Modern Day Sex Ed: Google

I have not written anything on my blog in a few months. Life has been extremely busy (and on the not-so-busy days, I have opted to just take my down time to rest up). Big changes are coming my way! I am starting a Masters in Public Health at UC Berkeley in about one week, as part of the "Health and Social Behavior" cohort. I am both excited and nervous as I prepare for this next journey! And I am ready to get back at it with the writing!

One topic I have had on my mind lately is internet boundaries for youth. I wrote a few posts that were somewhat tangential to this issue a while back, such as the one about cyber bullying and the one about limiting the content I access personally.

Recently, however, I feel like the topic of sexuality and sexual education via the internet has been swirling all around me. Just a few days ago, I read a very important blog post titled, "Three Things You Don't Know About Your Children and Sex," by Ann Marie Miller. (Note that this post is so popular that you may get an error if you are trying to access it at pique times.) The main point I gleaned from the article is that today, when kids don't know what a word means at school, they simply Google it. And guess what that exposes them to? Pornography. Maybe even pornography showing types of sex you and I have never heard of.

Source: http://www.techaddiction.ca/children-and-technology.html

I remember being in 5th grade many years ago when my friends were cracking jokes about "sixty-nine-ing." I pretended like I knew what they were talking about and laughed along. Later, I privately asked a friend what it meant, and she just said, "Think about it. 69. Get it?" My guess is that she did not know either.

But it was not just among my friends where this sort of perplexing situation happened. In 7th grade health class, we were learning about sexually transmitted diseases and other topics of "safe sex." The teacher said in class that "one possible consequence of anal sex is a ripped anus." At that age, I was embarrassed that I did not know what an anus was (note for those wondering - it's your butt), and I never asked a soul. I just made something up in my mind about what it might be (incorrectly) and moved along. Somewhere between then and probably 9th grade, I heard the real meaning in passing, but I know I went quite a while not knowing.

Now imagine if this had happened to me today. Imagine that as a 5th grader I searched for the meanings of those words on the internet. What would almost certainly come up first would be pornography depicting these acts, and I would be exposed to graphic content by no intent of my own. Hopefully, you get the picture.

Am I saying that anal sex or the 69 sex position are inherently wrong or "dirty?" Absolutely not! I believe that in the context of a consensual adult relationship, two people can discuss between themselves what is safe, respectful, and pleasurable, and no two relationships will look exactly the same on that front. What I do think is wrong, however, is a child searching the internet with little other context in which to discuss or understand sex, and coming to believe that various sex acts or attitudes they encounter are the norm for all couples. Or a child becoming addicted to the online images they see, such that they become desensitized to real future partners. Especially during the extremely formative developmental years, children may come to believe that they should "expect" certain acts, responses, grooming habits, etc. from future partners, and that can be extremely damaging to real life relationships, where very rarely does a partner fulfill every imaginable fantasy on demand.

I want to preface the rest of this post by saying that I am aware that many of the opinions expressed in this post are informed by my faith as an evangelical Christian and by my identity as a woman, through which I have come to believe that pornography is damaging to the sexual and emotional health of any person, regardless of age. I am also aware that intelligent, loving people may disagree with me when it comes to adult consumption of adult content. However, I hope that we can put aside our differences about the more controversial topic of adult viewership and still agree that consumption of adult content by young children is of actual consequence to their social, emotional, sexual, mental, and physical well-being. Young brains and bodies are just not at the same stages of development as those of an adult.

Although any type of pornography can be scary, confusing, or damaging to a child, I think it is worthwhile to point out that pornography today may be different than what you thought of twenty years ago when you came across your friend's dad's magazine in his basement. Some of the main differences are (1) an endless and constantly available supply, (2) an ability to search for any type of pornography until a person finds exactly what he/she is looking for, (3) the anonymity of viewing internet pornography (versus purchasing it in a store), and (4) perhaps most importantly, the content available and popular today, which often includes violent or fetishist acts. Although there have not been many studies to date directly addressing childhood pornography viewing, many psychologists will talk about their own clinical experiences of the types of damage done to their young clients, as discussed in this article from ABCnews. Additional information can be found on this page by ProtectKids.com, this fact sheet by the Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, and many other informative sites that you will encounter with a simple Google search of "Damage of Pornography to Kids." Among the short-term and long-term concerns listed are impairment in developing real-life friendships and romantic relationships, unrealistic depictions of sex in a real relationship, unrealistic views of body image, violent images leading to violent in-person gender relations, a psychological separation of sex from emotional intimacy, expectations of fetishist acts from real life future partners, a sense of pressure to perform sexual acts that are uncomfortable or unwanted, addiction, acting out sexual acts on other children or generally engaging in sexualized behavior at a young age, normalizing sexually abusive scenarios, and normalizing adult/child sexual relations (if a child stumbles across pornography involving minors), among many other possible negative outcomes.

So how do we protect our children?

My mom did have a few sex talks with me, and my parents tried to be open and available for me when I needed them. I really believe that I grew up in a great household with wonderful, loving, supportive parents. But even so, my young mind thought I should be afraid to ask them what terms like "69" and "anal sex" meant (and maybe they would not have even known themselves about some of the terms I heard floating around the halls of school.) In her post, Ann Marie Miller talks about how children and parents need to have an ongoing dialogue about sex, not just a single moment of discussion. (Unfortunately, many parents do not even have that one talk.) There is no guarantee that your child will open up to you, of course, but starting those discussions early, as children become aware of their sexuality over time, raises the chances that if something does happen, be it around them, to them, or by them, they are more likely to feel safe confiding in you (or talking with another trusted adult), should they feel they need to.

Ann Marie Miller also points out that many parents think their child is the exception, but Miller says that parents just need to get that out of their heads. You may have great internet controls at home, and you may not provide internet access without parental involvement yourself, but chances are, some (maybe a large) proportion of your child's friends have smart phones, tablets, etc. that they carry around without those same protections. Even when I was growing up without any of that technology around, I had heard a surprisingly wide array of sexual information on the elementary playground, often completely unsolicited. Any child, of any age, of any race, of any socioeconomic background, of any religious upbringing can hear confusing words at school, can be exposed to pornography, can be molested by a trusted adult or stranger, can end up with deep sexual secrets that they are afraid to tell you or that may affect them for years to come.

