by Martha Kempner

As state legislative sessions kick off this month, advocates will push for improved sexuality education policies to curb the alarming rates of sexually transmitted infections and diseases (STIs and STDs) among young people.

States like Montana—where gonorrhea numbers are at a 40-year high—and Michigan have reported surges in STIs like chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea. These reports are part of a national trend.

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data for 2018 that reported STIs rose for the fifth consecutive year, confirming young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are disproportionately affected. Meanwhile, conservative opposition to sex education persists: Colorado Republican lawmakers last year threatened to recall Democrats who backed comprehensive sex ed legislation.

The rise in STIs has a number of causes: cuts to state and local health departments, drug use, poverty, stigma, and decreases in condom use among young people. Advocates see this last factor as further proof that sex education is failing to give teens the information and skills they need to protect themselves. Read more via Rewire