Merced event promotes sex education and live music
Live music, free food and sex education are part of a weekend event in Merced, a region where teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rates are among the highest in the state.
Three local bands will play during Respecticon, which is in its second year and is planned from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, 645 W. Main St.
Merced-based Middlestate Feminists are putting on the day of music and discussion. “(We’re) just trying to aid in the creation of a healthy and educated sexual environment for teenagers,” President Melissa Eisner said.
The event will include “sex-positive” education, she said, covering body image issues, respect for others’ sexual choices and orientations, and how to spot signs of an unhealthy relationship, among other topics.
Merced County has demonstrated the need for greater sexual education, organizers say.
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.
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. Nine percent of births in 2013 were to mothers in that age group. The only county with a larger percentage of teen moms was Madera with 15 percent, according to a 2014 CDC survey.
The live music being featured at the event will be interspersed with breaks for either food or sex-education lessons.
Building Healthy Communities and the nonprofit We’Ced Youth Media teamed up to organize the event. It is free for those between the ages of 13 and 19.
For more information, send an email to middlestatefeminists@gmail.com.
This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Merced event promotes sex education and live music."