"When Did Unsafe Sex Stop Being Scary?" by Gretchen Voss, edited by Lisa Bain.
2. List date(s) this work was published or aired.
January/February 2010.
3. Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
In late 2009, Women's Health identified and began reporting on a disturbing sexual health trend: the reemergence and rise of casual, unprotected sex among young adults. The carefree, "don't' ask, don't tell" attitude seemed particularly jarring in light of the statistics — STD rates were skyrocketing (thanks, in part, to this ill-advised blasé behavior), with human papillomavirus (HPV), gonorrhea, and herpes infections at modern highs. "I don't ask questions that I don't want to know the answer to," says one of the sources interviewed for the piece. Writer Gretchen Voss set out to find why so many women were willing to play Russian roulette with their health, and to examine the serious lifetime consequences. (One woman, for example, passed an STD — a case of HPV she caught via unprotected sex — to her daughter during delivery; the latter now shows symptoms at age 8.) By digging into psychology, biology, and social norms, Voss paints a clear, crucial picture of a major health threat, and arms women with what they need to know to stay safe.
4. Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Voss used data from government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which both track STD rates. She also used data from various national public policy groups and think tanks such as the Guttmacher Institute, which follows trends in sexual health and behavior.
5. Explain types of human sources used.
The author interviewed sexual health experts, including Drew Pinsky, M.D., and Dr. Laura Berman; various ob-gyns; authors of books related to the sexual behavior of young women; and, of course, many young women themselves.
6. Results (if any).
Women's Health reported on this trend before other big news organizations, including CNN (The Downside of Friends with Benefits, April 15, 2010) and the New York Times (The Perils of Sexual Roundelays, May 7, 2010).
7. Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
N/a.
8. Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
From Voss: "When working on a piece like this — which tries to put a human face on statistics — it's extremely important to speak with real people who are experiencing the issue, instead of relying solely on experts who study it from a distance."