Virginia Coalition for Sex Ed Reform

LAST CALL to SHARE and/or SIGN UP for our Student Health, Safety, and Inclusion Lobby Day this Friday 1/13/22 in Richmond!

Our children's safety and well-being are at stake this year's Virginia Legislative Session which has hit the ground running. We need to HOLD THE LINE on all the progress Virginia has made. If we don't, our children could be in harms way. Don't wait, SHARE and/or SIGN UP for our Rapid Response Team's defense today!

**See the bio link for more info and sign up. Carpooling availability not guaranteed.**

ATTN LGBTQ+ ADVOCATES & ALLIES:
Young q***r and trans people are facing attacks on our bodily autonomy and rights all across the country. On March 24th, we’re taking action for the Equality Act, a vital piece of legislation that would ban LGBTQ discrimination nationwide. National Youth Call-In Day will only take about 30 minutes, and there will also be LGBTQ trivia with a chance to win prizes like Airpods and items from the Body Shop. Hope to see you there!

Today we observe National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day to shed light on how HIV & AIDS have impacted women, including trans women. This year's theme for NWGHAAD is "Prevention and Testing at Every Age. Care and Treatment at Every Stage".
According to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (https://www.hiv.gov/.../national-hiv-aids-strategy-2022-2025), 14% of transgender women have HIV. Of that, "44% of Black transgender women, 26% of Latina transgender women, and 7% of White transgender women have HIV". Despite recent decreases, black cisgender women make up 53% of all new HIV infections in the US.

We are clearly not doing enough to ensure that ALL women have equitable access to the prevention, treatment, and information they need to live healthy and safe.
One step we can take is to spread the word on the power of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for women. This HIV prevention medication can change lives and help women everywhere take control of their health by reducing their risk of contracting HIV by 99% when taken as prescribed. Let's make HIV history!

Use link in our bio to learn more!

Today we observe National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day to shed light on how HIV & AIDS have impacted women, including trans women. This year's theme for NWGHAAD is "Prevention and Testing at Every Age. Care and Treatment at Every Stage".

According to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (https://www.hiv.gov/federal-response/national-hiv-aids-strategy/national-hiv-aids-strategy-2022-2025), 14% of transgender women have HIV. Of that, "44% of Black transgender women, 26% of Latina transgender women, and 7% of White transgender women have HIV". Despite recent decreases, black cisgender women make up 53% of all new HIV infections in the US.

We are clearly not doing enough to ensure that ALL women have equitable access to the prevention, treatment, and information they need to live healthy and safe.

One step we can take is to spread the word on the power of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for women. This HIV prevention medication can change lives and help women everywhere take control of their health by reducing their risk of contracting HIV by 99% when taken as prescribed. Let's make HIV history!

LEARN MORE:
- http://womenshealth.gov/nwghaad/every-woman
- https://www.cdc.gov/stophivtogether/sheiswell/index.html

We need your help to stop HB 156! This Bill will make family life education (aka s*x & relationships education) offered by Health Department staff and contractors “opt-in”. Meaning youth under 18 would need consent from their parents before being able to receive health education that is critical for their wellbeing limiting their access to life-saving information. Not only that but it is costly and a logistical nightmare.

Click the link and repost to stop HB 156! https://bit.ly/stopHB156

Share your story about what your s*x ed (aka "Family Life Education") was like in the comments! Neighbors and legislators need to hear the real stories from the people affected. Our FLE is hurting our communities!

Siecus: S*x Ed for Social Change Educate US *xEdForAll *xEdWeekOfAction

We’re joining SIECUS and s*x ed advocates across the country for the S*x Ed Week Of Action! Here in Virginia our s*x ed is failing our children with 29% of school districts teaching abstinence-only and that's just the tip of the ice burg! Our kids deserve open, honest, complete, and inclusive Family Life Education. Our kids deserve better!

See the Dept of Education FLE report: www.vacser.org/vdoe-fle-report
*xEdforAll *xEdWeekOfAction Siecus: S*x Ed for Social Change, Educate US

"A great go-to response is 'That's a great question' [...] [it] reassures a child that their curiosities are always welcomed [...]" - Melissa Pinto Carnagey, S*x Positive Families

Absolutely! We need open and honest s*x ed in schools and at home. Thank you Melissa and to the so many educators helping parents build bridges with their kids. Talking about s*x & relationships with one's own child can be challenging. We need to help our parents help our children! *xed

Melissa (she/they), is a Black and Latinx Austin,Texas-based s*xuality educator and licensed social worker who believes that all children deserve holistic, comprehensive, and shame-free s*xuality education, that is why she launched S*x Positive Families in the Summer of 2017.

Since then she has been helping families navigate s*xuality conversation so they raise children that are affirmed, informed, empowered, and have the knowledge about s*xuality that leads to the healthiest life outcomes. Melissa is confident that the work starts in homes with families and caregivers.