April 3, 2011 GUEST BLOG POST by Kaitlyn Krauss
I get it–sex is a taboo topic. It’s something that shouldn’t be discussed in public let alone in front of people you don’t know. Yet I do this all the time. I know my dad would never tell his friends his daughter hosts “Safer Sex Parties” up at Penn State and I know my mom isn’t too happy that I demonstrate how to properly put on a condom, but it’s something I do and it’s something I love.
As a peer educator through University Health Services, I chose to become involved with the sexual health group. During my first year as a volunteer, I was elected the group leader. I believe that unsafe sex is one of the biggest problems that all college campuses face. It is important for everyone to be aware of the risks of sexual activities because STIs such as HPV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and Genital Herpes are common on college campuses.
The CDC reports that 1 in 4 college students have been diagnosed with an STI in their lifetime. I don’t know about you but that statistic shocks me every time I hear it. It was my love of communication, volunteering and always wanting to help others that led me to become a peer educator. Regardless that not everyone agrees with what I do, I’d like to think it’s worth it, even if I help one person or change one persons mind.
Because of my experiences as a peer educator, I review research about the benefits of peer educators in talking to people about sex. One of these articles conducted in 2007 (
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a903650971) considered the question, “Does Peer Sexual Health Education training shift trainee’s own behavior towards health promotion and safer sex behavior?” Through a series of surveys and training programs, the study found that participants improved their STD knowledge and health-promotion counseling self-efficacy. This is something that I believe all peer educators should grasp before preaching safer-sex to hard-headed college students. Whenever I give a safer sex party, it’s new facts that often motivate people to change. By learning the facts and improving one’s training skills, peer educators become more valuable.
College students believe they are invincible and many won’t stop and think twice about something until they are hit with the consequences. STIs are serious and that is why I try to convince people to prevent them instead of deal with the problem when it arises. The study found that peer educators were a successful tool in training college students. A lot of the educators also changed their ways after going through the training. All of the health promotion competencies they learned in the study are necessary components of a peer education program that enhances the health of its clients. And that’s why I do this, to enhance the health of my clients, my peers, and my friends…
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Author: Roxanne
I have always loved to learn. After years of trying to pick a major as an undergraduate, I met a professor who guided me to graduate school. And from graduate school, I learned that I could always go to school and keep on learning. And so I have...
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I get it–sex is a taboo topic. It’s something that shouldn’t be discussed in public let alone in front of people you don’t know. Yet I do this all the time. I know my dad would never tell his friends his daughter hosts “Safer Sex Parties” up at Penn State and I know my mom isn’t too happy that I demonstrate how to properly put on a condom, but it’s something I do and it’s something I love.
Though it’s common knowledge that sex is a taboo topic, I think Kaitlyn refreshed my memory on just how awkward it can be. I have friends at Penn State who are also Peer Health Educators that host these Safer Sex Parties, and I think that they are extremely important. However, I never thought about how weird it would feel to explain your job to a parent or family member. In a way, it seems like a double- edged sword because on one hand, you’re being a responsible student and community member, yet it is inherent by nature to arouse uncomfortable feelings when discussing what you do. I think it’s a shame, though, that sexual health is so stigmatized when in fact, STIs affect 1 in 4 college students- Unbelievable!
The work that you do also reminded me of the EPPM model that we learned about in class. The messages you convey elicit feelings of susceptibility and severity based on statistics alone, but they also encourage response and self- efficacy by then explaining how students can prevent STIs. In the end, participants feel perceived threat and perceived efficacy, and they can then move to the danger control process in order to adapt safer sex behaviors. Great job!
You took the words right out of my mouth when you referred to college kids as invincible. Being one myself, I agree that I can escape the dangers of being young. I have been to a few of these Sex Ed demonstrations when I lived in the dorms at the Penn State Behrend College and not many people took it seriously. What I noticed was the guys thinking it was just about getting free condoms to use for anything. I found them all over the dorms as a joke later that night. Not many girls even showed up because they thought it was more of a guy deal. I think it is awesome that you are not blind to the realizations that sex is a taboo topic and even your parents are uncomfortable with it. Keeping the facts to the point and simple to grasp I believe will help most college kids to understand the negative effects of non safe sex. College is the time when you paint the path to your future… there should be no regret about poor decisions that were made due to sexual encounters.