"Girl...KnoW More!" - A Community-Based Model to Reduce STIs Among African American Girls on Chicago's South Side

African American girls remain one of the most vulnerable populations at risk for sexually transmitted infections among youth. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) one in four young women between the ages of 14 and 19 in the United States is infected with at least one of the most common STIs with rates disproportionately higher among African American girls. “Girl…KnoW More!” was developed as a grassroots strategy by the South Side Coalition on Urban Girls (SSCUG),  a community collaboration of more than 30 organizations. The project seeks to improve the health and wellness of urban African American girls ages 14-18 by reducing the incidence of STIs with special emphasis on Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). “Girl…KnoW More” specifically targets girls in distressed communities on Chicago’s south side using a saturation model which integrates prevention education, parent/community awareness (town halls), capacity building training and youth-led digital/social media. The adolescent “urban” voice with respect to strategies in STI prevention and awareness is often missing. Urban researchers describe this absence as a “deficit lens” which omits the social and cultural view of youth living in urban communities in the United States. “Girl…Know More!” seeks to address this gap in research through youth and community engaged strategies which directly speak to the sexual behavior of urban youth. Independent evaluation included both quantitative and qualitative research designed to measure the impact of each saturation component.