Youth safe sex message is hard to ignore

A papier mache condom would spell disaster in the bedroom, so it’s surprising to learn the unconventional contraceptive isn’t entirely useless.

Standing almost two-metres tall and sporting a subtle lean, a giant blue condom was set amongst the trees of Springwood’s Manners Park on September 19, designed to nudge teens into talking about safe sex.

Youth workers from Lower Mountains Youth Service Team (MYST) and helpers aged 12-17 crafted the imposing piece, whiling away the afternoon by pasting gooey pieces of newspaper onto a phallic wire skeleton.
The arguably risqué exercise was organised by MYST and funded by Family Planning NSW as part of Sexual Health Week (September 15-21).
“(Making the condom is) just a fun, physical activity. It takes a serious topic and generates conversation in a positive context,” said MYST youth worker Nick Margerison.
“Sex education is a big, contentious issue even in the youth work world. We don’t want to be telling young people to have sex, but if they are going to be sexually active it’s our job to give young people enough information so they know about safe sex methods and how to protect themselves.”
While Nick had expected the sight of an oversized prophylactic in Springwood’s business hub to hit a few nerves, he was ultimately taken aback by its positive reception.
“It’s been a trouble-free afternoon and a great result — everyone is having fun,” he said.
Penrith-based youth sexual health organisation, The Warehouse, was on hand during the event to provide information about sexually transmitted diseases.
This year Sexual Health Week ran under the slogan ‘Check It Out’ and focused on Chlamydia – the most common sexually transmissible infection (STI) amongst youth.
Despite the STI being easily preventable, according to Family Planning NSW figures almost 7500 people aged 15-24 were diagnosed with Chlamydia in NSW since June last year.
Symptoms rarely make themselves known, but left untreated can lead to pelvic inflammatory infection and infertility. A urinary test through a GP or youth health clinic is usually all that’s required to determine whether a person has the STI.
And for those who didn’t catch a glimpse of MYST’s colossal creation, a new and improved version could resurface next year.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever built a giant condom. It will be interesting to find out if it will be our last,” said Nick.

Kelly O's 4 safe sex tests a year

KELLY Osbourne has revealed she gets tested for sexually transmitted diseases four times a year.
The daughter of rocker Ozzy, 23, said she drunkenly had unprotected sex in the past — but even if it is unnecessary, she gets tested for her own “peace of mind”.
She also revealed mum Sharon, who survived colon cancer, fears Kelly will get the disease as she is on the Pill — or if she goes near a MICROWAVE.
She told New! mag: “Because of her history she’s convinced it causes cancer. I don’t have a microwave in my house for the same reason.”
Kelly, an ambassador for World Contraception Day, also told how she first saw a condom aged seven while on tour with her dad’s Black Sabbath band.
She said: “Mum explained what they were. It was something my parents had never been shy about.”

Botswana, PSI Distribute 60M Condoms; PSI Plans Initiative To Curb Spread Of HIV, Alcohol Abuse

The government of Botswana, along with Population Services International, has distributed almost 60 million condoms in the country during the past two years in an attempt to scale up the fight against HIV/AIDS, Mmegi reports.

Fighting The Disease: What Can Be Done

Can AIDS be stopped in Africa? The temptation, when we confront suffering on such a ghastly scale, is to assume it's beyond human control. But it's not. We know we can contain the spread of HIV, because vulnerable nations have already succeeded. Senegal has held its infection rate below 2 percent throughout the epidemic. And Uganda, once the plague's epicenter, cut its infection rate by half during the 1990s. Replicating such victories won't be easy; every community is different. A strategy that succeeds in one nation can fail in another. But researchers have learned a lot from the successes of the past two decades. Here are some prescriptions for slowing the devastation.
Break the silence. The first challenge is simply to face reality. Until recently, few African leaders acknowledged that AIDS was a problem. The disease still carries a strong stigma, but the official silence is breaking. The presidents of Zimbabwe and Kenya are now calling AIDS an urgent problem. Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland have all announced new anti-AIDS initiatives in the past year. And many governments are teaming up with corporations and community groups to raise public awareness.
Promote safer sex. The greater challenge is to change the behavior that spreads the disease. If people lacked only information, a good leaflet might end the epidemic. The trouble is that no one, rich or poor, makes health choices on the basis of information alone. If everyone in your community lives on junk food, chances are you'll live on it too--no matter how much you read about obesity and heart disease. And if prostitution is your livelihood--or the sole source of intimacy in your mineworkers' dormitory--you learn to live with the risk. The most successful prevention efforts have aimed not just to inform people but to change social norms. In Uganda, for example, health workers turned "Protector" condoms into must-have fashion accessories, simply by introducing a flashy new package and a marketing slogan ("So Strong. So Smooth"). To keep the brand hot, the promoters launched a safe-sex radio show and even a traveling theater production.

