ad more than 10 female sex partners had 60% higher odds of bacterial vaginosis than those who had had 1-5 female partners. The researchers conclude that the female partners of women being treated for bacterial vaginosis should be screened for the condition.
1. Bailey JV et al., Bacterial vaginosis in lesbians and bisexual women, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2004, 31(11): 691-694.
MEETING ICPD GOALS (OR NOT)
Ten years after the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the extent to which the wealthiest donor countries have met their financial commitments to help achieve the goal of assuring access to basic reproductive health care for all men and women worldwide by 2015 varies widely.1 Four countries (Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) have met their assistance goals for 2005, but others have a long way to go. The fair share for 10 countries is about 2-7 times their current funding levels. Spain and Portugal would need to contribute at least 60 times their 2002 levels to meet their commitments. Together, donor nations need to triple their population assistance to meet ICPD's goal for 2005. More generally, when graded on a scale reflecting a variety of measures of financial and policy commitments to population assistance, 13 of 21 donor countries scored A's and B's, and the rest scored C's and D's. The United States makes a poor showing: It needs to triple its funding to pull its fair share, and its overall grade has slipped from B to C.
1. Population Action International, Progress & Promises: Trends in International Assistance for Reproductive Health and Population, Washington, DC: Population Action International, 2004.
ALMOST COMPLETE GUIDELINES
The Justice Department has issued the first-ever national guidelines aimed at helping state, local and tribal jurisdictions to respond "in the most competent, compassionate, and understanding manner possible" to individuals who have experienced sexual assault.1 Among other points, the guidelines stress the importance of victim-centered care that includes assessment of individuals' needs for immediate medical attention. They go into some detail about steps health care providers should take to address the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including encouraging individuals to accept prophylactic treatment when appropriate. As regards pregnancy, however, they are less comprehensive: The guidelines recommend that providers discuss the risk of pregnancy and encourage women of reproductive age to undergo pregnancy testing. They also suggest discussing "treatment options . . . , including reproductive health services," but nowhere mention the provision of emergency contraception. Predictably, the omission is seen as a major flaw by victims' advocates and many medical professionals, but has won praise from some conservative groups.2
1. Office on Violence Against Women, A National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations: Adults/Adolescents, Washington, DC: Department of Justice, 2004.
2. McCullough M, Sex-assault treatment guidelines omit pill, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 31, 2004, <www.philly. com/mld/inquirer/1053638.htm?1c>, accessed Jan. 10, 2005.
WATCH YOUR MOUTH
Fourteen percent of men and women with primary or secondary syphilis interviewed in Chicago in 2000-2002 reported that the only type of sexual contact they had had during the period in which they likely acquired the infection was oral sex.1 Among men who have had sex with men, the proportion of infections attributable to oral sex was above the average—20%. By contrast, only 6-7% of women and of men reporting exclusively heterosexual behavior appear to have become infected through oral sex. The total number of syphilis cases in Chicago has been stable since the 1990s, but the population affected has shifted dramatically: In the 1990s, infections were almost exclusively among heterosexual men and women; in 2001 and 2002, nearly three in five were among men who have sex with men. Some of the men interviewed believed that oral sex carries no risks and had been surprised