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February 2008 update on new publications, actions you can take, and more!
Advocates for Youth's e-News Update
This Month
February 14-21st is National Condom Week
This week is set aside by public health experts to raise awareness and educate people about condoms. According to the CDC, condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV, and effective in preventing pregnancy and a number of sexually transmitted infections.
Wrap Up: The Importance of Condoms
By Elijah, Campus Organizer
Condoms are important for those who are engaging in sexual activity. They prevent the spread of diseases and significantly reduce the chances of becoming pregnant. They should be used whether you're making a random hookup or engaging in sexual activity with your long-term partner.
Okay, there - I've now given the basic stock message given to me every time I've been told that I should wear a condom. After racking my brain for a way to open this piece, that';s what I have. Simple. Effective. Clean. To-the-point.
And, well, boring as...read more!
Click here for more information about condoms.
YAN Updates
Sockin' it to Congress: Capitol Hill, PEPFAR, and laundry!
Activists from the Student Global AIDS Campaign, ACT UP Philadelphia, Health GAP, Americans for Informed Democracy and Advocates for Youth marched to Capitol Hill to deliver a message to Congress about the global AIDS pandemic. Delivering laundry bags full of socks sent from college campuses across the country, the student activists wanted to air the "dirty laundry" about the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) negative impact on vulnerable populations, especially young people.
The dirty laundry includes:
- A 33 percent set aside for abstinence-until-marriage programs that censor information about how condoms can protect against the spread of HIV;
- The lack of access to treatment for young people and other vulnerable populations;
- The anti-prostitution clause organizations must sign that prevents them from doing effective HIV prevention outreach to sex workers
Congress is now in the process of reauthorizing PEPFAR. The new draft bill removes these harmful provisions and provides targeted countries with greater flexibility to create country-wide plans that best meet the needs of their affected populations.
Our goal as a youth movement is to remind our representatives in Congress that PEPFAR is about one fundamental thing: saving lives. Apparently, that is easy to forget in the crazy political mess that is called Congress. That is why we have to keep our representatives in line--hold them accountable!
During the rally, Tucker, a member of the Youth Activist Network, said "The facts are in - - the numbers are crunched - - and the world needs 59 billion dollars in PEPFAR funding, and we need to spend those 59 billion dollars according to fact and logic. The 15 billion dollars under the old PEPFAR was only a start, and 30 billion [what President Bush has requested] falls far short of what it will take to develop a sustainable system of intervention. We send this message to congress: do not turn PEPFAR into a political war zone. In stead use it as a forum to discuss how to best save lives. Use it as an example to show that in a climate of political polarity - - a climate where US stewardship is increasingly doubted - - all parties are capable of rallying with one voice against one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our time."
For Youth, By Youth
Keeping it REAL with the PTSA!
By Ashley, Member of the High School Organizing Team
The bell rang. School was out, but I was not leaving. Today I was not catching the bus to go home. Today was the result of everything I had been preparing for. This was it. This was the day that I was to introduce the idea of REAL comprehensive sexual education into my school. I was going to give a presentation about the need for honest sexual health education to a hundred parents and their children at a Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) meeting. I created an extensive power point presentation and invited Mimi Melles and Tom Klaus, representatives from Advocates for Youth to be on a panel of experts. They brought all sorts of material to pass out, and I had found them to be excellent at providing support for me, calming the nerves of parents and teachers alike, and answering the hard questions.
Read Ashley's article!
One High School Organizer Inspires Another: In response to Ashley's Experience
By Ben, Member of the High School Organizing Team
During one of our High School Organizer calls, I had the privilege to hear from my colleague Ashley about her recent accomplishments as a second-year High School Organizer. She had pulled together an awesome forums of parents, teachers and students to discuss comprehensive sex education (see earlier story). As an organizer new to the team, hearing about someone with only one year more experience then me accomplishing what she accomplished was truly inspiring. It was fantastic to think that I too could achieve this level of triumph in only a year.