Source: http://adage.com/article/adagestat/25-toddlers-a-smartphone/229082/

A few months ago, I read a book about pornography addiction called, "The Porn Trap: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography," by Larry and Wendy Maltz. The book is very educational and talks about the personal damage, relational havoc, professional embarrassment, and other trials that pornography can escort into our lives. It also talks about steps to seek help and to get out of the addiction. I wanted to read about the topic, because I personally know a LOT of people (mostly Christians who have confided in me), both male and female, who have struggled with secret pornography obsessions at one point or another. I myself had viewed it for a period of several months in college, at a time which I would describe as the last step in a series of escalating issues I was handling poorly. I would say my own experiences were addictive to some extent, as it is difficult not to get addicted to something that releases so many pleasurable hormones into your system. At the height of my viewership habit, I found myself actually getting annoyed with good friends when our social plans interfered with my desire to view pornography. As it turns out, this is a very common experience! Yet thankfully, I believe God intervened when I had a life-changing moment during which I decided to put it away forever and never turned back. Sometimes I wonder how deeply I would be entrenched today if that change never happened. In reading the Maltzs' book, I wanted to understand more about the psychological underpinnings of pornography addiction and the best ways to respond to and support the recovery of my friends who are in the middle of it right now.

Does everyone who views pornography get addicted? No. But it is still a very real concern. Consider this: According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, of those who use heroine, it is estimated that 23% become dependent. That means 77% of people who try heroine have no problem with addiction, yet I would never recommend it to anyone I know. One might consider pornography in a similar light. The risk of addiction is real, and the relational risks, even apart from addiction, are also very real. Will everyone who looks at porn experience negative consequences? Maybe not. But do you want to leave that to chance with young children, who are particularly vulnerable? According to many surveys, children ages 11-17 are the biggest viewers of pornography, and about 70% of people say their pornography viewing is a secret. For more specific information about how pornography can actually be not just psychologically, but actually physiologically (body chemistry) addicting, check out this video series about the brain on pornography.

One of the most interesting (and scary) things I learned from "The Porn Trap" is that most people who do develop pornography addictions had their first exposure in elementary school, often times accidentally. And the exact age of first exposure is getting younger and younger with the widespread availability of internet access.

Couple this with the evidence presented in "Cinderella Ate My Daughter," by Peggy Orenstein, that we live in a culture which is sexualizing children in advertising all around us (for a recent example, read about the controversy over Victoria's Secret tween advertising), and you have a recipe for a generation of children experiencing sexuality in ways that you and I hardly had to worry about until our teen years or adulthood.

I highly recommend that you read Ann Marie Miller's entire post about the "Three Things You Don't Know About Your Children and Sex," as you may be surprised by what you read. Personally, I believe that even those of us without children need to be aware of what youth face today, as we may find ourselves mentoring youth who want to talk to us, or we may even know people in our adult lives who have had some of these experiences and need help to deal with them.

We definitely need to protect children from things that their young minds were not meant to process, so I am in no way saying that we should intentionally introduce our children to words or acts that are beyond their years. But no matter how hard we try, we simply cannot protect them from everything and everyone out there. They are highly susceptible to seeing, hearing, or personally experiencing something that you would never have wanted them to know at their age. The question is, to whom will they be ready to turn when this happens? Personally speaking, I would rather a child ask me what "anal sex" is than be so afraid of my reaction that they believe an internet search is their only option. For many children, if a loving and non-condemning adult does not listen and/or answer their questions, someone or something will, and it may be a frightening or inappropriate experience for them. In an age when more kids know how to use a smart phone than know how to tie their shoes, let's commit to being as educated and as open as possible, so that when youth do have questions or confusing experiences, they know that we (as parents, grandparents, friends, mentors, pastors, teachers, counselors, etc.) are there to listen and to help.

Human Trafficking Prevention Month Continued

Since it is National Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention month, as I mentioned in a previous post, I would like to continue sharing about trafficking in my own back yard. This news report sheds some light on the problem as it is growing and changing today:

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/on-air/as-seen-on/188795071.html

I find it especially heartbreaking that, as Betty Ann Boeving states, 60% - 70% of domestic trafficking victims are foster care youth. (Note: the phrase "domestic trafficking victims" here refers to trafficked individuals whose trafficking experiences originate in the United States, so these statistics would not include individuals who were brought to the U.S. from other countries.) Foster youth are much more likely to run away or may not have anywhere to go once they age out of the system. They are vulnerable to being kidnapped, or more commonly, to being picked up by someone on the streets who can "protect and provide for them." I also learned during my Court Appointed Special Advocate training that LGBT youth are more likely to be in the foster care system than their non-LGBT peers, due to a variety of factors, including conflicts with family over sexual orientation. They are also often vulnerable to being "kicked out of the house" by families and are therefore at higher risk for trafficking.

This is a real problem that is truly right down the street from many of us. One thing you can do to help is to become educated about the issue and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious (for example, many different men going to and from a home at all hours of the day and night - this type of observation has been how some trafficking rings have been uncovered!) If you are being trafficked, know of an instance of trafficking, or even have suspicions about something you saw, you can call the confidential Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline. You can also support organizations that are combating trafficking locally, such as the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition and the groups they work with. Or find organizations near you in other parts of the country through The Polaris Project. For additional information on international human trafficking issues, I would encourage you to check out International Justice Mission.

Human Trafficking and Slavery Prevention Month

January is National Human Trafficking and Slavery Prevention Month in the United States. In light of this, I thought it would be good to provide some additional information on what trafficking is.

What comes to mind when you hear the word "traffic?" Probably the highways on the way to your place of employment. And that would be a good start to understanding the meaning of the term "human trafficking." The word trafficking literally means the transportation of goods, and the common usage is typically for items which are intended to be used or sold illegally, although the word can also be used to describe legal trade or general commerce. For example, when someone smuggles guns into another country, we call that weapons trafficking, or when organizations transport drugs from a farm to a place of distribution, we call that drug trafficking. In the case of human trafficking, the language refers to the illicit transportation of people, and in the context of the modern day abolitionist movement, the trafficking being referred to is for the purposes of forced labor, sexual exploitation, or any other form of bondage. In other words, human trafficking is modern day slavery.

