-Having multiple partners,
-Having sex with someone who has had multiple partners.
Other facts you need to know about this virus:
-Smoking and/or use of hormonal contraceptives may increase the risk of HPV infection in teen girls.
-Unlike girls, guys are not routinely screened for HPV. So even if his STD testing came back negative, a guy can unknowingly give you this virus, even if he uses a condom.
-HPV can be transmitted during oral sex, and can cause cancers of the throat.
Any sex educator who omits these facts is not providing comprehensive, medically accurate information. Far from empowering young people and their parents, omitting these points gives people a false sense of security, and the consequences are disastrous. Trust me, I’ve seen it all play out in my office - that’s why I embarked on this mission.
As for Vanessa Cullins’ assertion that “all of us get it”: Speak for yourself, doctor. You must live in a bubble, where everyone you know engages in high risk behaviors. Those of us outside that bubble know there are plenty of people with wonderful, satisfying sexual lives who are free of infection, disease, and worry.
This is the question the country must answer: who will educate our children about staying healthy? Do we want our kids to join Dr. Cullins in the Planned Parenthood bubble?
If your doctor declared, “expect to get diabetes, we all do”, you’d fire her. When a Sex Ed “expert” says, “expect to get a STI”, it’s time to send her a pink slip. Otherwise, the claim “we all get it” will come closer and closer to being the truth.