut’s a sexual health research scientist, “is medically accurate and age-appropriate information to help students make responsible choices about sexual conduct or whether to abstain from sexual activity altogether.” Without this, misinformation will endanger youths sexual health.
Under this new legislation, school districts could choose whether sex education would be a part of the student body’s curriculum. Those who do choose these programs are
“required to teach the benefits of abstinence and delaying sexual activity; stress the importance of effectively using contraceptives and barrier methods to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS; teach students the skills to effectively negotiate and implement safer sexual activity; help students develop the relationship and communication skills to form healthy, respectful relationships free of violence, coercion, and intimidation and make healthy decisions about relationships and sexuality; and be appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, or sexual orientation.”
ONE Condoms fully supports legislation that assists with integrating “medically accurate” and “age-appropriate” sex education in schools. ONE Condoms donates a portion of every sale to HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts at home and abroad.
As for the debate at hand, do you think that school districts should allow parents to opt-in or opt-out of these sex education programs for their children?
Double the Protection? Should people use 2 condoms simultaneously?
It’s often said that two is better than one. But is this the case when it comes to safe sex practices? Is it more protective for a man to wear two condoms to try preventing from pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)? Along the same thinking, is it also better for people to use both a male condom and a female condom at the same time?
The overwhelmingly decisive answer from a recent study conducted by the University of Arizona’s Health Center was that health care providers, educators, and manufacturing representatives are adamantly against the practice of wearing two condoms.
Two condoms actually cause excessive friction to be increased during intercourse and are more likely to cause the condoms to rip or tear. New York University Health Center stated that condoms are designed to be used one at a time. The use of two is not an effective safety practice due to the ability of the condoms to slip off and break.
Despite the ineffectiveness of two condoms, it is very reassuring to know that the single use of a condom is highly reliable (99.9% effective) in preventing pregnancies and STDs and is proper sexual practice whenever engaging in sex.
Also, a female condom should NEVER be used at the same time as a male condom as this will also create excessive friction and reduce the effectiveness of both condoms. It is actually worse practice to do this than to use just a single condom.
Here at ONE we want you to engage in safer sexual practices and hope that you can sign our Oath here to help spread the word about a world that engages in safer sex.
Philippine Boxing hero leads anti-condom fight
Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao, Filipino boxing champion turned congressman, is an avid anti-condom supporter and believer that wearing condoms and using contraceptives are cardinal sins.
Currently up for debate in the Philippines Congress is a Reproductive Health Bill that would help make family planning methods and sex education mandatory and accessible to the 95 million people living in the Philipines, a quarter of whom live below earning $1.35/day. With poverty being at the forefront of the country’s problems, nearly 11 Filipino women are currently dying every day from giving birth due to the inaccessibility of modern pregnancy hospital care.
Pacquiao, a devout Catholic, has a strict religious view on how to prevent poverty in the nation. It is clear that he is a novice congressman and that the public should listen to the facts and use protection to prevent these 11 women dying every day from child birth.
ONE condoms undoubtedly does not support Pacquiao’s anti-condom stance. With the availability to sexual education and knowledge of preventative sexual behaviors, the Philippines can help to cultivate a sexually educated population.
How do you feel about Pacquiao’s fight again mandatory sex education. Share your views with us here at ONE through facebook, twitter, and here at tumblr.