In recent years, the word trafficking has also been used to describe any form of slave-based commerce, even if it does not involve "moving people," including any child in the commercial sex industry. For example, in Cambodia, some children have been kidnapped or purchased from other countries (like Vietnam) to be prostituted for sex with pedophiles. Yet in many other cases, parents sell their children locally for sex on a nightly basis. In the case of the former, these children have been literally "trafficked" over a border, and in the latter case, these children remain local and may even go home to their families during non-working hours, but the term "child sex trafficking" is applied to them, as well, since they do not have the autonomy to make the decision not to engage in commercial sex work. For more information on child sex trafficking in Cambodia, visit www.agapewebsite.org, or read about my trip to Cambodia this summer here and here.

Adult men and women can also be forced into prostitution. For example, in Eastern Europe, one common tactic is for traffickers to recruit women for employment as waitresses or hostesses in other countries, only to sell them to brothels upon their arrival in the destination country. They are either physically locked up or are kept in brothels through other coercive means. These women are forced to perform sex work until they can pay off their travel and housing expenses, or are not given a future "out" at all.

Human trafficking occurs not only in the form of forced prostitution, however, but also in forced labor. For example, families may migrate from a poor rural area in search of employment and end up working in a factory under dangerous and threatening conditions. One way this can occur is through bonded labor, when families borrow money from a factory owner for initial expenses or food, but the system is set up such that their wages will never be enough to pay back the money owed, and they are therefore never able to leave. Often, the working conditions, hours worked, etc. are extremely unhealthy, and there may be a threat of violence if they try to escape. Some of the workers may be children.

Calimlim home, valued at $1.2M
http://www.jsonline.com/news/
waukesha/29322709.html

This can also occur with domestic or farm labor. A young man or woman may be promised a job on a farm, cleaning a home, or watching a family's children, but upon arrival, may be forced to work without pay and under the threat of violence. If they have been taken to work in another country, their passports will usually be held by their captors. With the threat of violence, no money, no identification, no network of friends or family, the threat of jail and deportation upon escape (whether real or made up by their employers), perhaps even little knowledge of their location or the native language, they are held in bondage. In 2009, for example, a Wisconsin husband and wife, both of whom were medical doctors, were prosecuted for bringing nineteen-year-old Erma Martinez to the United States from the Philippines in 1985 and forcing her to work in their home for years. According to the Department of Justice, "The victim testified that for nineteen years, she was hidden in the Calimlim's home, forbidden from going outside and told that she would be arrested, imprisoned and deported if she was discovered."

Erma Martinez
http://www.jsonline.com/news/
waukesha/29322709.html

Many countries have laws against human trafficking and slavery, yet little enforcement. Consider the dysfunction in the enforcement of even simple laws in some countries or cities. Have you ever driven in a city where there is no one enforcing driving laws, such that cars careen through intersections and veer in and out of lanes in a haphazard way? Similarly, in some places, there are often few, if any, officers enforcing human trafficking laws, or there may be corruption and bribes hindering the enforcement.

Trafficking is not something that occurs exclusively in foreign countries, however, as evidenced by the story of domestic servitude above. Nearby my own place of residence, San Francisco is considered one of the largest centers for sex trafficking in the world, with many massage parlors secretly operating as locales of forced prostitution. These businesses use a variety of methods to evade the law. Because trafficking is primarily "underground," it is unknown how many victims actually exist. According to a 2006 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Although it's not known how much money the San Francisco market generates for sex traffickers, federal agents confiscated $2 million in cash from 10 Asian massage parlors during a San Francisco raid in summer 2005."

Here is another excerpt from the 2006 article. (Note that these specific facts may be different by 2013, but this gives you an idea of the scope of the problem):

There are at least 90 massage parlors in San Francisco where sex is for sale, according to the online sex Web site myredbook.com. The site has been around since 1997 and has more than 55,000 reviews of Northern California sex workers. It is used by johns, yet is also a main monitoring tool for law enforcement. On average, there are about eight women working in a massage parlor, police say. That would mean more than 700 Asian sex masseuses working in San Francisco, based on 90 illicit parlors listed on sex Web sites and on police interviews. 

But the scope of sex trafficking in San Francisco is much larger -- women are also forced to work as escorts, outcall girls, erotic dancers and street prostitutes. Women are also placed in "AAMPs" -- Asian apartment massage parlors -- which are little more than apartments rented by traffickers who staff them with one or two sex workers. Business is done by word of mouth, and only customers approved by the owner are allowed in. 

Police in Livermore, Concord, San Mateo and Santa Clara have all found residential Asian brothels in their neighborhoods in 2004 and 2005.

One of the difficulties is that a brothel cannot be shut down unless money is proven to have changed hands for sex services, which may be difficult to show. Even the simple fact that someone is seen by an undercover officer in the middle of performing a sex act is not enough to demonstrate a commercial exchange. The massage parlor can be cited for other infractions, such as providing housing in a commercial building or inadequate ventilation, but that is only a short deterrent. Furthermore, it is difficult to prosecute traffickers, because women are often told by their captors that they will go to jail for confessing to prostitution (even forced prostitution) or for being in the country illegally. Sometimes the doors are not even technically "locked," but the threat of violence is so severe that women feel they have no choice but to stay. Jurors may have trouble understanding why a woman did not just walk out. Women are often too afraid of their traffickers to testify, and indeed, some who have testified in the past have disappeared, had their families threatened, or been maimed at a later time. Many of these "massage parlors" end up paying trivial fines for trivial violations and continue running.

One of the more detailed accounts I have read regarding this issue is the four-part series/special report, "Diary of a Sex Slave" in the San Francisco Chronicle. The first part of the report is the article quoted above. The full series details the increase in trafficking in the Bay Area and the specific account of a South Korean college student, You Mi Kim, who was trafficked to San Francisco and forced into sex work. If you have time, I would highly recommend reading parts one, two, three, and four. They are challenging readings and complicated by You Mi Kim's culpability in her initial financial difficulties from credit card debt, but the deception that led her to originally believe she would be working in a non-sexual industry represents the harsh reality for millions of people worldwide.

To learn more about personal stories and work being done on human trafficking in the Bay Area, consider attending the Freedom Summit in Fremont, CA January 25-26, 2013. Register here!

I believe that human trafficking is a true public health crisis affecting nearly every part of the world. I discussed a couple of ways to get involved in my previous posts about International Justice Mission's "Freedom Commons." See those posts here and here. For other ways to make a difference in the fight against trafficking and for more information on trafficking resources in your specific state, check out The Polaris Project.

