The Source: Volume 8, Issue 5, June/July 2005

The Source: Volume 8, Issue 5, June/July 2005

NEW ADVOCACY RESOURCE

SIECUS has been advocating for sound policies and programs relating to sexuality education for over 40 years. We understand that this is not always an easy task. The Community Action Kit is designed to serve as a tool for all advocates whether they are students, parents, teachers, school administrators, health professionals, youth-serving professionals, policymakers, or concerned community members. The Community Action Kit provides advocates with the tools they need to become knowledgeable about sexuality education, build support in their state or community, work to implement sound policies, and institute or defend an effective comprehensive sexuality education program. It contains the following:

background information on sexuality education
summaries of the latest research
descriptions of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and funding
responses to common myths
tips for working with school boards, policymakers, and the media
facts about opponents of comprehensive sexuality education.

Web visitors can download the entire kit free of charge or just print the pieces they need. Visit http://www.communityactionkit.org.

NEW BOOKS

Our Bodies, Ourselves: A New Edition for a New Era
The Boston Women's Health Book Collective
The eighth edition of the classic women's health resource has been fully revised for the first time in ten years and includes updated information on nutrition and exercise; relationships, sexuality, and sexual health; complementary health practices; reproductive choices, pregnancy, and childbearing; growing older; and medical testing and procedures. The latest edition also includes a companion website, http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/default.asp, where readers can find book excerpts, unique content, links, resources, and news. More than four million copies of Our Bodies, Ourselves have been sold, and it has been translated and/or adapted into more than 18 languages.
2005; $24.95; ISBN 0743256115; Simon & Schuster; http://www.simonsays.com.

Reality Check: Myths, Mistakes and Misnomers About Teenage Sexuality
Get Real About Teen Pregnancy Campaign
This compilation of essays authored by respected researchers, health educators, physicians, and youth advocates challenges America's policymakers, parents, educators, and health providers to reassess their attitudes and assumptions about teenage sexuality and pregnancy prevention. Contributors includes David Satcher, M.D., former U.S. Surgeon General; Sarah Brown, Director, National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy; Claire Brindis, Dr.P.H., Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy, UC San Francisco; Susan Philliber, Ph.D., Philliber Research Associates; Douglas Kirby, Ph.D., ETR Associates; and Hector Sanchez-Flores, Senior Research Associate, Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy, UC San Francisco. Additional authors include teen peer counselors, medical doctors, and youth advocates. Reality Check will be provided free of charge by the Get Real About Teen Pregnancy program to each member of California's state legislature and congressional delegation, as well as to health policymakers and youth advocates across the country.
2004; ISBN 1413466664; Get Real About Teen Pregnancy Campaign; http://www.letsgetreal.org.

The Politics of Lust
John Ince
This book examines the conventional wisdom that our contemporary culture is sex-positive and finds hidden sexual anxiety and "erotophobia" operating in all institutions including the family, schools, government, and the media. It explores the origins and consequences of our negative attitudes toward eroticism by looking at such issues as nudity, masturbation, sex education, sex toys, erotic art, homosexuality, and many other "taboo" topics.
2005; $16; ISBN 1591022789; Prometheus Books; http://www.prometheusbooks.com.

NEW CURRICULA

Peer to Peer: Creating Successful Peer Education Programs
International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
This guide describes the necessary steps to plan, implement, and evaluate a program to train youth to teach their peers about sexual and reproductive health. It contains adaptable tools to support program activities, as well as examples of sexual and reproductive health projects from IPPF member associations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The guide includes tools for planning a peer education program, recruiting and training peer educators, and implementing, monitoring and evaluating the program.
2004; Available for free online; International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF); http://www.ippfwhr.org.

NEW REPORTS

A Future with Promise: A Chartbook on Latino Adolescent Reproductive Health
The Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy
This monograph addresses the reproductive health profile of Latino youth living in U.S. including population, immigrant generation, families, health care access, education, sexual behavior, income, and STIs and HIV/AIDS. The complete report can be downloaded in PDF format from the Center for Reproductive Health Research' s website.
2005; Available for free online; The Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy; http://crhrp.ucsf.edu.

Playing Catch-Up: How Children Born to Teen Mothers Fare
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
Produced in partnership with Child Trends, this report examines how children of teen mothers fare on such measures as math and reading scores, language and communication skills, social skill and physical and emotional well-being. The paper concludes that children born to mothers ages 17 and younger perform worse on 19 of 26 measures when compared to mothers ages 20 and over. When taking into account such background characteristics as mother's marital status, family structure, and family socioeconomic status, the effects of the mother's age diminishes but remains important.
2005; $10 or free online; The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy; http://www.teenpregnancy.org.