Education to tackle teen pregnancies

HEALTH chiefs are poised to target the Cumbrian schools with the highest teen pregnancy rates in a push to educate young people.

The county’s public health boss wants to encourage a new culture where children talk openly about sex from a very young age and parents are no longer prudish or embarrassed.
Prof John Ashton also wants to see dedicated teen health centres being set up across the county, including one at the city academy planned for Carlisle.
Although they have started to drop, teenage pregnancy rates in the city are still higher than the national average.
For example between 2004 and 2006, 48 of every 1,000 15 to 17-year-olds in Carlisle were pregnant.
Nationally the figure was 41 out of 1,000.
The picture in Barrow and west Cumbria is similar, with lower rates in parts of Eden and South Lakeland.
In the next few months Cumbria Primary Care Trust (PCT) will join with health bosses in Lancashire to launch a debate about sex and young people in a bid to address problems such as teenage pregnancy.
Prof Ashton, county public health director, believes education is the key – this being in schools from a young age, in the wider community and at home.
“We need to give young people more support. To do this I would like to see more school-based clinics, teenage health centres and school nurses.
“For example I’d like to see the new academy in Carlisle have a teenage health centre and perhaps one in the grounds of the university that’s open to teenagers.

£3m centre for sex health advice

A £3M sexual health centre opens in Manchester today aiming to provide faster, easier access to tests and treatment.The Hathersage Centre, on the corner of Hathersage Road and Upper Brook Street, will offer confidential, free care and counselling on a range of needs, including contraception, pregnancy, sexually-transmitted infections and HIV.The clinic will have a drop-in service, so most people do not need to book in advance.Health bosses in Manchester have struggled to meet targets for access to sexual health care and have come under pressure to tackle the rising number of teen pregnancies - there has been a 14 per cent increase among under-18s in the city in the last 10 years, while, nationally, it fell by 12 per cent.Neil Jenkinson, director of the Greater Manchester Sexual Health Network, said: "There has been a significant improvement in access times and facilities over the past year. "This fantastic new centre is the final piece of the jigsaw - with direct street access, just off one of the busiest bus and road routes in the city."Combines
The centre combines the Manchester Centre for Sexual Health, which had two separate bases at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, and the Palatine Contraceptive and Sexual Health Services. Staff will run regular clinics for teenagers and young people and provide a telephone advice service.Services include:The diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and genital conditions; HIV testing, diagnosis, counselling and treatment; All methods of contraception, including emergency contraception; Abortion information; Psychosexual counselling. More information: Contraception clinics on 0161 901 1555 or sexual health clinics 0161 276 5200.

Safer sex appeal after record level of HIV cases

A RECORD number of HIV cases have been diagnosed in Wales over the past year – the highest rate since the start of the epidemic nearly 30 years ago.
The latest NHS figures show a total of 172 new patients were confirmed with the virus – a rise over the previous year which was also a record with 154 new cases.
Doctors today confirmed that unprotected sex was by far the biggest cause of the spread and made new appeals for couples to practice safer sex by using a condom.
Despite the increase in new HIV patients, the numbers of cases leading to full blown Aids and deaths from Aids have remained static over the past decade with between five and 10 cases a year.
The main areas of transmission of the HIV virus are among homosexual men, heterosexual men who have contracted the infection from holidays or business trips to South East Asia or Africa and those who have emigrated to the UK from the same regions.
Over the years, a total of 1,446 cases of HIV have been diagnosed in Wales.
One of the most high profile cases was that of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock group Queen, who died in 1991, aged 45.
Dr Mary Browning, a consultant in genito-urinary medicine for the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, said one of the reasons for the increase in cases was also a greater awareness of the treatments which were more widely available today.
“These treatments are very successful and much less frightening