Blog #5 - Dangerous Advice

Dear Classmates, 

I read an urban legend on Snopes, called Assaulted Tale (aka This Bird Won’t Fly). The article addressed a false circulating e-mail that describes ways to protect you from being raped. The description of defensive moves and instructions was apparently created by a self-proclaimed, self-defense expert with no real credibility. True self-defense experts are appalled by instructions such as confronting a suspected attacker with small talk so that you can get a good look at this potentially dangerous person’s face and you can make a positive ID later on if needed. As I was reading these ridiculous suggestions, I wondered how many women had suffered from believing them. According to the records of the United Nations (2002), there were 95,136 reported rapes in the United States in the year 2002. With these kinds of statistics, people, especially women, are always looking for helpful information as to how to avoid being attacked. Someone who received this e-mail from a trusted friend or family member might associate the advice with the trust they have for that person, and made the mistake of following these bogus suggestions. This world is dangerous enough without the added threat of potentially harmful advice. There are, however, a number of legitimate sites that offer good advice for potential victims including the Snopes site that can help distinguish the good advice from the bad. While I still believe people are basically good, there is no avoiding the fact that some just are not. Obviously being suspicious of every stranger in every situation would be socially unhealthy, but being able to identify a potentially dangerous location or situation could make a difference. I encourage everyone I know to educate themselves on how best to avoid becoming victims and to keep in mind that for every criminal, there was a first crime committed. And perhaps most important, is the old saying, “follow your gut”. If you feel something is off or strange, it probably is. Even if you run away from a perfectly harmless stranger, there’s no harm done. 

 

Snopes.com Rumor Has It. (2007). Assaulted tale (aka that bird won’t fly). Retrieved February 27, 2009 from:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/prevent/rape.asp

 

United Nations. (2002). Office on Drugs and Crime Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs. Eighth united nations survey of crime trends and operations of criminal justice covering the period 2001-2002. Retrieved February 27, 2009 from:

http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/eighthsurvey/8sv.pdf

Blog #4 - The Talk

I never really received "the talk" when I was growing up. My mother and I were not very close and I don't remember her ever approaching me about it.  If I had a thirteen year old girl, I would start with the basics. I would talk about the different ideas that seem to be common among boys and girls. I would tell her stories of girls I knew and the lessons I learned talking with them. I would tell her about my friend who slept with the high school coach that all the girls thought was so hansom and how her life seemed to spiral down so quickly. The last I heard, she dropped out, started  drinking heavily, and was stripping to make rent. I would tell her about the teacher that later dropped hints my way, and because of my friend, I knew to avoid any and all private contact. I would tell her about my friend who got pregnant on purpose hoping to get the father, who was all of twenty years old, to marry her. He did not and her life was forever altered and her options were forever limited. And then there was my friend who was so "in love" with a rebellious boy at school. She put the statement out that if he were to come to her house after school and before her mother got off of work, he could have her virginity. He heard and he did. The next day, he told everyone she was awful, that it was like "doing a dead fish". Everyone talked about what a "nasty whore" she was, until a year later when everyone was talking about how his father was physically abusive and his mother abandoned them when he was small. 

The next thing I would do, is to make her an appointment with a trusted female gynecologist and let her know that anytime she was not comfortable talking to me, she could call her doctor. I would explain that with puberty comes a new responsibility to take care of your own body. That sexually transmitted diseases are out there and how they affect one's health. I would pull the epidemiological reports for my county to show her how prevalent these diseases were and explain how quickly they can spread. I would also tell her that people are not always truthful when discussing their sexual history.  And although it is certainly not their fault, I would explain the rate of sexual abuse of children and the diseases they are exposed to, and because it often goes on unknown, the victims may be unaware of any risk they would expose others to. And I would do my best to explain how becoming sexually active alters one's state of emotions and self image, whether good or bad. 

The last thing I would explain, would be the physical side of it. How birth control in any form other than a condom, is just back up until you are in a committed relationship with someone you trust. I would walk her into a store, purchase a pack of condoms, and leave explaining to her that until she is mature enough to do that on her own, she has no business being sexually active. Contraceptive should never be left up to the guy. If a boy walks around with a condom in his wallet, it may be damaged by the time he uses it. Also, there may be a boy who thinks more of her than she does of him. It is not unheard of for a boy to deliberately damage a condom in hopes of getting a girl pregnant. If you leave the responsibility up to the other person, that person is responsible for your life! And, even using a condom does not offer a 100% guarantee against pregnancy and disease, choosing your partners wisely is a must.

