UPDATED: You can't get AIDS from sex ed class

In response to the announcement of the HIV/AIDS rate, city officials have announced a new awareness campaign. Check out the story here.

In recent days, there has been somewhat of a rumble about HIV/AIDS rates rising, specifically in the Washington D.C. area. The Washington Post reported yesterday that the metro area has the highest infection rate in the nation, with 3 percent of the city's population carrying the disease.

I know Alyssa will back me up when I say that AIDS is not something we should consider a "foreign" issue, in the sense that it's only a problem in sub-Saharan Africa, or underdeveloped nation. According to the article, the D.C. rate is higher than parts of West Africa, and is "on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya."

It's stories like these that make me terrified for abstinence-based sex education. A reactionary blog post (also from The Washington Post, what can I say it's my favorite news site) used the article as motivation to "re-educate" readers about how to prevent the spread of AIDS. Yes, abstinence was included on the list. However, I believe that a choice for abstinence should be motivated by positive attributes, rather than fear of consequences (pregnancy, disease, religious stigma, etc).

And AIDS education is something women need to take a stronger role in. I hope that most of my generation is beyond the myth of HIV/AIDS being a "gay" disease. According to the CDC, AIDS is the No. 1 cause of death in African-American females ages 25-34, and in 2005, Women accounted for 26% of the estimated 37,163 diagnoses of the disease for adults and adolescents. Also interesting is the site's study was that women were slightly less likely than men to receive prescriptions for the most effective treatments for HIV infection. There's even a separate AIDS awareness day for women and girls (March 10, as opposed to the international awareness day on December 1).

These numbers are too high. I'm saddened at the idea that in a country with every educational opportunity at our fingertips, we would allow our friends, colleagues, family, or even strangers to walk around in ignorance. Educate yourself, and those around you, so that this preventable disease can be eradicated.

Here are some resources for more information:

AIDS.gov: the government website on the disease
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: statistics on the disease in the United States, as well as materials on education and prevention
Face AIDS: a student organization that works to fight AIDS in Africa (shout out to the Seattle U. chapter)
United Nations: a special General Assembly session on HIV/AIDS