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RONALD BODI
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sex education


SEX EDUCATION
Substantial evidence of the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education has recently emerged. Comprehensive sex education addresses both abstinence and age-appropriate, medically accurate information about contraception. Comprehensive sex education is also developmentally appropriate, introducing information on relationships, decision-making, assertiveness, and skill building to resist social/peer pressure, depending on grade-level.

As part of welfare reform, Congress passed legislation in 1996 allocating $50 million in federal funds for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs—which censor information about contraception. Since then, despite no evidence of the effectiveness of these programs and Americans' opposition to federal funding for them, the government has dumped more and more taxpayer money into unrealistic and unproven abstinence-only programs.

General Facts

* Comprehensive Sex Education: Research and Results
* Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act
* Effective Sex Education
* The Truth About Abstinence-Only Programs
* Sex Education Programs: Definitions & Point-by-Point Comparison
* Characteristics of Effective Sex Education Programs
* Adolescent Sexual Health in Europe and the U.S.—Why the Difference?
* Condom Effectiveness

Support for Comprehensive Sex Education

Polls have shown that parents, teachers, health care professionals, and young people all support sex education that is comprehensive and provides information about abstinence as well as contraception and condoms.

* Americans Support Comprehensive Sex Ed
* American Medical Association's Recommendation for Good Sex Ed
* Speaking Out! Connecticut's Parents and Other Adults Want Comprehensive Sex Education in Schools

Advocates’ Position on Comprehensive Sex Education

Read what Advocates has to say about abstinence-only programs in op-eds, speeches, and public information campaigns.


January 19, 2010 | 5:22 AM Comments  0 comments

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DANGERS OF EARLY SEX

Traditionally, the dangers of early sex have been regarded as emotional and social. Certainly becoming involved in a sexual relationship and then losing that relationship can cause intense pain to a young, inexperienced adolescent. Getting pregnant at a young age and deciding to keep the baby can seriously threaten a young woman's health, and limit her future and that of her baby.

However, these days there is another great danger when young teens have sex. Most don't imagine that sexually transmitted disease could happen to them, and they don't adequately protect themselves.

Some of these diseases can be life-threatening. AIDS is a threat, and teens are identified as the next risk group for the 1990's. A more immediate threat, however, is infection with a virus that causes genital warts, and researchers are finding that this virus can also cause cervical cancer. The risks of this cancer are especially high for girls who begin having sex in their mid-teens. In fact, physicians are seeing more and more teenagers with pre-cancerous cervical changes.

Share these facts with your teen in a caring way today.

November 19, 2009 | 6:12 AM Comments  0 comments

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PUBIC AWARENESS

Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area, the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region.
Although fine vellus hair is present in the area in childhood, the term pubic hair is generally restricted to the heavier, longer and coarser hair that develops with puberty as an effect of rising levels of androgens. Pubic hair is therefore part of the androgenic hair.
Development of pubic hair


Female pubic hair


Male pubic hair
The development of pubic hair can be assessed using the Tanner scale. Before the onset of puberty, the genital area of both boys and girls has very fine vellus hair, referred to as Tanner stage 1 hair.[1] As puberty begins, the body produces rising levels of the sex hormones known as androgens, and in response the skin of the genital area begins to produce thicker and rougher, often curlier, hair with a faster growth rate.[2] The onset of pubic hair development is termed pubarche. The change for each hair follicle is relatively abrupt, but the extent of skin which grows androgenic hair gradually increases over several years.
In males, the first pubic hair appears as a few sparse hairs on the scrotum or at the upper base of the penis (stage 2). Within a year, hairs around the base of the penis are numerous (stage 3). Within 3 to 4 years, hair fills the pubic area (stage 4) and becomes much thicker and darker, and by 5 years extends to the near thighs and upwards on the abdomen toward the umbilicus (stage 5).[3]
Other areas of the skin are similarly, though slightly less, sensitive to androgens and androgenic hair typically appears somewhat later. In rough sequence of sensitivity to androgens and appearance of androgenic hair, are the armpits (axillae), perianal area, upper lip, preauricular areas (sideburns), periareolar areas (nipples), middle of the chest, neck under the chin, remainder of chest and beard area, limbs and shoulders, back, and buttocks.
Although generally considered part of the process of puberty, pubarche is distinct and independent of the process of maturation of the gonads that leads to sexual maturation and fertility. Pubic hair can develop from adrenal androgens alone, and can develop even when the ovaries or testes are defective and nonfunctional. See puberty for details.
There is little if any difference in the capacity of male and female bodies to grow hair in response to androgens. The obvious sex-dimorphic difference in hair distribution in men and women is primarily a result of differences in the levels of androgen reached as maturity occurs.
Pubic hair and axillary (armpit) hair can vary in color considerably from the hair of the scalp. In most people it is darker, although it can also be lighter. In most cases it is most similar in color to the eyebrows of the individual.[4] On some individuals, pubic hair is thick and/or coarse; on others it may be sparse and/or fine; these varieties may appear in either gender. Hair texture varies from tightly curled to entirely straight. Pubic hair patterns can also vary by race and ethnicity.
Patterns of pubic hair, known as the escutcheon, vary between the genders. On most women, the pubic patch is triangular and lies over the mons veneris, or mound of Venus. On many men, the pubic patch tapers upwards to a line of hair pointing towards the navel (see abdominal hair), roughly a more upward-pointing triangle.[4] As with axillary (armpit) hair, pubic hair is associated with a concentration of sebaceous glands in the area.
[edit] Function
Various theories concerning the function(s) of pubic hair include:
• warmth (primary)[5]
• visual indicator of sexual maturity[6]
• collection of secreted pheromones[7]
• reduction of external friction during sexual intercourse[8]
• since the pubic area is sensitive (as the head is) hair helps to protect said area[4]
• approximate indicator of exocrine pancreatic function[citation needed]
• predictor of superior pole fullness of the breasts[citation needed]
[edit] Culture
[edit] Art


