Story by: Cee Cee Huffman
Photo by: Olivia Clark
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that sexually transmitted diseases reached an all-time high in 2018. Left untreated, STDs like syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia can have serious consequences, like infertility. Could better sex education bring these shocking numbers back down? Cee Cee Huffman wanted to find out.
Daniela Sostaita is one of Planned Parenthood’s community health educators, and her job is to provide sex ed for children and teens in the Triangle.
“It’s very like, scary, to see in the news that STIs are on such a big rise,” Sostaita said, referring to sexually transmitted infections, “but we should take this and say ‘OK, I should do a better job of informing myself.”
She talks about STDs in her classes, including what to look for, how to find treatment and how to avoid them. By talking openly, Sostaita and her students are following CDC recommendations for prevention.
“Also, if something comes back positive, making sure that you’re seeking the treatment that you need,” Sostaita said. “All of this because it’s good to keep your partner safe and healthy.”
She said students that take the class report having safer sex or delaying activity all together. Dr. Toni Darville, a UNC-Chapel Hill researcher working to create a vaccine for chlamydia, said that’s key in preventing the diseases from spreading.
“If everyone would practice safe sex, then we wouldn’t have this issue,” Darville said. “But obviously that’s not happening as frequently as it should.”
Of the nearly 2.5 million cases of STDs reported nationally in 2018, over 1.7 million were cases of chlamydia, according to the Center for Disease Control. Almost 67 thousand of those cases were reported in N.C., according to the North Carolina Department of Health.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Darville said. “But it’s obvious sex is a part of life, and so the more we can do to prevent and educate, the better off we’ll all be.”
She said the problem is much easier to prevent than to solve and talking about STDs is one of the best ways to prevent them.
Dana Riger, PhD., clinical assistant professor of human development and family studies at UNC-CH, said talking openly is also key for accuracy.
“If students are not getting any sex ed, that’s hugely problematic,” Riger said. “A lot of kids today, even if they go to abstinence only schools, are getting information online and a lot of the information they’re getting is inconsistent or inaccurate.”
But Liz Chen and Christina Leos, two UNC-CH alumnae, are working to provide and open, accurate and confidential online space for kids to talk about their sexual concerns. Their app, Real-Talk, uses real stories from real teens to talk about bullying, relationships and sex.
“And we’re also trying to change the number of people our young people are able to communicate with about all of these different topics,” Chen said.
She said their app fills the gap created when children don’t talk about these topics in school.
“I do think that there’s a role for technology to play, especially apps, in STI prevention,” Chen said. “And I think that this recent spike in STI rates across the country, especially in the Southeast, reminds us that the status quo for prevention might not be what’s best for young people today.”
She said the goal is for any teen that wants access to their content to have it, whether they have access to comprehensive sex ed or not.
