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Friday, December 9, 2016

Zika fears not changing South Floridians' sex habits

2:00 PM Bilal Muazin No comments

You delay having kids. You take a cold shower for months after you've traveled to Brazil. Or you use condoms, even if you're already pregnant.

Such is life with Zika, if you play by the rules.

Safe sex practices have been part of the official Zika prevention guidelines since early this year, when researchers confirmed the virus that can cause severe birth defects could be transmitted by sexual contact as well as mosquito bites.

The current federal Centers for Disease Control precautions advise anywhere from eight weeks up to six months of abstinence or condom use, depending on where you live, where you travel, and if you are pregnant or want to be. While expectant couples are the main target, the guidelines apply to anyone who doesn't want to get Zika.

So are people actually going to live like this?

Some public health experts are doubtful.

"I have talked with quite a few physicians, as well as sexually active patients. And I have not encountered anyone who has changed their sexual behavior. It's the hardest thing in the world is to get people to do," said Dr. Sonjia Kenya, an HIV researcher and sexologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

What's the problem? Kenya thinks, in part, the consequences of Zika just aren't scary enough, unless you are a pregnant woman worried about becoming infected.

Most everyone else "has become pretty immune to the Zika media hype," said Kenya, author of "Sex in South Beach," who has been called a multicultural Dr. Ruth. "There is something about the sun and the beach and alcohol that invites people to be more relaxed."

The Sunshine State already is a hotbed for sexually transmitted disease -- and yes, the CDC considers Zika an STD, like gonorrhea and syphillis and HIV.

The CDC's annual HIV Surveillance Report, released this week , found the rate of new infections in South Florida's cities over the past year shot up more than three times the national average.

"If getting HIV doesn't scare you into changing your behavior, I don't think Zika will," Kenya said.

True, being bitten by a Zika-infected mosquito remains by far the most common way humans get the virus. As of Dec. 7, the CDC has confirmed 38 sexually transmitted Zika cases out of 4,575 in the U.S.

That's why the CDC continues to tell people the best prevention practice is to slather on bug spray containing DEET -- even if they are clubbing on South Beach or walking the dog. CDC officials say the products are safe for pregnant women and should be used by those expecting.

Since Aug. 1, there have been three sections of Miami-Dade County that at some point were classified as active transmission zones, placing them under the strict CDC "red" advisory that suggested pregnant women not travel there. The zones included the Wynwood area near downtown Miami, portions of South and North Miami Beach, and Little River.

People who did go there, or were residents, were advised to abstain from sex or "consistently" use condoms if they were pregnant, considering pregnancy or did not want to pass the virus. Women were told to follow these guidelines for eight weeks -- but men needed to do so for six months, as researchers believe Zika can live in seminal fluid for at least that long.

On Friday, Gov. Rick Scott declared the last of those areas, a 1.5-square mile tract in South Miami Beach, free of active transmission, lifting the CDC's no-travel recommendation for pregnant women. But the four former transmission zones, along with all of Miami-Dade County, remain under a "yellow" CDC advisory that includes condom use, abstinence and other precautions for expectant couples or people considering conceiving.

Sexual precautions also are suggested for anyone who has traveled to Zika outbreak countries such as portions of Mexico and Brazil, all of Puerto Rico, and many other countries. For a full list of travel advisories, go to: cdc.gov/travel or call 800-232-4636.

The CDC has drafted guidance for physicians and public health workers regarding Zika and sexual transmission. Officials with the Florida Department of Health said they discuss Zika sex guidelines with their patients and put condoms in the Zika prevention kits distributed to pregnant women.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a global patient care and education organization, has three three large billboard advertisements -- including one with a giant three-dimensional mosquito -- in Miami-Dade County promoting condom use for Zika prevention.

Michael Kahane, AHF's southern bureau chief, said the organization has been distributing condoms along with Zika fact sheets in South Florida and Jamaica, as well as in Puerto Rico, where public health officials predict one in four residents may become Zika postive.

In the Caribbean countries, "people assume everyone already has it or is going to get it. So getting infected is no big deal unless you're pregnant," Kahane said.

While Kahane said that while there has been public health education about Zika, "a lot of people in the U.S. have told me they had no idea it could be sexually transmitted," Kahane said. "I think the general public just isn't aware."

A stroll though Fort Lauderdale's Himmarshee Village entertainment district on an early December night, where diners and drinkers filled outdoor tables, suggested Kahane might be right.

"SIX MONTHS?" cried Adrienne Airhart, 32, when asked how long she thought Zika might live in semen. Airhart, a Los Angeles visitor who had just finished a guided bike trip of the area's bars with pals, had guessed 22 months.