Final (Belated) Cambodia Update

Letter co-written by Matthew & Kristen Campbell

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Bay Area! We wanted to (finally) write to give an update about our trip to Cambodia this past summer. We really appreciate your prayers and support and want to let you know about how God is working in Cambodia and in us.

Our experiences on this twelve-day trip included some light-hearted ones in which we experienced some interesting aspects of Cambodian culture, and others which broke our hearts as we learned about some of Cambodia’s violent history.  On a lighter cultural note, we both tried fried tarantula (Matthew popped a whole spider in his mouth just like the picture of our friend Mark to the left!), and we each had a bite of durian cake, which is made from a notoriously stinky fruit. We also learned how silk is made by hand!

Perhaps the deepest impressions, however, were left by our visits to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the killing fields, as we learned that around 25%-35% of the population of Cambodia was killed during the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970’s. At the start of the regime, all of the cities were evacuated, with people being told they could return home in a few days. In reality, families were forced into years of agricultural labor in the countryside, with the hope of developing a Communist agrarian society. Intellectuals, doctors, teachers, monks, even those who wore glasses (which were believed to represent education, wealth, or elitism), as well as anyone who opposed the regime leader (Pol Pot), were killed as enemies of the state. At Tuol Sleng prison (a former school), people were interrogated and tortured, sometimes by soldiers as young as twelve years old, and then taken to the countryside to be brutally murdered and left in mass graves (which are known as the killing fields). Out of nearly 20,000 people that went through Tuol Sleng, there were only seven survivors. Moreover, Tuol Sleng is just one of many interrogation prisons that were located throughout the country. Many other Cambodians who were not killed directly died of disease or starvation due to harsh working and living conditions in the countryside. The individuals who lived through this experience are now the parents and grandparents of today, and we learned that this historical backdrop is an important part of understanding the problem of human trafficking in Cambodia.

So what did we actually do in Cambodia? We primarily partnered with Agape International Missions (AIM) to run “Kids’ Club” at the Rahab’s House community center in a town called Svay Pak.  This town is known to be a “destination location” for pedophiles. At Kid’s Club, we sang songs, danced, told Bible stories with puppets, and did arts and crafts with the children. We were told that five years ago, nearly every one of the of the children in Svay Pak was being trafficked (sold for prostitution).  The very community center where we were holding Kid’s Club was a former brothel of underage prostitution that AIM and International Justice Mission (IJM) helped to shut down. Today, due to the work of a variety of nonprofit organizations, children in this town are much less likely to be abused; however, more work is left to be done.  The pastor at a new church in this village knew for certain that 17 girls in attendance at Kids’ Club were being trafficked. This represents tremendous progress, yet it was still heart-breaking to know that some of the six to twelve-year-old girls sitting in front of us were being forced to have sex with adult men (many of them “sex tourists” from the West) on a nightly basis.

In addition to Kids’ Club, we had time each day to use our individual gifts to assist AIM in a variety of ways. AIM recognizes that child sex trafficking is a complex issue requiring a multi-faceted solution, so they have a wide variety of ministries attacking the problem. For example, AIM runs a gym where pimps and traffickers can mingle with aid workers. As a result, some of these pimps and traffickers have renounced their former ways and are helping to turn other perpetrators around. Some of the men from our team got to spend time at the gym with the traffickers and have conversations with them.

Another important aspect of AIM’s ministry is the development of fair trade factories that provide formerly trafficked women (once they are sixteen years or older) with training in a trade.  One of the problems with child sex trafficking is that those who are rescued may feel that they have no skills besides prostitution, and ultimately believe they have no choice but to return to sex work for “good pay” or find work in a sweat shop for insufficient income. AIM is providing an alternative by opening factories that pay fair wages and provide a work environment which is much safer than most alternatives. These factories provide a living wage, family-style lunch, free child care, and one hour of education to workers each day. So far AIM has opened one factory and is aiming to have ten factories running within two years. Many members of our team had the opportunity to visit the first factory, and some members of our team used their experience in fashion design to consult on the clothing patterns being used, the methods of sewing being employed, the quality check processes, and the layout/design ideas. We also feel hopeful that over time, through both national economic change and through the education AIM is providing to the rescued women and to the children of Svay Pak, young people may have (and create) an even wider variety of economic opportunities in future. Perhaps some of the children we met will fill the vast gaps left by the Khmer Rouge regime's systematic extermination of the nation's professionals decades ago.

AIM also runs a school for grades K-12 and pays for the most promising students to attend local private schools after grade six. The students and teachers were eager to learn, and this is where we were able to help! It is a special treat for the students to attend arts classes between all of their academic study time. Matthew taught guitar classes every day for several hours, and Kristen taught a liturgical dance class. The Sunday before we left, one student played a guitar song during church, and the dance class (equal parts male and female) performed a worship dance in the Sunday service.

In between the Kids’ Club activities each day at AIM, our team also drove to several factories in the area, which manufacture bricks, to distribute clothing we had collected for the children. Some of these kids take a van to Kids’ Club every day, and they are easily identified by their extremely dirty clothing and their penchant to fall asleep, even during loud singing. These children live in one-room shacks and squalor, and many help their families make bricks in dangerous working conditions. Their joy at receiving the packages of clothing was tremendous, yet our hearts were heavy to know that their needs remain great each and every day.

Towards the end of our time in Cambodia, we had the opportunity to visit Agape Restoration Center, a home run by AIM for rescued victims of child sex trafficking. We planned a luau-themed party for the girls there, including a lunch together, nail and face painting, games, and more. It was a lot of fun, and it was very special getting to see how resilient these young women are!

Throughout the week, we also dropped in on some other organizations that are fighting trafficking in Cambodia, including Hagar International, International Justice Mission, and Bloom Asia (a cake business in Phnom Pehn—the capital city—employing formerly trafficked women). They explained some of the ongoing challenges, such as underage prostitution moving “underground” in recent years as a result of the success in shutting down child brothels. While the brothel closings show progress is being made, the underground activity is much more difficult to prosecute, and corruption remains rampant in Cambodia’s law enforcement. Despite these difficulties, we also felt encouraged as they shared about how each of their organizations is uniquely contributing to end child sex trafficking.

