“Respect” is the key word at Merced event

Respect for others’ choices was just one of several lessons taught during a sex education event Saturday in Merced.

Respecticon, an event whose name is a play on pop culture mecca Comic-Con, played out as part battle of the bands and part lesson on responsible sexual activity.

Merced-based Middlestate Feminists organized the gathering, now in its second year, for teenagers. “(We’re) just trying to aid in the creation of a healthy and educated sexual environment for teenagers,” President Melissa Eisner recently told the Sun-Star.

The event included “sex-positive” education, covering body-image issues, respect for others’ sexual choices and orientations, and how to spot signs of an unhealthy relationship, among other topics. There were also lessons on preventing unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Building Healthy Communities and the nonprofit We’Ced Youth Media also pitched in to organize the event.

Merced County has demonstrated the need for greater sexual education, organizers say.

While nationally, women are waiting longer than ever to have children, Merced County has one of the largest proportions in the state of mothers age 15 to 19, making up 9 percent of births in 2013 in Merced County. The only county with a larger percentage of teen moms was Madera with 15 percent, according to a 2014 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey.

According to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released late last year, cases of chlamydia rose 2.8 percent from 2013 to 2014, bringing the national rate of infection to 456.1 cases per 100,000 people. In Merced County, the STD is most common among younger people, with those age 20 to 24 accounting for 41 percent of cases.

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 12:09 PM with the headline "“Respect” is the key word at Merced event."