"That's really terrifying," said Airhart, who used to live in Coral Springs. "I am totally not going to Miami."

Her also surprised boyfriend, Aristotle Georgeson, 28, said he didn't know having sex could spread Zika. "So I would definitely let my partner know if I felt sick," he said.

But did he know that there was only a 20 percent chance he would even know he had a Zika infection? That's a problem, he agreed. "And it's not like I can look at a mosquito and know it had Zika," he said.

Dr. Aaron Elkin, a Hollywood obstetrician-gynecologist and past president of the Broward County Medical Association, said the majority of his patients "absolutely" are changing their health and sexual practices due to Zika.

"We are seeing more and more people living in our area afraid of becoming pregnant," said Elkin, who has been involved with federal Zika policy as a John McCain Fellow with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "A lot of them are asking me, 'What should I do?' They are very receptive when we talk about steps they can take."

Elkin now does Zika counseling during every prenatal visit, as recommended by the CDC, and patients can pick up free condoms at the office's front desk. His practice is one of the few that, at this point, can run and process Zika tests, cutting wait times for results. So far, Elkin has screened over 200 patients for the virus and predicts, in the future, Zika testing will become a prenatal care standard, as it has for HIV.

Some couples are opting to hold off conception until a Zika vaccine is available, Elkin said, which could be within two years. If the biological clock is ticking, others are willing to move out of the area until their baby arrives.

The majority of South Floridians determined to conceive, however, stay here and wrestle with Zika.

"You can't stop mosquitoes, you can't stop travel and you can't stop sex," Elkin said. "We need to think about how we deal with patients who live here. We can't just say nobody who lives in Miami-Dade can get pregnant until there's a vaccine."

The number of in-vitro fertilizations performed at the Fertility & IVF Center of Miami has been slightly lower this year over last, said medical director Dr. Michael Jacobs, although he is not sure that is due to Zika. A few couples, before Miami-Dade County came under the CDC advisory, earlier this year froze sperm because the male partner was traveling repeatedly to Zika hot zone countries, Jacobs said.

He suspects that some people, including pregnant couples, aren't following all of the CDC Zika prevention recommendations, from applying bug repellent to using condoms. Jacobs said when Miami Beach still had active transmission zones, he spotted a very pregnant woman picnicking outdoors.

"It's all over the news, you are about to give birth, and you are standing next to water with a bunch of mosquitoes in it. I don't understand it," Jacobs said.

dlade@sunsentinel.com and 954-356-4295

SEX AND ZIKA

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest expectant couples or those considering conceiving in the near future take these sexual precautions. Pregnant women are those most at risk, as the Zika virus can cause severe fetal abnormalities, but anyone can get Zika through sex. Common Zika symptoms include: fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes.

Women who live in Miami-Dade County or frequently travel there should wait eight weeks before trying to become pregnant. They should abstain from sex or consistently use condoms during this time.

Men who live in Miami-Dade County or frequently travel there should wait six months before trying to get their partner pregnant. They should abstain from sex or consistently use condoms during this time.

Expectant couples where one or both partners either live or have traveled to Miami-Dade County should consistently use condoms, or abstain from sex, until after delivery.

The above guidelines also apply to couples in which one partner has traveled to a country with active Zika transmision.

For more information on Zika prevention: cdc.gov or 800-232-4636âˆš.

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Thursday, December 8, 2016

Americans have been lying about the benefits of abstinence only education and the dangers of porn for decades â€” Quartz

7:30 AM Bilal Muazin No comments

Over the past few weeks, as the idea of a Trump presidency has gone from unthinkable joke to horrifying reality, Iâ€™ve heard a new term making the rounds, particularly among my friends in media. â€œWeâ€™re living in a post-truth era,â€ they tell me, citing Trumpâ€™s many lies and contradictions, the rise of fake news sites, and a growing distrust of the mainstream media as evidence that the American people are increasingly distanced from reality.

I think this is a fairly accurate assessment. But as someone whoâ€™s been writing and educating Americans about sex-related topics for over a decade, I can testify to the fact that weâ€™ve been living in a â€œpost-truthâ€ era for years. Quite frankly, Iâ€™ve been dealing with a post-truth world for my entire career.

The easiest entry point for understanding Americaâ€™s fuzzy relationship between sex and fact is the sad state of American sex education. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a mere 13 US states require sex education to be â€œmedically accurate.â€ To put that in context, 39 states require HIV education to either stress or cover abstinence, in spite of the fact that thereâ€™s little proof that a focus on abstinence actually helps delay sex.

