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Transitions
Volume 15, No. 3, January 2004
This Transitions is
also available in [PDF] format.
Youth of Color—Rights. Respect. Responsibility.®: A Strategy to Promote Sexual Health
Youth
of color in the United States are at disproportionate
risk of negative sexual health outcomes, including
HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and
unintended pregnancy. These youth are at risk, in part,
because of society's neglect, indifference, or outright hostility—factors
that greatly compound the developmental issues all
adolescents face.
Advocates for Youth is committed to shifting society's paradigm regarding youth,
including youth of color, away from one that views them as "problems to
be solved," and towards one that values them and that eagerly seeks their
full participation in designing and running programs for young people. Advocates
for Youth calls this paradigm shift the 3Rs—Rights.
Respect. Responsibility.®
- Adolescents
have rights to balanced, accurate, and
realistic sexuality education, confidential and affordable
sexual health services, and a secure stake in the future.
- Youth
deserve respect. Today, they are perceived
only as part of the problem. Valuing young people means
they are part of the solution and are included in the
development of programs and policies that affect their
well-being.
- Society
has the responsibility to provide
young people with the tools they need to safeguard
their sexual health, and young people have the responsibility
to protect themselves from too early childbearing and
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
A values-based approach
to serving youth asserts that every young person is of
infinite value, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, health status,
socio-economic
background, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity.
Valuing youth provides an ethical imperative to acknowledge and serve
youth of color
positively and with respect, to promote their well-being,
and to encourage their success.
Rights,
respect, responsibility ® applies
to all youth. Nevertheless, because racism, disproportionate
poverty, and barriers to opportunity in U.S. society may
hamper the success and limit the aspirations of youth of
color, it is especially critical that educators, youth-serving
professionals, parents, communities of faith, and health
care providers work to promote the 3Rs among and for youth
of color. Many programs and approaches exist that specifically
serve youth of color, helping them to value themselves and
their communities, to combat racism, and to avoid or reduce
sexual health risks. Some successful programs serve youth
of a particular race/ethnicity; others offer services to
youth from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Their insights
and successes can help other programs that do not focus solely—or
at all—on youth of color to begin serving all youth
sensitively and appropriately. Programs that respect young
people's right to make responsible decisions about sex will
also work to develop policies and environments that support all youth
in this goal, irrespective of young people's race/ethnicity,
language, gender, or sexual orientation.
This issue of Transitions compiles information about issues faced
by youth of color, including HIV-positive youth and gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) youth of color. It considers how concepts
of masculinity contribute to young men's sexual risk behaviors and their problems
in intimate relationships. It discusses the interplay of cultural competence
and social justice and how to create culturally relevant programs. It discusses
barriers to health care and arts programs that promote young people's sexual
health. Stories by youth of color underscore the importance of the 3Rs paradigm,
and a lesson plan provides opportunities for young people to improve communication
skills related to sexual risk reduction. Finally, this issue provides links
to national and online resources.
There
are many taboos surrounding sexuality in my [South Asian] culture.
Speaking of sexuality is not allowed. When a loved one is lost to
HIV/AIDS, not being able to speak about it brings additional grief.
And it hurts, especially, to know such a death could have been prevented
with education. This has been my inspiration for becoming a youth
activist. Young people are the future, and people under age 22 are
the first generation to spend their entire lives worrying about or
confronted with HIV/AIDS. Why would we want to risk our lives through
ignorance?
Ritu,
member, Young Women of Color Leadership Council, Advocates
for Youth
Transitions (ISSN 1097-1254) © 2004, is a quarterly publication
of Advocates for Youth—Helping young people make safe and responsible
decisions about sex. For permission to reprint, contact Transitions' editor
at 202.419.3420.
Editor: Sue Alford
Click here to view the Publications Catalog and/or
to order this publication.
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