• Five of the 10 most commonly reported infectious diseases in the U.S. are sexually transmitted diseases.
   
• An estimated 45 million persons in the U.S. are infected with genital herpes, and one million new cases occur per year.
   
• Chlamydia and gonorrhea infections account for 15 percent of cases of infertility among U.S. women.
   
• Four subtypes of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) - a sexually transmissible virus that causes genital warts - are responsible for an estimated 93 percent of cervical cancer cases.
   
• An estimated 800,000 to 900,000 persons are living with HIV in the United States, with approximately 40,000 new HIV infections occurring every year.
   
• The AIDS epidemic is shifting toward women. While women account for 28 percent of HIV cases reported since 1981, they accounted for 32 percent of those reported between July 1999 and June 2000.
   
• There are an estimated 104,000 child victims of sexual abuse per year, and the proportion of women in current relationships who are subject to sexual violence is estimated at 8%.  
   
• In their extreme form, anti-homosexual attitudes lead to anti-gay violence. Averaged over two dozen studies, 80 percent of gay men and lesbians had experienced verbal or physical harassment on the basis of their orientation.
   
• Nearly one-half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended. (Surgeon General, 2001)

It's not enough to tell our children to "just say no."  The Surgeon General has a number of practical recommendations to address the problems listed above.  The report is balanced and comprehensive.  Surgeon General Satcher does not make the mistake that his predecessor made when she recommended that masturbation be taught in school. 

Implementing these solutions won't be easy, especially if President Bush continues to hide his head in the sand.  Government agencies, schools, homes, health care agencies, churches, and research institutions all have a role to play. If we work together we will see these statistics improve.