Indeed, Americaâ€™s two-decade long love affair with abstinence-only education (which president Barack Obama has attempted to put an end to) feels like the epitome of â€œpost-truth.â€ Study after study shows that abstinence-only education doesnâ€™t reduce the rate of teen pregnancy, delay the age at which young people start having sex, or lower rates of STI transmission. But as long as telling kids not to have sex feels like the solution, these misguided lesson plans will likely persist. (In fact, it might actually get worse; president-elect Donald Trump and vice president-elect Mike Pence are not known for an enlightened outlook on sexuality. Pence once said on national television that condoms are â€œvery, very poor protectionâ€ against STIs).

This aversion to the truth is much more than a failing of political conservatives. In my experience, liberals are just as willing to ignore the facts when itâ€™s convenient to their larger narrative.

Over the years Iâ€™ve rolled my eyes at numerous acts of â€œjournalismâ€ that perpetuated half-truths and outright lies about the sex and porn industriesâ€"often in the supposed service of protecting women. >The Price of Pleasure, for exampleâ€"an anti-porn documentary created by NYU professor Chyng Sunâ€"misled many of its interview subjects and used manipulative editing to craft a vision of a ruthlessly exploitative porn industry that few porn performers recognize. A piece in The Atlantic once positioned double anal, an extreme sex act that even the most practiced porn performers need to warm up to, as a routine occurrence. And letâ€™s not forget the New York Timesâ€™ own Nicholas Kristof, whose factually inaccurate writing has peddled numerous myths about sex work and who has positioned himself as a voice of authority in spite of numerous sex workers whoâ€™ve contested his version of the â€œtruth.â€

The topic of sex is vulnerable to this sort of misinformation for a number of reasons. Itâ€™s an intensely personal experience, and one most of us have some degree of experience with. This creates a personal sense of authorityâ€"even when we lack any facts or expertise beyond our own limited experience. Compounding this false confidence is the persistent taboo against public discussions of sexuality. Stigma around sex prevents us from openly and honestly discussing the topic, adding further fuel to the many â€œtruthyâ€ statements that circulate about human sexual experience.

A slumping news industry has coincided with the rise of social mediaâ€"a phenomenon that has made news consumption more individualized and created information bubbles that help reinforce what feels right over whatâ€™s actually true.While unfortunate, in this context it makes sense that weâ€™re seeing a spread of inaccuracy in our discussions of politics, the environment, and other hot-button topics that have historically been more buffered from falsehoods than sex.

But if my work in sex education offers me a deeper understanding of the factors that encourage and enable a collective divorce from reality, it also gives me hope that post-truth isnâ€™t a permanent state of being. If we stay committed to pursuing and promoting a reality-based vision of the world, itâ€™s possible to overcome seemingly overwhelming odds.

On the same Tuesday that Trump secured the White House, Californiaâ€™s adult industry battled misinformation, ignorance, and a well-funded propaganda machine to defeat the egregious Proposition 60. Opposed by many health organizations and practically all of Californiaâ€™s adult film actors, the proposition would have violated worker privacy and potentially made it possible for regular Californians to sue porn producers if they believed actors werenâ€™t wearing condoms. Around the globe, sex workers have banded together to make their voices and opinions heard, and are slowly chipping away at the post-truth ethos thatâ€™s oppressed their industry for decades (if not centuries).

And even though government-funded sex education is often mediocreâ€"if not outright harmfulâ€"a number of independent sources have harnessed the internet to provide smart, thoughtful, and fact-based sex education to young people around the globe. This is the lesson activists and politicians alike need to internalize in the age of Trump. With enough commitment, dedication, and persistence, the truth can ultimately win out.

Follow Lux on Twitter @luxalptraum. Learn how to write for Quartz Ideas. We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

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Friday, December 9, 2016

Ex-Wisconsin teacher sent to prison for having sex with student

8:00 AM Bilal Muazin No comments

A former Wisconsin English teacher cried in court after she was sentenced to two years behind bars for having sex with a student.

Sara Domres, 29, who has no prior criminal record, must also register as a sex offender and is banned from having contact with the pupil and his family, the Journal Sentinel reported. When she leaves prison, she will be on three years probation and a supervision order.

The former West Berlin High School teacher in August admitted to having sex with a 16-year-old sophomore in her English class after sheâ€™d developed a relationship with him over the course of the 2014-15 school year.

Domres often referred to the student as â€œbaby booâ€ in the 1,100 text messages the pair exchanged over the course of their relationship.

Wisconsin teacher had sex with her student at Motel 6

Sara Domres was sentenced to two years in prison.

