Issues
Access to Birth Control and Sexual Health Services
Advocates for Youth works with young people to ensure everyone has access to condoms, birth control pills, and emergency contraception.
Testimony from Advocates’ youth activists helped win the fight for an over-the-counter birth control pill, and we continue to work to expand access through peer distribution campaigns, provider education, and quality sex education that includes complete information about birth control.
Featured Campaigns
“Working alongside other youth activists inspires me to amplify the needs of our community. I always feel empowered by working in a group of young people fighting for the same goal — together, we learn with each other and from each other, and I couldn’t be an activist without those spaces.”
Stephanie, Free the Pill Youth Council
Policy Priorities
Our policy priorities around birth control access include changing regulations to require full insurance for birth control pills without a prescription; protecting and expanding Title X funding; and supporting federal legislation which expands birth control access.
El Rio Health Center
Advocates has worked with El Rio Health Center for the past seven years to design, test, evaluate and adapt a clinic-based, youth-driven, trauma-informed intervention. Almost twenty folks have received services through El Rio’s teen clinics since 2017. El Rio works increase the number of young people using community health clinics and accessing contraception while also providing jobs and training opportunities to young peer leaders
For Adult Allies
Contraceptive Access for Highly Vulnerable Youth
Advocates works in Atlanta, Tuscon, and D.C to design and test family planning service and delivery models that improve contraception usage by highly vulnerable youth.
In Atlanta, Advocates is working with refugee youth, in Tucson with youth who are in drug treatment or other government agencies, and in Washington DC, staff is working to improve pediatricians’ willingness and ability to provide contraceptives to the teens they serve. Staff provides resources, training, technical assistance and evaluation consultation to assess the impact of these models and their potential to be scaled. For more information contact [email protected]
Featured Resources
Join youth activists and youth allies working to create a world that is just, safe, and healthy for all.
Rights, Respect, Responsibility, a K-12th Grade Comprehensive Sexuality Education Curriculum.
This K-12 comprehensive sex education curriculum is fully mapped to the National Sexuality Education Standards, covers all 16 topics deemed essential by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is LGBTQ-inclusive, trauma informed and culturally responsive. Over 13,000 educators have downloaded 3Rs. 3Rs has been adapted for use in 13 states and more than 500 school districts across the country, reaching millions of young people with sex education that meets the National Sexuality Education Standards.
Virtual PD
Virtual PD is a simulated environment (classroom, health care exam room and office) where professionals can practice with youth avatars using short scenarios and support from an instructional coach, so they can quickly learn and master the skills they need to be effective.
AMAZE
Advocates for Youth is the lead partner on AMAZE, a YouTube channel and educational website filled with short, animated videos and other resources designed to provide adolescents around the globe with medically accurate, age-appropriate, affirming, and honest sex education they can access directly online—regardless of where they live or what school they attend. AMAZE has 300+ videos on topics such as contraception, menstruation, deciding when/if to have sex, building healthy relationships, mental health and anxiety, and more common topics around puberty.
Contraceptive Access Survey
More Campaigns
Check out our ongoing campaigns and learn some ways to take action in your community.