Overall, we feel that God showed us a lot about what He is doing in Cambodia and how much is left to be done. After returning home and pushing through traveler’s sicknesses, we have had more time to process; indeed the experience was very inspiring and eye-opening. We feel confident that God is calling us to serve abroad for about two years when Matthew finishes his graduate school program, although at this point we are still not sure in what part of the world that might be.  As part of our discerning process, our plan is to make a short-term trip to another country this coming summer. Perhaps God will ultimately point us to a new place for our longer term service, or He may send us back to Cambodia!

Our team also shared responsibilities for keeping a group blog throughout the trip, which details our daily events: http://www.mppcmission.org/trips/cambodia/2012aug/index.htm Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have, and thank you again for your prayers and support!

In Christ,

Kristen & Matthew Campbell

Cambodia Trip Update #3

We leave tonight for the airport and depart at 1:40am on our way to Cambodia. We are very excited! If you would like to follow our progress throughout the trip, you can read our team blog here: http://www.mppcmission.org/trips/cambodia/2012aug/index.htm

Also, for anyone still interested in supporting our trip financially, Matthew and I are fully funded. However, one of the members of our team, Kasey Van Ostrand, is still raising support. She is a recent graduate still looking for work, so I know that any financial support raised will be very helpful for her. To support her, go to this link and click "donate here." Then select her name from the drop-down. http://www.mppc.org/calendar/cambodia-mission-trip

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Cambodia Trip Update #2

It is hard to believe that Matthew and I have about one month left until our trip to Cambodia. Needless to say, we are getting tremendously excited!

We were very encouraged at our Cambodia team retreat by the relationships being formed, the information we learned, and the planning for our service to the community. There is still a lot of work to be done, as some of our members prepare original child-geared lesson plans, games, crafts, and skits for the week of kids' club. Matthew and our friend Joyce So are also leading the musical worship, so they are in the midst of choosing songs and learning them. (I am getting annoyingly familiar with the YouTube versions of a number of child songs as Matthew picks them out on his guitar nightly.)  Personally, I am part of the team that is planning a party for rescued girls at the rehabilitation house and have been put in charge of decorations. (I would love suggestions for how to play up our Hawaiian Luau theme!) Once we get to Cambodia, all team members will participate in the various activities, but these are just the groups that have been assigned to do the preparation work. We got a good start on planning activities during the team retreat, but we all have to step up our game to make sure everything is ready before we go!

Please pray for continued team unity, effectiveness in planning and ministry, full financial funding for all of our team members, and growing hearts for the people of Cambodia.

We were also recently blessed by our bible study small group when one of our members/friends organized a get-together to share our hearts, discuss the details of the trip, and gain additional supporters. Our friends asked a lot of good questions and prayed over us in a meaningful and special way. We also had a lot of fun sharing a delicious potluck dinner and just hanging out with the people we have come to love in the Bay Area.

And in other news....Praise God! Shortly after the dinner with our friends, Matthew and I got word that we are fully funded at $5,800! Thank you so much for making this mission trip possible with your generosity and prayers!

For anyone who is still interested in partnering with us, please let me know, and I can add you to our list of prayer partners. Additionally, any extra funds raised by us above and beyond our personal fundraising goal will go to other members of our team who do not meet their respective fundraising goals.

We also have a dear friend, Joyce So, who is going on the trip with us, and she is still raising support. (She is the friend I mentioned above who is in charge of the music with Matthew. She is also a former teacher and is largely heading up the curriculum design for the kids' club.) If you had been thinking about donating but missed the boat before we were fully funded, please prayerfully consider directing funds her way! If you would like to make a contribution online, you can do so through our church's website. (Go to this red link, select "Donate Here," and choose Joyce So from the drop-down names.) Alternatively, if you would like to mail a check, please send it to MPPC Mission Dept. / Cambodia STM Trip / 950 Santa Cruz Ave. / Menlo Park, CA 94025 with a note indicating that it applies to Joyce So.

We have our vaccines done, our funds raised, and our detail planning in process. Now, we are just getting very excited to be on the ground in Cambodia! Thank you all so much for your prayers, encouragement, and financial partnership. And thank you for continuing to support us; we could not do this without you!

Cambodia Trip Update

Hello Friends!

Matthew and I wanted to provide an update on our progress toward the Cambodia Mission Trip, which I wrote about in more detail in a previous blog post. To summarize, we will be traveling to Cambodia August 15-17 to work with Agape International Missions around the issue of child sex trafficking in Svay Pak.

This weekend we are meeting with our team for a retreat to plan out activities for the trip and to spend time in prayer. As we pull away to prepare this weekend, you can be praying for us. Please pray that we would be productive in terms of planning, that the Lord would soften our hearts for the people we will be serving in Cambodia, and also that He would build a spirit of unity among the members of our team.

As far as support raising goes, thanks to generous donations from friends and family, we are funded at 27% of our $5,800 total goal, and we have a little over one month left to go. If you are considering partnering with us financially but have questions or concerns, please reach out to us. We are trusting the Lord to raise up a team of individuals who are passionate about justice and who long to see God's love reach all corners of this world.

Just to repeat some earlier information, our deadline for contributions is July 31. If you would like to make a contribution online, you can do so through our church’s website (go to this red link and then select “Donate Here”). Alternatively, if you would like to mail a check, please send to MPPC Mission Dept. / Cambodia STM Trip / 950 Santa Cruz Ave. / Menlo Park, CA 94025 with a note indicating that it applies to Matthew and Kristen Campbell.

Thanks again for your partnership and continued prayers!

Sincerely,
Matthew and Kristen Campbell

Sexual Assault in the Military

There have been a number of eye-opening articles about rape in the military lately, and I wanted to share a little about what I have learned. After reading the first article some months ago, I was saddened and disturbed. But I thought it was an isolated story. However, after reading probably a dozen articles over the last few months covering different tragic aspects of this issue, I have started to see a pattern in what is being reported and am seriously concerned. This is a terrible injustice to women serving our country, and something obviously needs to change!

Let's start with some numbers (my favorite thing!) Leon Panetta, the U.S. Defense Secretary, stated that there were 3,158 sexual assault cases reported in the military in 2010 and 3,191 in 2011. However, he stated that he believes the problem is much larger due to the limited number of victims willing to come forward and file a formal report (or perhaps due to being discouraged by superiors from filing a report). He estimates that the actual total could be closer to 19,000 victims a year. It is estimated that only 13.5% of U.S. military sexual assault victims report the crime. That is staggering! His words came shortly before the release of an award-winning documentary, "The Invisible War," which reports on sexual assault in the military. (I have not seen the film yet, but it is on my list to see soon.) According to another CNN article, in 2010, of those cases reported, less than 21% went to trial, and of those that were tried, 53% were convicted.

