Rates of STDs are the highest they’ve been in 20 years, which means we all can do more to take care ourselves and one another.

Post submitted by Noël Gordon, former HRC Senior Program Specialist for HIV Prevention and Health Equity

National Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Awareness Month may be over, but that doesn’t mean the conversation should stop. Rates of STDs are the highest they’ve been in 20 years, which means we all can do more to take care ourselves and one another.

Here are the must-read articles from our #STDMonth17 campaign in partnership with the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), NASTAD (formerly known as the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors), Project Inform, Hornet App, and Building Healthy Online Communities:

Ask the Expert: What YOU Need to Know about STDs

It can be difficult to keep up with the current realities of STDs, which is why we asked our friends at NCSD to explain why STDs rates are increasing among LGBTQ people and what we can do to reverse this trend.

Talking about STDs Can Be Awkward, But It Doesn’t Have to Be

In this post, NASTAD shares a few practical suggestions for talking to important people in your life about STDs, including your sexual partner and your healthcare provider.

What Your Provider Might Not Be Telling You about STD Testing

NCSD breaks down the importance of “three-site testing,” a concept that is particularly important to gay and bisexual men in light of multiple studies documenting missed diagnoses of STD infections.

STD Spotlight: Syphilis

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sounding the alarm because of ever-growing rates of syphilis. Dr. Bruce Rashbaum, an expert in LGBTQ sexual health, explains reasons for this troubling spike in this brief but insightful post.

STD Spotlight: Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is not often talked about as an STD, but one of Project Inform’s leading experts thinks we should be paying closer attention to this liver-affecting disease.

Additional Resources from HRC:

This post is not a substitute for sound medical advice — and the examples throughout it don’t cover every situation! We encourage you to seek out additional resources from other community advocates and, most importantly, talk to a knowledgeable healthcare provider before making any medical decisions.

Take pride in combating #STDs, however you choose to do it #STDMonth17 #TakePrideinKnowing https://t.co/TJnjeWBwuN pic.twitter.com/2SqgrxvpAv
— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) April 3, 2017