Ontario Sex Ed Update! In an update on the Ontario, Canada sex ed curriculum revisions, which we brought to your attention in the January 20th Sex Ed Roundup, Premiere Kathleen Wynne held a press on January 26th to announce that the topic of consent has officially been included in the sex ed curriculum that will… Read more »
HuffPo’s Best and Worst in Sex List Another New Year, another “Best and Worst” list. But this is one we can get behind! Huffington Post ranked Louisiana State Rep. Patricia Smith’s quote, that “lack of sex education is ‘really a form of child abuse’” as the best Sex Ed moment of 2014. They argue that… Read more »
October is Sex Education Month! Let’s talk to our youth about sex and sexuality! Planned Parenthood has posted a bunch of great resources to help parents and guardians reach out to their kids during Let’s Talk Month. The Sex Ed Store is chock full of activities, curricula, and books to assist in having conversations as… Read more »
The REAL Act The Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2013 is heading to Congress in the coming months to support federal funding for medically accurate, comprehensive sexuality education. The Act was first proposed by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) in 2009, reintroduced in 2011, and again in February 2013…. Read more »
Sex vs Sexuality: Puberty and sexuality education all too often do not coincide. In Northern California, Kaiser Permanente offers a play to 6th graders called Nightmare on Puberty Street, which introduces them to the changes that occur to youngsters bodies during puberty. (As a personal aside, I’m not a fan of this name, as it’s… Read more »
Russia says no to sex education and yes to reading. Pavel Astakhov, left, Russia’s children’s ombudsman is just looking out for the chastity of Russian children. He says that everything young people need to know about sex and relationships is in the Russian classic literature like Chekhov, Tolstoy and Gogol. Despite Russia’s 1 million people living with… Read more »
Graphic: Guttmacher Institute New Mexico: For six years, the New Mexico Department of Health has rejected federal funding for abstinence-based sexuality education, saying it’s ineffective and biased. However, the DOH, in partnership with New Mexico State University, has recently accepted a nice sum of money to support an abstinence-based sexuality curriculum called Sex Can Wait. The curriculum will be offered as… Read more »
Sexual Climate: Janet Rosenzweig, MS, PhD, MPA discusses the characteristics of a healthy school’s sexual climate in this Healthy Kids page of Philly.com. In order for youth to grow up and be educated in a safe environment, it is essential to understand the importance of having a healthy “sexual climate.” Equally as essential is the ability of… Read more »
Tulsa, Oklahoma: Tulsa Public Schools is set to vote this coming Tuesday, September 10 on the expansion of their sex ed curriculum for 7th, 9th, and 11th graders in the district. If passed the comprehensive pregnancy prevention curriculum, Making Proud Choices! will begin this Fall and will require the consent of a parent or guardian. The classes… Read more »
Two students attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are encouraging conversations on their campus for sexual education and advocacy through their reinstatement of two student groups: Students for Choice, and Students Advocating Gender Equity (SAGE). Meredith Cain and Audrey Nance returned to campus feeling inspired after attending the Youth Organizing and Policy Conference in Washington, DC in July,… Read more »
Beijing, China: In 1979, the Chinese government instituted the one child policy, which remains today. According to the State Family Planning Commission’s Science and Technology Research Institute, more than 13 million abortions occur in China annually, and according to Durex, 9% of sexually active people under 25 know how to use a condom. Li Yinhe, a… Read more »
Great news! Effective January 1, 2014, all Illinois schools that choose to teach sexuality education will have to teach comprehensive sex education to their students, thanks to Democratic Governor Pat Quinn who is expected to sign House Bill 2675 into law in the coming weeks. This bill essentially bans abstinence-only curriculum from the classroom. Illinois is ranked 27th in the… Read more »
Robert E. CooperAttorney General Nashville, TN: The Tennessee Attorney General Office decided that state and county public health workers are exempt from a law enacted in 2012 that allows parents to sue teachers and workers for discussing family life matters that could be (mis)construed as “gateway sexual activities.” These activities include everything from touching thighs, breasts,… Read more »
President Obama’s new Judicial nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is Nina Pillard (left). Nina is known for her mostly unparalleled work to support women’s equality in the workplace, in education, and in her sexual autonomy– mostly unparalleled, because her career is extraordinarily similar to that of Justice… Read more »
