Straight talk on sex, condoms

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This article was published 12/10/2011 (5420 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sexually transmitted infection rates may have risen in Manitoba — and experts hope a new campaign will get young ‘Tobans to wrap it up before they rise any higher.

On Tuesday, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority unveiled a multimedia campaign aimed at getting Manitobans — especially younger ones — to reduce infection rates by getting more up close and personal with condoms and STI testing.

The campaign comes after a decade that saw chlamydia and gonorrhea rates rise in Manitoba, especially among teens. “We do know some Winnipeg teens do not use condoms when they have sex,” said Dr. Michael Routledge, the WRHA’s medical director of public health. “So we want to open up the dialogue.”

He means, like, really open. For the campaign’s series of spot ads for television, Facebook and radio, the WRHA tapped bona fide Manitoba teenagers to talk about sex, sexuality and condoms. No scripted lines here: much of what you see in the videos is real, honest talk, the teen stars of the ads said on Tuesday.

Though the teens were surprised some of their ad-lib banter made the final cut, there is an upshot: the result is natural, right down to the occasional giggle and blush. But for the most part, the teens delivered the pro-condom message smoothly, especially given the occasionally squirmable subject of sexual health.

“I’m just not awkward with talking about sex,” said Adrianna Stutsky, 17. “It’s just something people need to hear. My parents were, like, if you think you can be comfortable with (appearing in the video), then go for it.”

The teens said they were recruited by their drama teacher to appear in the ads. Once they found out the subject matter, they were fully on board — especially given some of the decision-making they’ve seen in their own peer groups.

“We want teens to consider the person you’re doing it with,” said Jessica Wiebe, 17.

“We’re not going to say, ‘Oh, save it for marriage.’ But save it for someone who cares enough about you to not even question using a condom.”

Routledge and the campaign’s partners, Klinic and Teen Talk, hope that straight talk will get teens thinking. “No matter how cool we adults are, it’s only those (teens) that are able to affect youth,” chuckled Vycki Atallah, Teen Talk co-ordinator. “We know that youth, if given information in a way that is frank and non-judgmental, can make choices for themselves in a way that is safe.”

Teen Klinic’s Lisa Goss said: “Any time we talk about sexual health out in the community, we normalize that sexual health is part of who we are,”

The campaign also includes a website, getsomecondoms.ca, that features information about sexual health and condom use and where to find clinics that can provide free condoms and STI testing. The latter, is a key part of decreasing STI transmission rates. Chlamydia and gonorrhea rates appear to have risen in Manitoba over the last 10 years due to an increase in urine testing for common STIs.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca