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Sex education is a tricky thing. For the most part, many young adults are misleadingly exposed to sex. Media and entertainment provide teens with a less than perfect look at what consequences can come from unsafe sex. In order to promote the best sex education possible, STD awareness has proved to be the most successful way to teach safe and responsible sex to young adults.
The Influence of STD Awareness
STD Awareness Month is in April every year and offers educators, parents, and young adults themselves a chance to brush up on relevant research. With a variety of STDs circulating the United States, knowing the best ways to protect against sexually transmitted disease is made easy thanks to easy to follow campaigns. With many campaigns focusing on prevention, this year’s focus for young adults is testing. Largely, the process is seen as complicated, confusing, and embarrassing. That’s why the GYT: Get Yourself Tested campaign is aimed to make testing understandable and easy to access.
GYT: Get Yourself Tested Campaign
The brief and straight to the point campaign title GYT is a lesson in itself. Preventing, getting tested, and treating for STDs is crucial and straightforward. The idea behind GYT is that while prevention is essential, knowing the testing process and facts behind STDs can help just as much in avoiding a problematic incident to a sexually active teen. One of the most common misconceptions about STD testing and prevention is the use of birth control.
Birth control is a common way for young teens to ensure protection from unwanted pregnancy. The pill, ring, patch, and IUD are great for pregnancy but do nothing to protect from HIV or STDs. Because of this, some young women and men will assume they do not need to use protection if some form of birth control is being used by the woman. The best way to prevent STDs while on birth control is a condom, even though pregnancy is already being protected against.
Another common misconception is the process of testing. STD testing is one of the fastest forms of medical examination and requires little to no effort on behalf of the patient. Likewise, the process is usually painless, making it a non-intrusive way to make sure nothing is being carried.
Get Educated, Stay Safe
GYT and other STD Awareness Month campaigns ensure young adults understand how to practice safe sex, how to get tested for STDs, and how to treat them are obtained. These tools can help save money, time, and lives for millions who are sexually active.
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