Last, I would explain that waiting for the right person and the right time in your life is ideal, but if she is mistaken, and that person turns out not to be "the one", having the self respect to protect her own body will allow her to continue her life and to eventually find him.

Kally Smith

HS3133.50

Blog #3 Healthy Behaviors in Adolescents

As an overprotective parent of two young children, I completely sympathize with the denial that children will grow up to become sexually active. The problem is, whether they are six or sixteen or twenty-six, they are still our "babies". Like it or not, pretending that it is never going to happen is likely to cause more harm than provide protection. 

As discussed on page 97 of our text, increasing knowledge of protected sex for adolescents does not increase their initial or existing rate of sexual activity.  It actually prolongs initial behavior and increases the rate of safety in existing practice among adolescents. (Alexander, LaRosa, Bader & Garfield, 2007) With these statistics, it makes you wonder why anyone would object to sexual education being provided in our schools by credible health educators. 

Many parents feel that it is the responsibility of the parents and should be left at their discretion. This stirs up memories of childhood friends who told me that you couldn't get pregnant the first few days after your period ended, that you couldn't get pregnant your first time, and that sexually transmitted diseases only existed in the adult world. 

Adolescents should be told the truth! They should know that oral sex is sex. In fact, they should be knowledgeable of all sexual acts and the diseases and consequences associated with each. They should know the majority of adolescents will discuss their intimate experience with others and may or may not add false details. Girls should know that getting pregnant does not obligate a boy to marry them or take advantage of their visitation rights. Boys should know the mandated child support payment amounts they will be responsible for and that the amount can increase as new financial goals in their lives are realized. 

Many adolescents feel peer pressure and may feel as though they need to face their fear to adhere to their age group's subjective norm. Good advice for such teens would be, to tell them if they are too shy or embarrassed to walk in a store to purchase contraceptives, they are not ready. If they are too shy or embarrassed to ask their physician or health care professional for advice, even in private, they are not ready. They should know beyond any doubt that the decision to engage in sexual activity is not just emotionally life changing, but also physically life changing. Becoming active subjects their bodies to life threatening disease. They should know that even when engaging in an intimate act with a self proclaimed virgin, that person may not be telling the truth. And when they do feel ready, there should be an open line of communication should it be needed. If a parent does not feel comfortable with this, they could provide the name and number of a medical professional or credible clinic. A teen should never be made to feel they are a disappointment or source of shame for be sexually active. This may increase the likelihood that they will delay seeking treatment if a related complication or emergency should occur. Parents should remember that subjective norms change and that they are a least a generation removed from their children. And that as uncomfortable as they may feel when their child seeks guidance, the feeling pales in comparison to how they would feel if their child came to them to reveal they had contracted an incurable sexually transmitted disease.

Kally Smith

Alexander, L.L., LaRosa, J.H., Bader, H. & Garfield, S. (2007). New dimensions in women's health. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett

 

Is Healthcare a Right or a Privilege?

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was written and accepted by the United States. Some of the most familiar and powerful words, were our stated rights to "...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (Declaration of Independence, 1776). However, today, this seems to apply to everyone in America who are capable of managing their healthcare expenses, and the rest have only the right to find a way to earn enough money to do the same. Where is the right to life when a patient can not get approval for an "experimental" treatment to save his/her life? And what makes a treatment experimental? Just because it has not been done a million times yet? All treatments are susceptible to complications that can affect their success rate, so if a new treatment has been tried on one person, and it worked, that should be considered a  treatment option. I am curious as to how many treatments are considered experimental when they cost 100.00 or less. And if a person is not covered by health insurance and can not afford treatment costs, then they too are out of luck. The United States is the only industrialized country that does not offer universal healthcare. (Skolnik, 2008) Our tax dollars apply to many important aspects of our lives, like education and economic development, yet our healthcare is considered optional. 

There have been considerable efforts towards improvement, such as the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid to assist those who are physically incapable of helping themselves, but what about all the people who fall in between? America has many things to be proud of, but our healthcare system isn't one of them. Money has become the central variable in our system. Hospitals are forced to conduct themselves as businesses, cutting corners and overcharging when possible. Doctors are forced to limit their care and make decisions based on what the hospital or office can afford, rather than what the patient needs. Our citizens accept this, because we are scared into thinking that universal healthcare means limited care, but the opposite is true. America is notorious for adopting new ideas and improving them. My hope is that we will all come to the understanding that health is sacred. It can not be replaced. Good health is the essential gateway to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (Declaration of Independence, 1776)

Kally Smith

Declaration of Independence. (1776). Retrieved February 6, 2009 from:http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

Skolnik, R. (2008). Essentials of global health. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett