Street Youth and HIV: Will Education Work? (From North American Directory of Programs for Runaways, Homeless Youth, and Missing Children, P 12-16, 1991, Timothy J. Treanor and William W. Treanor, eds. - see NCJ-132968)

• NCJ Number: 132970
• Author(s): T J Treanor
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: American Youth Work Ctr
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Even though informal surveys of runaway and homeless youth indicate that many of them have taken AIDS prevention education seriously and are practicing safe sexual habits, the incidence of HIV infection among this population is high.

Abstract

Epidemiological surveys indicate that the rate of HIV among runaway and homeless youth is much higher than in the general youth population; the virus is spread mostly through prostitution. HIV education programs targeted toward street youth are more explicit about the transmission of HIV through sexual intercourse and IV needle sharing than the typical school-based instruction. Experts fear that the rate of adolescent HIV infection will increase rapidly with runaways and homeless youth serving as a gateway. This trend is being repeated in many countries around the world; fortunately, intensive HIV awareness campaigns can have an impact on adolescent sexual behavior.