
Teenagers get a bad rap, but it turns out they are actually the most responsible age group when it comes to safe sex.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, around 60 of teenagers use condoms, and 85 percent of teen boys used a condom their first time having sex. In comparison, surveys suggest that less than half of adults regularly use condoms.
Condom use among teens steadily grew for decades, and it’s, in part, because of big investment in sex ed. The Teens PACT program at New York City’s Community Healthcare Network trains kids to become peer educators. They go into classrooms and community centers around the city and give workshops on sexual health – the idea is that teens will feel more comfortable talking to somebody their own age about the issues they are facing than an adult.
Producer Marlon Bishop met up with a group of these peer educators to talk about what high-schoolers are saying about safe sex today.
Marlon Bishop is a radio producer and journalist with a focus on Latin America, New York City, music and the arts. He got his start in radio producing
long-form documentaries on Latin music history for the public radio program Afropop Worldwide. After a stint reporting for the culture desk at New York Public Radio (WNYC), Marlon spent several years writing for MTV Iggy, MTV”s portal for global music and pop culture. Marlon has also lived and traveled all over Latin America, reporting stories as a freelancer for NPR, Studio 360, The World, the Village Voice, Billboard and Fusion, among other outlets. He is currently a staff Producer for Latino USA.