Read the rest of Ben's article
What In The World?
Connecting the Local to Global
On National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (annually held on February 7th)
Black people are disproportionably affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic globally, a consequence of the racial discrimination that still exists in our world today. In Washington, D.C., capital of the richest country in the world, the rates of HIV - - 1 out of 20 residents - -are rates comparable to parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Melodi, a campus organizer from Advocates for Youth and a student in the district, asked the important question, "Why?" and demanded answers.
To read more...
To read an article from The Eagle--American University's campus newspaper, click here!
Say What?!
Suspended for Spreading Condom Awareness?! Are You Serious?
Illinois junior high school students were suspended for wearing condoms pinned on their shirts in protest of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.
Watch This Video!
Who are YOU calling a Slut?
Speaking at a GOP Caucus meeting on February 6, Colorado State Representative Larry Liston said, "In my parents' day and age, (unmarried teen parents) were sent away, they were shunned, they were called what they are. There was at least a sense of shame."
He continued, "There's no sense of shame today. Society condones it. . .I think it's wrong. They're sluts. And I don't mean just the women, I mean the men, too."
The four women in the House Republican Caucus issued a statement calling the comments "inappropriate and unacceptable" and saying his language "distracted from an important caucus discussion of meaningful health care reform."
Teens who become pregnant face enough challenges without being denounced and belittled in the name of politics. It is Liston who should be ashamed.
Don't let State Representative Liston insult young women and men - - send him a message [larry.liston.house@state.co.us] letting him know how you feel about his degrading remarks.
Read the complete Gazette story
My Voice Counts!
We are at a pivotal point in the fight to win full access to emergency contraception (EC) for all women, and we need your help!
Today, Advocates for Youth and Choice USA are asking you to help gather signatures from your peers on a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here's why:
We are now in the second year of the FDA's decision to restrict over-the-counter access to emergency contraception to women 18 and older.
The Center for Reproductive Rights--a nonprofit, legal advocacy organization that promotes and defends the reproductive rights of women worldwide, currently has a lawsuit to force the FDA to reverse its decision that restricts young women's access to Plan B without a prescription.
There's evidence confirmed by FDA officials that key decisions were based on politics, not science, and the New York federal Court found a "strong showing of bad faith" on the part of the FDA.
The FDA must act now to make Plan B available to all women!
Show the FDA that young people want CHANGE (download the petition and collect signatures)!
Read All About It
- Do you want to learn the do's and don'ts of working with the media?
- Have you ever wondered how to pitch a story to a reporter?
- Are you interested in writing a letter to the editor, but don't know how?
Learn the answers to these questions and MUCH MORE!
Check out our new Web section: Working with the Media
On The Town
Creating Change Conference
Advocates for Youth staff and youth activists attended the annual Creating Change hosted by the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce on February 6-10 in Detroit, Michigan. Each year, the National LGBT Equality Conference provides a space where over 2,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates from every corner of the country gather to strategize, socialize and mobilize for LGBT equality.
Workshops by Advocates for Youth included: How Comprehensive Sex Education is an LGBT Issue; Coming Out as Muslim; and Advocates for Youth's Anti-homophobia Project: An Effective Strategy to Provide Capacity Building to Communities of Color.
Read the blogs from youth activists about Creating Change 2008
Success Stories
Arizona 16th State to Reject Federal Abstinence-Only Program
Governor Calls for Comprehensive Sex Education
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano rejected Title V federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, saving the state $1 million in matching funds. Arizona joins 15 other states, including California, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin and New Jersey, in rejecting the ineffective, inaccurate and gender-biased program.
"Governor Napolitano and the other 15 governors should be applauded for their actions," said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth. "These governors are sending a clear message to Congress - - stop funding programs that don't work. They want honest and accurate sex education programs for youth in their states."
You can help Advocates for Youth with a contribution today. To donate, visit http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/about/donatetoday.htm
Read previous issues from the Archive of e-News Updates >>
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