exual behavior takes a prominent position in the lives of youth and has significant implications for health. Rates of sexual activity increase significantly during adolescence. National data from the United States (US) show that 20% of 9 th grade students had sexual intercourse, whereas 57% of 12 th grade students had sexual intercourse. 1 Nearly 90% of young people have had sex by age 24. 2 Sexual behavior is intimately related to many health issues, including unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections or diseases (STIs/ STDs), and sexual violence and trauma. Given the significance of these health issues, schools have sought to educate youth about sexual health, and state policy is a primary determinant of schoolbased sex education. However, relatively little pol

Purpose: Many students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) face hostile school environments that can negatively impact their mental health and education. This study involved a photovoice project where high school students from a Gay-Straight Alliance in the rural southeastern United States took photographs that depicted the issues LGBTQ students were facing and then exhibited their photographs and stories to individuals from the school system and local community to promote awareness, dialogue, and action. Methods: 20 adults who attended the photovoiceexhibit responded to an online survey about their experiences with the intervention. Results: 85% of adults reported that the interventionmade them think about issues they had not previously considered, including the struggles LGBTQ youth face, gender issues, and living in a rural community. Common emotions experienced at the interventionincluded feeling excited, concern for the youth, and proud of the youth. Further, 81% of the adults indicated that they would take action or behave differently as a result of the intervention, including supporting and affirming LGBTQ students, using gender-neutral and -inclusive language, and confronting bias in themselves and others. Conclusions: Photovoice is a promising strategy for LGBTQ students to activate adult allies in their community.

IntroductionWorldwide, an estimated 10%–27% of women are sexually assaulted during their lifetime. Despite the enormity of sexual assault as a public health problem, to our knowledge, no large-scale prospective studies of experiences and recovery over time among women presenting for emergency care after sexual assault have been performed.Methods and analysisWomen ≥18 years of age who present for emergency care within 72 hours of sexual assault to a network of treatment centres across the USA are approached for study participation. Blood DNA and RNA samples and brief questionnaire and medical record data are obtained from women providing initial consent. Full consent is obtained at initial 1 week follow-up to analyse blood sample data and to perform assessments at 1 week, 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year. These assessments include evaluation of survivor life history, current health and recovery and experiences with treatment providers, law enforcement and the legal system.Ethics and disseminationThis study is approved by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the IRB of each participating study site. We hope to present the results of this study to the scientific community at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.

Objective Emergency caregivers provide initial care to women sexual assault (SA) survivors. An improved understanding of the issues facing this population can aide emergency care practitioners in providing high quality care. The goal of this study was to share the experiences of women SA survivors with the emergency care practitioners that care for them. Methods English‐speaking adult women (n = 706) who received SA Nurse Examiner (SANE) evaluation within 72 hours of SA at 1 of 13 geographically distributed sites were enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal multi‐site observational study. We qualitatively analyzed responses to the open‐ended question: “What do you think is most important for researchers to understand about your experience since the assault?” asked 1 week, 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after enrollment. Results Themes from responses (n = 1434) from 590 women (84% of study sample) fell into 12 broad categories: daily life, justice, medical, and social services, mental health, physical health, prior trauma, recovery, romantic relationships, safety, self, shame, and social interactions. Responses demonstrated that the assault permeates many aspects of assault survivors’ daily lives. Conclusions Qualitative analyses of open‐ended responses from a large cohort of women SA survivors receiving SANE care highlight the challenges for survivors and can increase understanding among the emergency care practitioners who care for them. The authors propose a brief acronym to help emergency care practitioners recall important messages for SA survivors.