ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

July 2006 update on new publications, actions you can take, and more!

Advocates for Youth's e-News Update

This Month

Advocates Calls for a Cease Fire in the War on Condoms

For the last decade, conservatives have furthered their abstinence-only-until-marriage agenda by claiming that condoms were not effective against sexually transmitted infections, including HPV, a virus that can cause cervical cancer.

But a new study published in the June 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that proper condom use does reduce the risk of contracting HPV.

This study provides more scientific evidence that condoms are a necessary tool for protecting young people's sexual health. "It's time for a 'cease-fire' in the war on condoms," said James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth. "We know that abstinence from sexual activity is the only way to remain 100 percent safe from sexually transmitted disease. But the continuing attacks on condom efficacy and the efforts to keep young people in the dark when it comes to safer sex runs counter to proven public health science and basic common sense."

For the whole story, visit http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/news/press/062106.htm.

Youth Activist Network Updates

Become a member of the Young Women of Color Leadership Council

The Young Women of Color Leadership Council is composed of young leaders and activists who come together to promote a message of HIV prevention and empowerment. All of the Council's work is a collaboration of diversity and passion, in the hopes of affecting a million more young women of color. Apply to be a part of the council today!

For the application and more information, visit http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/about/ywoclc.htm
The deadline is Friday, August 4, 2006

Use Your Voice!

Tell Your Congressional Representative To Support the PATHWAY Act!

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) has introduced landmark legislation to repeal the abstinence-until-marriage funding requirement of PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. PEPFAR includes ideology-driven prevention polices that require that 33% of prevention efforts be spent on abstinence-until-marriage programs in developing countries, denying young people access to and education about condoms.

The Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth Act of 2006 (H.R.5674), or PATHWAY Act, would repeal that funding requirement. The PATHWAY Act would also require President Bush and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator to develop a comprehensive strategy for protecting women and girls from HIV in cultures where men may control women's sexual lives and may keep women from taking measures to protect themselves.

TAKE ACTION: Send a message to your members of congress urging them to support the Pathway Act!
Visit http://capwiz.com/advofy/issues/alert/?alertid=9572351

Applaud America's Next Top Model

A recent episode of America's Next Top Model addressed the importance of doing work for HIV/AIDS causes, and highlighted the HIV epidemic's impact on women. Contestants were encouraged to become spokespeople for good causes and work to end HIV and AIDS.

TAKE ACTION: Send a message to let UPN and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) know that you support storylines like this. This alert is no longer active.

Say What?!

Condoms Behind the Counter - Who Says There Isn't a War on Condoms?

Buying personal items like condoms can be embarrassing. We do it because we care about our health and the health of our loved ones, but it's no fun. So stores should do what they can to make the process a little easier, right?

But some pharmacies or stores with pharmacy sections are making it even more of a challenge to buy condoms by locking them up behind the counter and forcing teens to find a store employee to get the condoms for them. Some stores say they do this to prevent theft, others say they do it so the pharmacist can educate the consumer buying condoms. But the end result is one more barrier to young people who are trying to prevent pregnancy or keep themselves safe from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Find out where the condoms are at stores near you, and if they're not easily accessible, let the store know that their policy is hurting young people and putting their health in danger. And remember, you have the power to protect yourself - don't let condoms behind the counter keep you from using a condom when you have sex!

Read more about this issue here:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=1&DR_ID=36542

In The Spotlight

Maya

"If you don';t act, everybody loses," says Maya, a soon-to-be high school junior. Since ninth grade, Maya has been active in reproductive health, attending and speaking at conferences and summits and being a peer educator for MySistahs (a website that provides support and information about sexual and reproductive health to young women of color). She will soon add interning at a battered women's shelter to her list of activism activities. After high school, she plans to attend college before traveling the globe to speak and write about reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. While it's tough to keep active in her conservative hometown of San Diego, Maya doesn't let anything stop her. "You have to take charge of your life," she says. "If you're not acting, you're not taking responsibility for your own life, and your life is the most valuable thing you have."

To read her bio, please visit: http://www.mysistahs.org/sts/maya.htm

On the Town

Find the Condoms Youth Activist Campaign Training For High School Students

Get involved! Know how to protect yourself and your friends. Find out the real deal on condoms in New York City's public schools, and demand that the city keeps its promises to youth. Get the skills you need in order to be a powerful youth activist and fight for condom access in your school and in all schools! Join the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP), Advocates for Youth, and high school students from across NYC in this action-packed two-day activist training.

For more information and the application, visit:
http://www.champnetwork.org/index.php?name=find-the-condoms.

You can help Advocates for Youth with a contribution today. To donate, visit http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/about/donatetoday.htm

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