If you are in the military and rape a colleague, you have an estimated 86.5% chance of keeping your crime a secret and a 92% chance of avoiding a court-martial.

So why do so many continue to get away with this? According to a column by U.S. Representative Jackie Speier, many women who report rape by a commanding officer or colleague "face ridicule, demotion, investigation that includes a review of their sexual history, and even involuntary discharge." In her article, Speier sites specific cases of women who were told to buck up and move on or ignored altogether. For example, she explains, "In 2006, when Marine Lt. Elle Helmer reported to her commander that a superior officer assaulted and raped her the night before, her colonel discouraged her from obtaining a rape kit. In spite of his objections, she sought a thorough medical investigation. Helmer appealed to her rapists's supervisor, who still refused to press charges or significantly punish the assailant. He said, 'You're from Colorado - you're tough. You need to pick yourself up and dust yourself off....I can't babysit you all of the time."

When I read that, I was completely and utterly disgusted. That is an insult to this particular woman, to women in general, and to the honor of the majority of men and women serving our military who don't violate the trust and bodies of their colleagues. Those who do should be investigated in a fair and complete way, and if found guilty, punished in a consistent manner with how the law treats non-military offenders.

Here is another excerpt from a previous article written by Representative Speier:

"According to [Andrea] Neutzling, in 2002, while serving in South Korea, she was sexually assaulted by an intoxicated soldier she knew. She reported the assault to her commander, who gave the assailant a slap on the wrist punishment of five days of base restriction. Three years later in New Jersey, preparing for deployment to Iraq with a military police unit, she was again assaulted by a fellow soldier. Fearing nothing would happen if she reported the attack, Neutzling instead kept the incident to herself.

"A month later in Iraq, she said she was raped by two soldiers who threatened to beat her if she struggled. Although she suffered serious bodily injuries from the rape, she chose not to report it; instead she slept on a cot with her rifle pointed toward the door for the first few days after the attack.

"Soon, the chaplain was told about the attack by a woman in Neutzling's unit who reported that the perpetrators were showing a video of the rape to others. But her chaplain didn't believe her, later telling Neutzling, 'You don't act like a rape victim.'

"The commander said it was a 'they said, she said' situation, and because she was married at the time of the incident, he threatened to charge her with adultery. The men who raped Neutzling were never charged, investigated or penalized.

"In the current military chain of command structure, Neutzling's commander and staff sergeant did nothing wrong. Commanders can decide whether to investigate and issue virtually any punishment or, in this case, no punishment at all - they have complete authority and discretion over how a degrading and violent assault is handled."

Speier also states that "in the U.S. military, a woman is more likely to be raped by a co-worker than killed by the enemy."

CNN reported earlier this year on a lawsuit involving eight women who claim they were sexually assaulted during their time in the military and faced retaliation after reporting the abuse. One of the women filing charges is Arian Klay, a former Marine Corp. officer who served in Iraq in 2008 and 2009. She alleges that she was gang raped at her home by a senior officer and his friend. After reporting the incident, the officer was eventually found guilty of adultery and indecent language by a military court, carrying a sentence of 45 days in military confinement. She claims that since two men reported it was consensual and she alone reported it was forced, the military basically sided with the officer. Of course, she is concerned that this logic means the more people who rape you, the stronger their case becomes.

In yet another article from April, CNN covered the stories of women who received a "psychiatric diagnosis and military discharge after reporting a sexual assault." These women served in various branches of the military and were diagnosed with personality disorders or other psychiatric conditions, which they claim were completely false. These conditions were then used as grounds to oust them from the service.

Although I cannot personally validate any of these stories, the sheer number of victims and consistency of reporting on this issue leads me to believe that it is a genuine problem. Based on what I have read, it seems that the culture of the military encourages recruits to submit to the orders of their superiors (even if that superior is telling them not to report a crime against themselves or a colleague.) Furthermore, the structure of command apparently also gives significant discretion to supervisors to investigate and punish many infractions as they see fit.

Representative Jackie Speier has proposed the STOP Act (H.R. 3435), which she says "takes complete authority and discretion out of the hands of commanders and gives that authority to objective experts. The bipartisan STOP Act creates a new office of oversight and response to handle all possible cases of rape and sexual assault in the military, enabling unbiased personnel to determine the appropriate path of action for each report. The office would be housed in the Department of Defense and staffed by civilian and military experts trained to manage investigations of sexual assault."

Although I do not know all of the details of her proposal, the concept seems like an important and necessary step to preserve the safety of - and ensure justice for - our troops.

I believe the men and women who serve in our military make a tremendous sacrifice for all of us. And I believe that most of these men and women are people of general good will. All of them deserve to be treated fairly. I am appalled that so many of our service members are victims of sexual assault. It is clear that the military must take further steps to prevent the problem and to ensure that every victim gets a fair investigation, with the opportunity for their assailant to be tried in a military court, including punishments that match the severity of the trauma inflicted by such violence.

Cambodia Mission Trip

Dear Friends,

I am writing to tell you about an incredible opportunity my husband and I have to go to Cambodia this summer.

After Matthew has completed his degree (likely 2014), we believe that God is calling us to spend a couple of years serving abroad in missions. In the meantime, we are hoping to learn more about various parts of the world that interest us and to explore important issues that move our hearts, so that we can discern where God wants us to go and what He wants us to do when the time comes.

From August 15 - 27, we are thrilled to be taking a break from our typical routine to go on a short term mission trip to Svay Pak, Cambodia with a group from Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. We will be partnering with Agape International Mission in Svay Pak, a humanitarian organization founded in 1989 that focuses on preventing child sex trafficking and restoring hope to its victims. This is done through a holistic strategy of preventing the problem, rescuing the enslaved, restoring the broken, and equipping the Church so that sex-trafficking can be eliminated forever. You can learn more about the organization at http://agapewebsite.org. 

