OAKLAND, CA – July 26, 2010

•    Nearly half (46%) of all 15–19-year-olds in the United States have had sex at least once.
•    Although 15–24-year-olds represent only one-quarter of the sexually active population, they account for nearly half of all new sexually transmitted infections each year.
•    Eighty-two percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned; they account for about one-fifth of all unintended pregnancies each year.*

These numbers are changing every year, but one thing is for sure: You deserve to own your sexual health.

People you’ve never met, who may not have your best interest in mind, are making decisions about what kind of sexual health information — like how to protect yourself from HIV/STDs– and what kind of services –like where one can get birth control or abortion services– YOU can access.

Don’t leave it up to them. It’s up to you to define your rights and tell them what you want. This is how we see sexual health and reproductive justice.

We are a team of researchers from the University of Colorado School of Public Health and a non-profit organization called ISIS, who use technology to promote sexual health. We are working on a project, funded by the National Institutes of Health, that brings together 18-25 year old Facebook users to talk about issues important to them. Because it’s a study, you will be assigned to one of two groups. This first group will be receiving sexual and reproductive health information and promoting safe sex. The second group will be receiving information about current news relevant to 18-25 year olds.

We want to understand what YOU need. We want to hear your voices. We created this survey to help us understand who you are!

You can earn $60 in gift cards, just by taking three different 10-minute surveys, getting your friends involved, “liking” our Facebook page, checking out the cool content and participating in discussions on Facebook.

Not within the age range? No problem! You can contribute to this research project by passing along the information to friends or associates, and together we can all help to achieve sexual health and justice.

Interested in helping out with this social cause?
If you’re interested, send a message to Lindsey Breslin at lindsey.breslin@ucdenver.edu or call 720-690-4723, and she will get in touch with you and give you the next steps to join the study.

*All statistics from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-ATSRH.html

Contact Information
Lindsey Breslin
lindsey.breslin@ucdenver.edu
720-690-4723