ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

International Journey to Solve U.S. Teen Sexual Health Puzzle July 25 to August 9

Chautauqua, NY, Emissary Joins Group to Learn Cutting Edge Approaches in France, Germany & the Netherlands

Did you know that the United States exhibits the highest rate of teenage births in the industrialized world?

Teenage sexual activity rates are nearly identical across western nations. Yet in 1990, the U.S. teen birth rate was seven times higher than that of the Netherlands, six times that of France, and four times that of Germany. The U.S. teen abortion rate is more than double that of France and more than four times that of the Netherlands. Moreover, one in four sexually active teens in the U.S. contracts a sexually transmitted disease.

What are other developed nations doing right? In general, the European countries accept that adolescents, especially older teens, may be sexually active. Therefore, programs and policies focus on teaching young people protective behaviors and skills and providing accurate information about sexuality.

In the U.S. each year:

• Some 12 million American teens are sexually active;
• Nearly one million teens become pregnant;
• About three million teens contract an STD; and
• Teenagers are one of the groups most at risk for HIV infection and AIDS.

Our nation's response? Shifting federal policy to abstinence until marriage: Just Say No Until Wedding Day.

That's why experts from Advocates for Youth and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, working in cooperation with the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, will journey to the Netherlands, France, and Germany, July 25 through August 9. They will explore cutting edge strategies, programs, and policies that account for the large difference in teen birth and abortion rates between these countries and the U.S.

Experts in pregnancy prevention and sexuality education, graduate students, and an American teenager will visit teen clinics and schools, view risk-reduction advertising and media clips, hold focus groups with parents and teenagers, and meet with religious leaders and public policy makers.

Among the group will be Molly Rogers, Director of Youth Services in Chautauqua, NY, where a 21-year-old man created a media frenzy by knowingly infecting at least 13 young women with HIV. The participants will act as international ambassadors and bring back invaluable lessons that will challenge and change policies in communities in CA, FL, IL, MO, MN, OH, PA, NJ, NY, VA, WA and Washington, D.C.

Advocates for Youth will host an International Symposium Nov. 19 on Capitol Hill to disseminate the information gathered during the tour. James Wagoner, President of Advocates, said, "The lessons learned will generate considerable controversy as well as pressure for policy and program changes in the United States."

The study tour would make an enlightening journalistic report documenting the discoveries participants will make and the transformations they will undergo as they experience first hand a far different national and cultural approach to the reality of teen sexuality. The group will investigate how other countries achieve societal acceptance for their policies and how to adapt these strategies to U.S. norms.

For pre-trip interviews with local advocates or young people, call Darryl Lynette Figueroa at 202.419.3420. Interviews or reports during the tour and upon return can also be arranged.

HOW DOES THE U.S. COMPARE TO EUROPE?

*For Germany, the abortion rate is 8.7 for women ages 15-49.

Information compiled by Advocates for Youth, May 1998, based on:

• Dept. for Economic & Social Information & Policy Analysis. Abortion Policies: a Global Review. 3 vols. New York: United Nations, 1993.
• Dept. for Economic & Social Information & Policy Analysis, Population Division. Family Planning, Health and Family Well-Being: Proceedings of the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Family Planning, Health and Family Well-Being, Bangalore, India, 26-30 October, 1992. New York: United Nations, 1996.
• Dept. for Economic & Social Information & Policy Analysis, Population Division. Population and Women: Proceedings of the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Population and Women, Gaborone, Botswana, 22-26 June 1992. New York: United Nations, 1996.
• Dept. for Economic & Social Information & Policy Analysis, Population Division. The Sex and Age Distribution of the World Populations: the 1994 Revision. New York: United Nations, 1994.
• Koonin LM, Smith JC, Ramick M, et al. Abortion Surveillance, United States, 1993 and 1994. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: CDC Surveillance Summaries 1997; 46(SS-4):37-55.
• Moore KA. Trends in Teenage Fertility: Presentation to the National Conference of State Legislatures Welfare Reform Task Force, May 4, 1994. Washington, DC: Child Trends, 1994.
• Ventura SJ, Curtin SC, Mathews TJ. Teenage births in the United States: National and State Trends, 1990-96. [National Vital Statistics System] Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 1998.
• World Health Organization. Weekly Epidemiological Record = Releve Epidemiologique Hebdomadaire. [no. 72]. Geneva, WHO, 1997.

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Note to Editors and Producers: For more information or to set up an interview with adolescent sexuality experts, please contact Bill Barker at (202) 419-3420.

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