Need remains for AIDS education
AIDS Awareness Day is held annually on Dec. 1. This year, we hosted our 22nd community program. In 1993, HIV infection often led to death; today, treatment renders HIV/AIDS a chronic illness. In 1993, more than 300 young people from 10 school districts attended AIDS Awareness Day on the courthouse steps; this year, a small group of dedicated teens and adults gathered at the Common Ground Teen Center.
In 1993, the World AIDS Day theme was “Time to Act”; in 2015, the theme is frighteningly similar: “The Time to Act is Now.” Fear has morphed into apathy. AIDS education is mandated in Pennsylvania, but few students receive adequate instruction. Think of this: HIV is an entirely preventable infection. In 1993, individuals living with HIV/AIDS endured stigma and judgment; today, HIV often remains linked to shame.
I was a hospice nurse in the ’80s. Part of my motivation when I created the 1993 AIDS Awareness Day was respect for my patients. As in 1993, my primary focus in 2015 is education. Today, few young people even know what HIV stands for (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). HIV is a virus affecting humans. It weakens a person’s immune system by destroying cells meant to protect from infection. A deficient immune system allows infection to take over; unlike other viruses, the body cannot remove HIV. It is a lifelong infection.
Young people wrote their thoughts at our AIDS Awareness Day this year:
• AIDS affects many people, but they are still people.
• It only takes one person to infect you.
• AIDS isn’t a joke.
• If someone is living with HIV/AIDS, it’s not anyone’s business.
• AIDS doesn’t make a person dirty.
A few of our peer educators reacted to the questions:
1. What do you learn about HIV/AIDS at school?
2. How old should children be when they are taught about AIDS, and why?
Amara Kennedy: I feel we don’t really learn much about HIV/AIDS at school. I think by the age of 13 we really should have a class that teaches us more about it. I know they have sex ed, but I think they are just like, “This is how you use a condom, use one.” There’s more to AIDS prevention that just that. We need a better explanation of what HIV/AIDS is. It’s a serious topic and should be better addressed.
Toni Maurer: I personally feel children should learn about HIV/AIDS as soon as they feel comfortable talking about it and are able to understand it. From what I can remember, you don’t learn about HIV/AIDS a lot in school. You cover it a bit in your health class, but not enough to really know what it is. Our school doesn’t have Sex Ed anymore, like they did when I was in sixth grade (where Teen Outreach taught us and I learned the most about HIV/AIDS), so most kids don’t know that AIDS does not really kill people now and that HIV is not AIDS, even though it can lead to AIDS.
Effy Shaffer: In school, we mainly focus on the umbrella term of STI. AIDS and HIV are one of the many risks of sexual behaviors. However, most schools fail to teach about the specifics of prevention besides abstinence. Also, the fact that many schools stopped sex education before most of us need it affects us. On anything with children, if they are ready to ask, they are ready to learn. Obviously we shouldn’t teach about sex directly at the age of 6, but we could mention HIV as an infection that can make people sick if they don’t get the proper medicine.
Matthew Stroop: I personally haven’t learned much about AIDS, not at school and barely at home. All I know is that it is not a good thing to have. You should avoid AIDS. I think kids should learn about it before they become sexually active. They should be encouraged to use protection. I think if you were trying to teach an 8-year-old about AIDS and sex, they would just think you’re being gross. You need to get to kids before they have sex.
Maci Ward: I think we touched on HIV/AIDS a good bit when we covered STDs in health class, although we don’t have a health class every year, so it’s been a couple of years since we covered that, but what was taught definitely stuck with me a bit. I think teaching about HIV/AIDS would be better understood to children who are learning about other STDs and Sex Ed.
Have a question? Send it to Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski’s email at podmj@healthyteens.com.