It’s Your Sex Life: The Need

IYSL inspires young people to take control of their sexual health by making informed and thoughtful decisions with the following specific public health goals among teens and young adults:

Reduce Unplanned and Unintended Pregnancy in the U.S.:

-3 in 10 teen girls in the US will get pregnant at least once before age 20

-7 in 10 pregnancies among single women 18-29 are unplanned.

Reduce STDs and  promote Testing as recommended by CDC and others (GYT):

-Every year there are more than 19 million new STD cases in the U.S. Nearly half of those new cases are among young people ages 15–24 years old.

-1 in 2 sexually active young people will get an STD by the age of 25, and most won’t know it.

Promote Healthy Relationships and More Informed Decision Making about Sex:

-Many teens are under the impression that everyone is having school, but half of high school aged students have actually not had sex.

-Almost 2 out of 3 teenagers who have had sex wish they’d waited.

-1 in 3 teens in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner.