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Sex and The City A host of risk factors
affect youth in Washington, DC. In
my capacity as co-founder of the Urban Life Training and Reality Assessment
Program, I get to work with middle and high school youth who are exposed to
these realities: In
Washington DC, 34% of high school students have used alcohol within the last
month, 13% are currently smoking and 37 percent report having used marijuana.
Nationally, twenty per cent of adolescents have sex before his
or her 15th birthday. However, in Washington, DC, 55 percent of 9th
grade students report having had sex. By
some estimates, one in twenty adults in DC is infected with HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS. When news is reported
regarding any of the five related
risk behaviors of drinking
alcohol, smoking, drug use, sexual activity, and violence, then reporters should
take the opportunity to educate the public more about the issues underlying
juvenile health issues. And since
sexual activity is a linked risk behavior, helping teens remain abstinent from
sex before marriage should be seen as a prominent health issue.
It will improve their health not only regarding not becoming pregnant,
but in a host of other ways. The
media can help the public to see the link between these related risk behaviors,
and also by pointing out the link between the declining two parent family and
these risk behaviors. It is a
fact that youth who are abstaining from sex are also much less likely to smoke,
drink alcohol, use drugs, or commit acts of violence. According to Father Facts, edited by Wade Horn,
"A study of neighborhoods in Cleveland, Ohio found that the rate of
out-of-wedlock births in a neighborhood was the single strongest predictor of
six measures of childhood risk including low birth weight rate, infant death
rate, teen birth rate, juvenile delinquency rate, and school reading
performance. Also, "Teens
from single-parent or stepparent homes are more likely to commit a school
crime(possess, use or distribute alcohol or drugs; possess a weapon; assault a
teacher, administrator or another student) than teens from intact homes. Abstinence
from sex outside of marriage is the best place to start for character
education and violence prevention. We
must break the negative cycle of outside of marriage births.
Nonprofit organizations such as ULTRA Teen Choice are already giving this
positive message to youth. And the
most encouraging thing is that the youth themselves are becoming peer counselors
and helping their younger peers to make the choice to be abstinent.
Father Facts also tells us
that “Studies reveal that even in high-crime inner-city neighborhoods, well
over 90 percent of children from safe, stable, two-parent homes do not become
delinquents." When family
structure is stabilized, the related youth health issues of drinking, smoking,
drug use, sexual activity outside of marriage, and violence will also be greatly
reduced. The media needs to be
asking a lot more of the “Why” question, and doing all it can to be offering
insightful information on helping to promote stable, lasting two parent
families.
ULTRA Teen Choice has been successful in educating youth in Washington DC about
the importance of sexual abstinence before marriage.
Many youth are committing to abstinence until marriage.
The media can help by reporting more on this positive trend.
And readers can help by supporting the work of ULTRA Teen Choice.
We use classroom media presentations, where youth learn the reality of
teens and sex, including the facts about HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted
diseases, and the fact that married couples have the best sex.
They learn that condoms aren’t 100 %“safe” for any diseases or for
pregnancy prevention, and that they do not protect at all against many sexually
transmitted diseases. Youth also
get to think about what real love is, and how making positive decisions will
impact their future family. Interested
youth join the ULTRA Teen Choice Service Club, and they become peer counselors,
speaking to other youth about the importance of abstinence, and about their
personal commitment.
In 2006 to 2007, we will be expanding our work to reach more schools.
We are also looking for four young adult interns.
If you would like real world
experience with a growing non-profit, please contact me
You can find out more about our work by visiting www.ultrateenchoice.org,
or you can reach Richard Urban, the director at rurban@ultrateenchoice.org.
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