A national study has painted an alarming picture of the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young people, especially in females. Federal health officials have reported in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that one in four female teenagers is infected with at least one of four common infections, including chlamydia, herpes, human papillomavirus (HPV), and trichomoniasis. Furthermore, fifteen percent of the infected women had more than one of the diseases.

The shocking nature of the findings lends a sense of urgency to providing better sexual education and services to our nation’s youth. While the sexual health of young people has always elicited controversial discussion, the Bush administration’s emphasis on abstinence as a preventative measure for (STIs) in young people is simply not effective. Instead, a focus on comprehensive sex education, the availability of contraception, and frequent preventative screening processes are key to ensuring the optimum sexual health of young people.

When tackling problems like common STIs, policies such as abstinence are insufficient. Unfortunately, the current administration has opted to spend billions on abstinence education to combat teenage pregnancy and STIs, rather than emphasize safe sex and healthy family planning. These abstinence-only policies are dangerous for young people, because they disregard the need for information and services among those who inevitably engage in teenage sex. Rather than champion abstinence as the only form of safe sexual behavior, schooling should include programs that provide free contraception and advice on sexual health, STI screening and prevention, and testing procedures. Sponsoring safe sex is a far more reliable way of preventing the troubling results seen in this recent study.

Moreover, the number of screenings for teenagers should increase in order to detect these diseases sooner rather than later. Vaccinations—like those available for HPV—must also be made more accessible to young people.

Fortunately, Harvard has adopted such measures, providing condoms free of charge in all dormitories and house, while numerous programs and organizations, like Peer Contraceptive Counselors, are devoted to the promotion of safe sex. The University also subsidizes vaccinations, such as Gardasil, which protects against HPV, for students under the Student Health Plan.

Clearly the model for universities is unique to college life, but a culture which encourages safe sex is far healthier for our nation’s youth than one which blindly ignores the reality of teenage sexual life and merely chants the mantra of “no sex before marriage.” Across the United States and around the world, measures must be installed to encourage sexual practices that are safe and healthy. Policies that follow the abstinence-only stance of President Bush neglect the real and substantial need for sexual information for teens. Only when we focus on thorough education about sexual practices will the risks of STIs and related problems be alleviated.