Reducing the Stigma

I had a thought about STIs recently. During our presentations, we use a little bit of scare tactics when discussing STIs. We talk about symptoms(You know cold sores you get on your mouth? Yeah, its a similar idea...on your genitals. Anybody ever have a wart on their hand? How'd the doctor remove it? Freezing, burning, cutting? Yep, that's how they deal with genital warts too...on your genitals. neat huh?), living with an STI(how would you like to explain to your mom how you got gonorrhea of the throat?) and long term consequences(picture telling your partner that you have to use a condom for the rest of your life because of a one night stand). Now we aren't making any of this stuff up, its all based in fact. And the theory is that if kids actually think about STIs in these terms, they'll hopefully take the whole thing more seriously and AT LEAST use a condom if they chose to have sex.

But here's my concern: By overemphasizing how awful STIs are and how appalling it would be to explain that diagnosis to a parent or partner, are we increasing the stigma associated? I have had the humbling experience of accompanying someone to the emergency room when they found out they had an STI on more than one occasion. In addition to the awful pain experienced with the symptoms, these young women had a really difficult time coming to terms with the phrase "I have an STD." Realistically, STIs are just infections. they are just infections by bacteria or viruses in people's bodies, the same as strep throat or ear infection. But there is still a HUGE stigma associated with them, largely because we all believe the myth that only "certain kinds of people" get them. Of course this isn't true and most of us know that intellectually. But you hear that someone has an STI and instantly question their morality, who they are.

I am concerned that I am perpetuating this stereotype that causes people with a disease to be treated badly. The purpose is to protect kids, but at what cost?