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Educational Programs
> Programs for Youth
Break the Silence: HIV/AIDS Prevention
HiTOPS Teen Council
Designed for: Males and females, grades 8-12
“Nobody has HIV at THIS school.”
“Only gay people get HIV.”
“Don’t they have drugs for that now?”
After 25 years there is still no cure. Yet, HIV education has decreased in the US and myths continue to abound, including the idea that HIV is now curable, that certain (unsafe) behaviors pose no risk, and perhaps most dangerously, that “it can’t happen to me.” Statistics show otherwise, with only 45% of sexually active teens reporting they used a condom during last intercourse and AIDS being the leading cause of death among men 25-44, many of whom were infected in their teens.
This peer-led workshop uses skits and small group activities to explore the magnitude of the AIDS epidemic. Students have the opportunity to rate various behaviors as high or low risk for transmitting HIV and learn risk reduction strategies including abstinence and condom skills. Participants also role-play negotiation and refusal skills to practice how to get out of risky situations.
Our goals are to help students:
• Define HIV and AIDS and understand the impact of the virus on the immune system
• Identify how HIV is transmitted, including which body fluids transmit the virus and which behaviors are high risk
• Learn risk reduction skills, including abstinence, correct condom use, and negotiation and refusal skills to get out of an unwanted or risky situation
Average length of workshop: 90 minutes
Recommended number of participants: 20-100