As you may know from previous blog posts, I believe that human trafficking is linked to human health in a profound way, affecting both the physical and emotional well being of its victims, particularly if those exploited are children. Svay Pak, the village where we will spend most of our time, is considered a notorious brothel district and a "destination location" for pedophiles, located a short drive outside the capital of Cambodia. Over the last five years, the government of Cambodia, assisted by a number of NGO's (such as International Justice Mission), has successfully shut down some of the brothels in the area that exploit children as young as five years old. Yet much is left to be done to eliminate this practice and to restore the community. It is believed that approximately one third of the prostitutes in Svay Pak are under age 18 and that as many as half are infected with HIV. Our friends who have gone to Svay Pak in past years have reported that pimps could sometimes be seen openly waiting outside the kids' club for the songs and games to be over in order to pick up the girls they traffick.

Our group will work with Agape to put on a daily kids’ club for the children of Svay Pak (where kids can just be kids), to plan a celebration at Agape’s safe house for recovering victims, to teach computer or other skills with which we have been gifted, to encourage those who are ministering in Svay Pak already, and to otherwise meet any needs of the community as we are able during our stay. And of course, we will be traveling not just to give to the community, but also to learn from the community - to build relationships, learn about the culture, understand their struggles, celebrate their strengths.

In order for us to go to Cambodia, we need to find a faithful group of people committed to praying for us before, during, and after the trip, in addition to raising approximately $2,900 each ($5,800 total) to pay for travel, lodging, and other ministry expenses. We would be honored if you would consider partnering with us on this mission to fight against human trafficking.

Would you be willing to join our prayer team and/or to support us financially? Donations are tax deductible, and any amount you are able to contribute is significant in helping us reach our fundraising goal. Donations can be made online at www.mppc.org/calendar/cambodia-mission-trip, or checks can be made out to Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and mailed to:

Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

Cambodia Missions Trip

950 Santa Cruz Ave.

Menlo Park, CA  94025

For checks, please include a separate note in the envelope indicating that it should be designated towards Matthew & Kristen Campbell for the Cambodia mission trip. All donations are non-refundable and must be received by the church before July 31, 2012 to go towards our trip. Any donations received after that date will not go towards our trip and will instead be used for other mission endeavors at the church.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Kristen Campbell




Photo credit: http://renewalfellowship.presbyterian.ca/channels/r10061-1.html

Amendment One Response (from another blogger)

In light of the passage of Amendment One in North Carolina, I started doing some reading around various sides of the issue, and I came across a very interesting blog, which I wanted to share. Justin Lee is the Executive Director of the Gay Christian Network, and I appreciate his efforts to get the conversation going and to keep it positive.

Click here to read his response to the passage of the bill.
Click here to read an extremely interesting and insightful interview with the writer of the above linked post.

No matter your beliefs on homosexuality or your stance on the definition of marriage, I think the ideas expressed by Justin may strike a chord with you in some way. He is articulate, respectful, empathetic, and nuanced, which makes for encouraging and thoughtful discussion.

What Your Mother (and Your College) Didn't Tell You About Chlamydia

I recently read a book called, "Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student." The basic premise of her book is that campus health and counseling has a bias toward presenting material in an inclusive/non-judgmental way to the point that they actually neglect to provide complete medical information. Their jobs are controlled by fear of offending or by the desire to uphold a particular ideological view. The author takes the stance that medical professionals should be delivering medical facts rather than information filtered through political opinion. The book is written anonymously, because the author believes she might experience career repercussions for stating an opinion outside the prescribed norm.

There were many points of the "Unprotected" book which did not sit well with me. For one, I think the author somewhat undervalues general sensitivity within the doctor/patient relationship and assumes that all discourse framed by an attitude of "inclusiveness" automatically leads to sugarcoating, bending, or omitting facts. I personally think it is possible to be both truthful and tactful, and I am not sure the author would agree. Even so, the book presents a compelling argument for a few issues in particular, one of which I would like to share.

I thought the most well-written chapter was the one on chlamydia, from which I actually learned something new. As it turns out, this common sexually transmitted disease can present a serious risk to fertility, not only when a person is infected, but even potentially years after treatment. I was always taught that it is a very common, pesky sort of infection, which is easily treatable with antibiotics. That's what all the pamphlets seem to say. Only women who don't go for their yearly exam need to worry about the long-term effects.

But apparently, that is only part of the story. The author claims that we do not hear about the rest of the information, because that would imply more long-lasting or permanent consequences to sexual choices. It would suggest that engaging in more "risky" behavior increases the chances of infertility, regardless of following student health mantras about getting yearly exams and treatments. To present such information to students could border on judging a person's sexual choices and is therefore out of bounds.

Based on the very plausible examples and meticulously sited statistics in the book, as well as my own experiences, I would mostly agree with her that there is a bias in the health system on many university campuses.

But even as she argues that there is an agenda at play, I recognize that her book also has an agenda of its own.

With this in mind, I consulted outside sources, such as the CDC website and medical journal articles, in addition to the statistics cited in the book itself, to find out if what she is saying about chlamydia is just the fear tactic of an extremist or the truth about the disease. And here is what I found:

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 19 million new STD infections every year. In 2010, 1.3 million of these were cases of chlamydia, and chlamydia is the most reported bacterial STD in the United States. The CDC also says that less than half of sexually active young women are screened annually, as recommended by the organization.

Young women are more likely than older women to contract STD's for many reasons, one of which is that the "transformation zone" on a young woman's cervix is immature. This an area where cells are more vulnerable to bacteria and viruses, and it continues to develop/shrink with age, into adulthood. This is mentioned in the "Unprotected" book and is also confirmed on the CDC website.

Further complicating the picture for young women, the author of "Unprotected" mentions a study from The Journal of Sex Research 37, no 1 (February 2000), which reported that forty percent of college women experience a sexual encounter without commitment, and ten percent report doing so more than six times. She also sites the Journal of American College Health, writing, "the most recent study of heterosexual college students showed that less than half used a condom during their last vaginal intercourse, and that was an all-time high. The reasons? There wasn't one available, there was no concern about pregnancy, the participants were high or drunk, they considered themselves uninfected, it felt better." Even those who do use condoms are still at risk, because chlamydia can live on skin that is not covered by this protection. Many women also re-contract the disease even after being treated because their untreated partner(s) still have it.

Given the shockingly high number of new cases of chlamydia each year, the specific risks to younger women, and the lack of testing being done, I wanted to get to the bottom of this idea that it can continue to affect women even if treated and eradicated.

