It is not enough to write a prescription for contraception or test for STIs without backing these services up with information, education, and support that will help empower women to become actors in their own lives. Break the censorship barriers. Censorship comes from both internal and external forces. Rarely, however, are public portrayals of sex accompanied by parallel messages about responsibility or the consequences of irresponsible sexual behavior. Sex is easier to find on television than the weather report, yet most television stations refuse to air contraceptive advertisements.
Some healthcare providers are reluctant to openly discuss sexual health issues with their patients.
Young people, especially, suffer the most dramatic consequences of these mixed messages. These are enormous public health problems that, ultimately, we all pay for in the long term. Those who care about reproductive healthcare need to take a leadership role in promoting more open and honest discussions about sexual issues. We must stop censoring ourselves from fear of controversy. And we must support the development of realistic and responsible educational tools, information, and programs about sexuality and sexual behavior that resonates with diverse constituencies, their experiences, and the way they see the world.