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Why Safer Sex @ Penn?
Introduction
The Office of Health Education (OHE) is committed to raising awareness about sexual health issues as well as enabling and empowering the Penn community to have safer sex. To further this goal, our health promotion messages and campaigns such as Ask Us Why are data driven and evidence-based.
Since 2000, OHE has collected data on Penn students’ health behaviors on a biennial basis. From this data, we are able to bring you current and projected rates of safer sex practices; the prevalence and incidence of sexually transmitted infections including HIV as well as the numbers of students who have been tested for HIV.
We encourage you to use this information as a resource as well as motivation to think before you act and discuss potential misperceptions among your friends, roommates, as well as past, present and future sexual partners.
Safer Sex Practices on Penn’s Campus
Safer sex may mean something different to everyone. Some define it as using contraception to prevent pregnancy; others use safer sex supplies to protect against STI’s (sexually transmitted infections) or HIV when they engage in seemingly high risk activities. Others regard having safer sex as something only needed when dating or hooking up, often long term relationships are the reason for not using any type of safer sex supplies. Varied definitions among a community usually stem from misperceptions. Past OHE surveys have shown that Penn students believe that most of their peers are always or mostly using condoms when engaging in sexual intercourse*, when in actuality more than half of students who report being sexually active were NOT practicing safer sex.
The following sexual health data was taken from our most recent survey (Penn Health and Wellness Survey, 2008.)
- When engaging in oral sex, 87.4% of Penn undergraduates and 97.9% of Penn graduate/professional students reported NEVER using a condom, dental dam or other safer sex supply.
- When engaging in vaginal sex, 10% of undergraduates and 29.2% of graduate/professional students reported NEVER using a condom in the last school year.
- When engaging in anal sex 47.1% of Penn undergraduates and 50.9% of Penn graduate/professional students reported NEVER using a condom
HIV Testing & Infection Rates on Campus
In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) made major revisions to its HIV testing guidelines. HIV testing is now recommended to be routine screening for health care professionals to administer and for the general public to seek out. Those who participate in high risk activities such as IV drug use and unprotected sex are encouraged to be tested annually.
As Penn students, there are several options for you to obtain an HIV test. Testing is available on campus at Student Health Service and at several off campus locations.
Our research indicates that one quarter of the Penn student population has ever been tested for HIV. Last academic year, 13.9% of Penn students reported getting tested. (Penn Health and Wellness Survey, 2008.)
Nationally, the incidence of HIV infection is the highest for ages 13-29; 34% of this age group is becoming infected with 19,200 new infections per year (CDC, 2008.) This national data is consistent with data collected by the Office of Health Education between 2004 and 2008, when we began to see a marked increase in HIV infection rates among Penn students.
The largest growth in infection rates is occurring among gay and bisexual men of all races (53%) as well as black men and women (45%), white men and women have the second highest infection rate among all races accounting for 35% of all new HIV infections (CDC, 2008.)
Of most importance, when we couple the rates of testing with the projected HIV infection rates among Penn students, our data suggests that a substantial number of Penn students are infected with HIV and do not know it.
Click for more information on sexual health and safer sex including how to protect yourself.
*Here sexual intercourse refers to vaginal intercourse among heterosexual persons.
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