Chlamydia is asymptomatic, or "silent," for most infected individuals. Men usually have no symptoms, but some may experience discharge from the penis or a burning sensation. If symptoms do occur for women, they usually appear within a few weeks of infection and can include abnormal vaginal discharge or a burning sensation when urinating. For women, chlamydia starts by infecting the cervix or urethra. According to the CDC fact sheet, in about ten to fifteen percent of women, untreated Chlamydia spreads to the uterus or fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This can occur as soon as a few weeks after the initial infection. (So much for those yearly exams as protection against the progression of the disease.) PID also displays little to no visible symptoms, yet it can cause permanent damage, such as scarring of the upper genital area, which can lead to infertility or an ectopic pregnancy (a potentially fatal pregnancy outside the womb).

Research has indicated that once chlamydia progresses to PID, traditional antibiotic treatments may or may not actually get rid of the entire infection. More research is needed to determine the likelihood that some cases may simply remain in a dormant state once treated. This is one way chlamydia can potentially damage a woman's reproductive organs in the future.

The more striking information suggested in "Unprotected," however, is that even if the infection is completely eradicated, the chlamydial antibodies that remain in a woman's system may be linked to future miscarriages.

The reason I call this information striking is that it is rarely presented to women as a potential long-term effect of this infection. Instead, we teach that if detected early enough, we can treat Chlamydia with antibiotics before it becomes full blown PID and thus prevent potential infertility. No pathogen, no problem. Right?

Well, it's actually not always so simple.

When our body encounters a disease, we develop antibodies in our blood which help to fight the disease. These antibodies may remain in our system for months or even years, depending on the type of infection. If we contract the same disease in future, our antibodies recognize the pathogen and mount a defense against it based on their "memory" from the previous battle. They are already well versed in taking out the disease quickly. This is why, for example, most individuals can only contract chicken pox once in their lives. Their chicken pox antibodies make them immune to future attacks. Another common example is the flu vaccine, which is basically an injection of inactive flu virus, allowing a person's blood to build up a supply of antibodies. If the right strain is used for the vaccine, when the person is exposed to the real pathogen, they are ready to fight it off before it becomes a full blown case of the flu.

Similarly, a woman exposed to chlamydia will typically build up antibodies to fight the disease. Chlamydia bacteria make a type of protein called HSP, which is released when the cells in which the bacteria are hiding die. White blood cells realize HSP is an invader that does not belong in the body, and once exposed to it, they make antibodies that will specifically recognize HSP as a signal of chlamydial infection for years to come.

Interestingly enough, an important part of a human embryo's development also involves producing a type of HSP. The book "Unprotected" posits that the body of a woman previously infected with chlamydia thinks the HSP-producing embryo is another chlamydial infection and attacks, leading to a miscarriage. I was skeptical on the factual nature of this assertion, however, so I did a little side research.

A paper published by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in 2000, called "The Role of Heat Shock Proteins [HSP] in Reproduction" describes several studies from the 1990's which showed that "since bacterial and human HSP share ~50% amino acid sequence homology (Shinnick, 1991), it has been proposed that prolonged exposure by the immune system to chlamydial HSP60 and a concomitant exposure to both the chlamydial and human HSP60 may lead to autoantibody formation (Witkin, et al., 1997)." (Just so you don't get confused, I need to clarify that Witkin is one of the authors of the year 2000 "HSP in Reproduction" paper and also cites his own previous studies a number of times within the paper. Hence the pre-2000 Witkin citations within the quotes.) The paper goes on to say that other scientists have proposed specific models for how this autoantibody formation may interfere with early stages of pregnancy, ultimately causing the embryo to degenerate or undergo apoptosis.

In order to evaluate these suppositions, the authors of the "HSP in Reproduction" paper tested women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) for the presence of the anti-HSP60 chlamydia antibody. The antibody "was present in 26.3% of women who did not become pregnant after transfer, 33.3% of women with only transient biochemical pregnancies, 30% of women with spontaneous abortions, and 7.3% of women with live births (Witkin, et al., 1994)." The paper describes three other similar experiments in women undergoing IVF, in addition to studies on mouse embryonic development. Then the authors state, "In conclusion, the summarized results of these studies revealed that a previous infection with C. trachomatis (chlamydia) and a resulting immune sensitization to chlamydial heat shock protein (HSP) epitopes was associated with a poor prognosis for reproductive outcome and, in addition, impaired IVF results."

To my amazement, this is just as the author of "Unprotected" presents the information, with a few caveats.

The scientific paper does not specify how long of an exposure to chlamydia a woman must have before developing the strong immune response, so I did not see definite proof to rule out the possibility that near-immediate treatment can prevent the HSP antibody issue. That said, the half of women who do get tested are typically only tested once a year, so there is plenty of time between exams for a "prolonged" exposure. Furthermore, some women may receive false negatives in a given year, making their actual infection before treatment even longer than assumed. Just because a woman does not develope PID does not mean her infection is brief; as mentioned above, PID only develops in ten to fifteen percent of cases. And then there are the more than half of women who avoid the exam altogether for an assortment of reasons and would almost undoubtedly experience a prolonged exposure if they contracted chlamydia.

The research ultimately shows that a woman who has built immunity to chlamydia is much less likely to have a live birth in IVF. As far as scientists can tell at this point, this is the direct result of the interaction between chlamydia HSP antibodies and the embryo. These findings can be extrapolated to suggest that the chlamydia antibody is harmful to embryonic development in all pregnancies.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, I did not agree with every point in "Unprotected," but on this particular topic, I am genuinely compelled to be of the same mind as the author. The facts have long been hidden and are actually worth considering. Being a woman myself and having never heard of these potential consequences of chlamydia, I felt it was my duty to share with others. The risks you take can have an impact not just on your immediate health, but on your long-term reproductive health. There is not a magic pill for every infection, as popular culture would like us to believe. And some of the consequences are actually permanent and quite serious. They should not be glossed over in pamphlets and health centers because they make some people feel "judged" or "uncomfortable."

Just as we warn people of the risk of heart disease from being overweight and getting insufficient exercise, we should warn women of the risk of lifelong infertility from casual sex. Some people will determine the risks of overeating and sedentary lifestyle are worth it to them, just as some will prefer sexual freedom over safety. But let's not hide medical truths in order to promote a particular agenda or ideology about sexual consequences or a lack thereof. Each woman must be informed enough to weigh the risks, decide if they are worth it, and take care of the only body she will ever have.