STDs on the rise among Vis Valley youth
By Holly Bun
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) run rampant in urban areas such as San Francisco and Oakland, but San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley has the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases among young adults in the city.
“There are a lot of young, sexually active people living in the area,” said Dr. Naomi Wortis who works at the Hawkins Medical and Mental Health Clinic, which provides health services inside the Village in Vis Valley. “They are getting a fair amount of sex education, but for many different reasons, my sense is that they choose not to think it will happen to them.”
According to an epidemiology of STDs in San Francisco, Visitacion Valley has the heaviest concentrated population of people infected with syphilis, Chlamydia and gonorrhea, far higher than neighborhoods like the Tenderloin or Russian Hill, where prostitution runs openly.
Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are sexually transmitted diseases caused by bacteria. It is passed through sexual contact such as intercourse, anal and oral sex.
Though gonorrhea and Chlamydia can be cured through treatments, the bacterial infection that causes such diseases can sterilize a woman for the rest of her life.
Syphilis is far more dangerous. Sixty-four percent of San Franciscans who have syphilis have also tested positive for HIV.
Visitacion Valley’s population of adolescents and young adults is also high, between 2,000 and 3,000. Approximately half of all households in the area have a minor, 18 years and younger, living with them.
Loreta Mana, a SFSU student who is the Peer Resource Coordinator at the Visitacion Valley Beacon Center, believes that female minors under the influence of older boys and some adults are engaging in dangerous, sexual activities.
“I feel a lot of girls are being coaxed by older males in high school,” said Mana. “Young kids here try to act older and try to relate by trying to be sexually advanced.”
Mother Hill, a long time resident and working activist in the community also believes that adults are influencing minors to engage in adult activities.
“Monkey see, Monkey do,” sad Hill. “They know they have an opportunity to experiment while their parents are working. Young kids see what the older ones are doing. How can you concentrate?”
Candy Rivera, who also works at the Beacon Center, believes that the rise in STDs among minors and young adults could be influenced by how children are learning about sex and the lack of proper information.
“Talking about sex with teachers or with parents is an embarrassing experience,” Rivera said. “Teacher-student relationships need to be re-evaluated so that teachers can learn how to talk to them on a level that they understand.”
California’s sex educational program is also seen as a failing one, simply educating children on the changes in their bodies, but not sexuality and safe sex. But many new programs in the neighborhood are trying to address the epidemic, such as the Hawkins clinic, which provides affordable examinations and counseling. Young teenagers can freely receive services like pap smears, pregnancy tests and STD testing with discretion.
“Teens come in for exams, but they do come in for counseling and sex education,” said Wortis.
Mana also runs a girls support group at the Beacon Center, where eighth-graders can talk openly about their body image and the biological changes they are going through.
“We focus on hygiene and body image, but we do also provide info in STDs and safe sex practices,” said Mana.
Through new educational programs, working safe sex advocates hope to turn bring down STD rates in Visitacion Valley, perhaps heading off an epidemic that could turn worse.