(Police Photo)

â€œBaby Boo, I love you now & forever! Please be mine forever & ever. Always your baby girl. P.S. Good luck on your quiz [smiley face],â€ she once wrote to him, according to court documents.

The student said their first sexual encounter occurred at a park-and-ride lot in July 2015, when he was only 16.

And while Domres only admitted to having sex with him on two occasions, he said they had intercourse between 10 and 15 times, including at a Motel six the night of Domresâ€™ husbandâ€™s bachelor party in October 2015, the teenager told police.

Investigators found evidence that shows the boy's phone had been connected to the motelâ€™s WiFi the same date motel records showed Domres reserved a room.

Wisconsin teacher admits to having sex with 16-year-old student

The student also admitted to police that his teacher sent him selfies while she was on her honeymoon.

A few of the studentâ€™s friends reported Domres back in January and the School District of New Berlin, located just outside Milwaukee, fired her the same month.

Former West Berlin English teacher Sara Domres is no longer allowed to work at a school.

(Fox6 NOW)

In her statement to the court, Domres said she was passionate for her teaching profession and detailed the hours she spent outside of work assisting her students and acting as their confidante, the Journal Sentinel reported.

She said the loss her job and the on-going media coverage surrounding her case made her feel as though â€œthe consequences of my actions have been enforced tenfold.â€

The prosecutor noted however, that had she not been a teacher, her dozen-plus sexual encounters with her student would have only been misdemeanors â€" because of the power and influence teachers hold over their students, her trysts are considered a felony.

â€œI donâ€™t know how much brighter the line could be,â€ Assistant District Attorney Ted Szczupakiewicz said. â€œThereâ€™s no gray area. Itâ€™s absolute.â€

Tags:: teachers busted; wisconsin; sex crimes; crimes against children

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Thursday, December 8, 2016

Migrant Sex Attacks Increased 133 Per Cent This Year

6:00 AM Bilal Muazin No comments

Rachel Megawhat/Breitbart London

by Chris Tomlinson8 Dec 20160

8 Dec, 20168 Dec, 2016

The number of sex attacks by migrants has rapidly risen in Austria over the last year with statistics showing an increase of 133 per cent, an inquiry has revealed.

The anti-mass migration Freedom Party of Austria (FPÃ–) brought the statistics of migrant sex attacks to light in the Austrian parliament after making an inquiry to the Interior Ministry. According to the Interior Ministry report, â€œfrom January 1 to September 30, 2016, 91 asylum seekers were investigated as suspectsâ€ in rape cases â€" a 133 per cent increase from 2015,Â Kronen Zeitung reports.

The total number of rape allegations in Austria has gone down since 2015 fromÂ 688 suspects to 594 suspects. TheÂ number of incidents has also decreased in general from 826 to 674. But despite asylum seekers being a small fraction of the population in Austria, the statistics show that more than one in ten instances of rape, closer to one-fifth, are carried out by migrants.

The report also states that the vast majority of the migrants who are suspected of rape are of an Afghani origin with the number of Afghan suspects rising from 16 to 47. The number of Syrian rape suspects has also risen from three to 11.

Austrian Peopleâ€™s Party (Ã–VP) Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka noted that the figures were too raw to make any real policy conclusions and said that they did not stand up to a scientific review because they were only quarterly or semi-annualÂ statistics.

FPÃ– deputy David Lasar, who made the initial inquiry, asked the interior minister what steps were being done to secure the safety of Austrians â€œdue to the multitude of sexual assaults on womenâ€. Sobotka replied to theÂ FPÃ– politician saying that policeÂ hadÂ been increased in certain urban hotspots as well as the deployment of plain clothes officers.

The number of migrants who have applied for asylum in Austria,Â by the Interior Ministry official statistics, has dropped to 34,657 from the nearly 89,000 who applied in 2015.

Some, like theÂ FPÃ–, have disputed the claim that less than the 37,000 migrant limit have come into the country. Earlier this year the party revealed that over 120,000 migrants had entered Austriaâ€™sÂ borders, though many may have only passed through on their way to Germany and elsewhere.

Several of the rapes alleged to have been committed by migrants have made headlines in Austria over the last year. One of the most high-profile cases was the rape of a young boy at a swimming facility. The migrant responsible had his conviction for the crime overturned after a court said he likely didnâ€™t know the boy was saying â€œnoâ€ at the time. He is set to be retried in the new year for the crime.

In another prominent case, a gang of nine migrants raped a German woman in the Austrian capital of Vienna. The men, aged 21 to 47, are said to have taken advantage of the girl on New Yearâ€™s Eve as she was severelyÂ intoxicated at the time.

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