'She Takes Control!': Philadelphia condom initiative empowers girls
When I was an awkward teen in the 1980s, I, like most other young males since the invention of vulcanized rubber, secretly carried a condom in my wallet … Just in case. Did the girls do that?
By Michael Yudell
When I was an awkward teen in the 1980s, I, like most other young males since the invention of vulcanized rubber, secretly carried a condom in my wallet … Just in case.
It was ridiculous. The condom imprinted a ring in the leather, ruining the wallet and making my clandestine attempt at preparation a joke. Never mind that it never got used, given how shy and immature I was in high school.
I asked my wife: Had she had ever carried condoms? In her backpack? Purse? Hidden in her big '80s hairdo? She laughed. Condoms were the guy's responsibility, she said. And, besides, she never would have thought to carry one.
And so today, sadly, data suggests that the shortcomings of yesteryears' teen mating rituals still stand: young women are still far less likely to be prepared for safe sex than are their young male counterparts, leaving them vulnerable to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
And why do Philadelphia's teens need condoms? Because they are having sex — and unsafe sex at that. Rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea in the city are three times the national average for ages 15 to 19. For ages 10 to 14, chlamydia is five times the national average; for gonorrhea, four times.
To be fair, these comparisons of Philadelphia and the nation aren't apples to apples because the health department runs what may be the most extensive school-based STD testing program in the United States, and the more you test for something — anything — the more you are likely to find. On the other hand, the city started testing every student many years ago precisely out of concerns over high rates of infection.
I applaud Health Commissioner Donald F. Schwarz and his department for these efforts. Hopefully, as data rolls in from the Freedom Condom initiative and the new She Takes Control! program, we'll see a drop in rates of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy in Philadelphia. That would be something for the city to celebrate.
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