Beijing Betrayed
Women's Environment and Development Organization
This report is the fifth global monitoring report published by the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) assessing governments' progress in implementing the commitments they made to the world's women at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995. It brings together the diverse voices of women in some 150 countries to influence the United Nations 10 Year Review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This report presents women's concerns, experiences, perspectives, and analyses of the implementation process and contrasts sharply with the more formal and often abstract reports governments have presented. An executive summary is available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and the complete report can be downloaded in PDF format from the Women's Environment and Development Organization's website.
2005; Available for free online; Women's Environment and Development Organization; http://www.wedo.org.

NEW VIDEOS

3 girls I know…
Paula Mozen/No Excuses Productions
This documentary film focuses on the lives of three young women from San Francisco, Baltimore, and Bozeman, Montana. They share their true stories about the adolescent challenges they overcome as they deal with relationships, sexuality, teen pregnancy, lesbianism, and HIV/AIDS. Each girl discusses her own decisions and the real lessons and consequences of her actions. A seven page, full-color study guide is available on the film's website and is appropriate for high school and undergraduate classrooms.
2004; Purchasing and rental prices vary; 54 minutes, VHS or DVD; Media Library/No Excuses Productions; http://www.3girlsiknow.com.

EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

The Centre For Human Relations & Community Studies and Concordia University Occasional Programs in Professional Human Relations Practice will be sponsoring a Sexual Attitudes Reassessment (SAR), September 16 -18, 2005, at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The SAR is a process-oriented, structured group experience to promote participants' awareness of their attitudes and values related to sexuality. Shirley Walker, M.Ed, and Stephanie Mitelman, CCFE, CSE, will lead this workshop which will assist participants in understanding how these attitudes and values affect them professionally and personally. Professionals and students in the field of human relations or sexuality, including counselors, therapists, social workers, child care workers, nurses, teachers, sexuality and family life educators, are invited to participate. Registration must be made in advance and participation is limited. The fee to attend is $450 ($350 for students) and includes all materials used in the three-day workshop. Note: This is not a course for academic credit, but participants will receive a certificate of completion for professional recognition and certification.

For more information:

Stephanie Mitelman
Phone: 514/983-9600
Email: info@sexpressions.ca

CONFERENCES

The National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault's (SCESA) 2005 Women of Color Leadership Institute, Building Community for Learning and Sharing, is scheduled for June 28-July 1, 2005, at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This conference provides opportunities for women of color activists in the anti-sexual assault movement to strengthen and enhance their ability to be effective change agents in addressing sexual assault and its related issues. Registration fees are available at http://www.sisterslead.org.

For more information:

National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA)
P.O. Box 625
Canton, CT 06019
Phone: (860) 693-2031
Email: sistersl@sisterslead.org
Website: http://www.sisterslead.org

The 17th World Congress of Sexology, Unity in Diversity, is scheduled for July 10-15, 2005, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This conference is an international gathering to address sexual health challenges around the world. During the convention, the World Association of Sexology plans to develop a historic Declaration that will clearly enunciate goals for the achievement of sexual health in the future. This year's conference will also include a scientific program, social events, paper and poster presentations, workshops, focused symposia, and speeches by over 30 of the best scholars in sexology from different disciplines. Registration fees are available at http://www.montrealsexo.com.

For more information:

Congress Secretariat
XVII World Congress of Sexology, c/o Opus 3 Inc.
417 Saint-Pierre Street, Suite 203
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Phone: 514/395-1808
Fax: 514/395-1801
Email: info@montrealsexo.com
Website: http://www.montrealsexo.com

The Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence's conference, From the Edge to the Center - Connecting with Underrepresented Populations, is scheduled for August 1-4, 2005, in Pendleton, Oregon at the Pendleton Convention Center. The program consists of general sessions, workshops, and keynote sessions. Featured presenters include Dr. Sujata Warrier, director of the New York City Program of the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, as well as noted author Dr. Carolyn West. Registration fees are available at http://www.ocadsv.com.

For more information:

Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (OCADSV)
380 Spokane Street
Suite 100
Portland, OR 97202
Phone: 503/230-1951
Fax: 503/230-1973
Website: http://www.ocadsv.com