Heinrich Aldegrever's Eve, 1540. A rare early example of pubic hair in northern European art.
In ancient Egyptian art, female pubic hair is indicated in the form of painted triangles.[9] In medieval and classical European art, it was very rarely depicted, and male pubic hair was often, but not always, omitted.[10] Sometimes it was portrayed in stylized form, as was the case with Greek graphic art.[11] The same was true in much Indian art, and in other Eastern portrayals of the nude. In 16th century southern Europe Michelangelo felt able to show the male David with stylized pubic hair, but female bodies remained hairless below the head. Nevertheless, Michelangelo’s male nudes on the Sistine chapel ceiling display no pubic hair. In Renaissance northern Europe, pubic hair was more likely to be portrayed than in the south, more usually male, but occasionally female.
By the 17th century, suggestions of female pubic hair appear in pornographic engravings, such as those by Agostino Carracci.[citation needed] By the late 18th century female pubic hair is openly portrayed in Japanese shunga (erotica), especially in the ukiyo-e tradition.[12] Hokusai's picture The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, depicting a woman having an erotic fantasy, is a well-known example. Fine art paintings and sculpture created before the 20th century in the Western tradition usually depicted women without pubic hair or a visible vulva.[citation needed]
According to John Ruskin's biographer Mary Lutyens, the notable author, artist, and art critic was apparently accustomed only to the hairless nudes portrayed unrealistically in art, never having seen a naked woman before his wedding night. He was allegedly so shocked by his discovery of his wife Effie's pubic hair that he rejected her, and the marriage was later legally annulled. He is supposed to have thought his wife was freakish and deformed.[13] Later writers have often followed Lutyens and repeated this version of events. For example Gene Weingarten in his book I'm with Stupid (2004) writes that "Ruskin had [the marriage] annulled because he was horrified to behold upon his bride a thatch of hair, rough and wild, similar to a man's. He thought her a monster."[14] However, there is no proof for this, and some disagree. Peter Fuller in his book Theoria: Art and the Absence of Grace writes, "It has been said that he was frightened on the wedding night by the sight of his wife's pubic hair; more probably, he was perturbed by her menstrual blood." Ruskin's biographers Tim Hilton and John Batchelor also believe that menstruation is the more likely explanation."[15]


Michelangelo's representation of David includes pubic hair.
Francisco Goya's The Nude Maja has been considered as probably the first European painting to show woman's pubic hair, though others had hinted at it. (Lucas Cranach's 'The Nymph of the Spring' c.1537, Washington National Gallery, has distinct pubic hair.) The painting was considered quite pornographic at the time.[16]
Gustave Courbet's L’Origine du monde (The Origin of the World, 1866), was considered scandalous because it showed the exposed female genitals in their totality with thick hair.
Examples of male pubic hair in contemporary art are harder to find.
In Japanese drawings, such as Hentai, pubic hair is often omitted, since for a long time the display of pubic hair was not legal. The interpretation of the law has since changed.
Ironically, pubic hair is also seen as something highly attractive in Japan. However, in many Middle Eastern and eastern European cultures, pubic hair is considered unclean, and for matters of both religion and/or good hygiene, women in those cultures have removed their pubic hair for centuries. Some examples of regions where this is typical are ancient Persia, Turkey, Albania, and in other cultures throughout the Mediterranean.
[edit] Modification
Trimming or completely removing pubic hair has become a custom in many cultures. In Islamic societies, for example, removing the pubic hair is a religiously endorsed practice.[17] A preference for hairless genitals is known as acomoclitism. The method of removing hair is called depilation (when removing only the hair above the skin) or epilation (when removing the entire hair). The trimming or removal of body hair by men has recently been popularly referred to as manscaping and has become more common in recent times.
It is unusual for pubic hair to be dyed or painted, except incidentally to bodypainting, but although concerns have been raised about the safety of using regular hair dye for this purpose, dye has been formulated so that women may match their pubic hair either to match the (dyed) hair on their heads, or in whimsical colours.[18]


Male with pubic hair completely removed.


Female with pubic hair completely removed.
Reasoning
Some arguments for modification of pubic hair have included:[19]
• fashion
• religion
• tradition
• sexual practice, such as for oral sex
• tactile sensation
• appearance
• hygiene
• discomfort, such as heat or itchiness
• to eliminate hairs that could be seen outside of underwear or a bathing suit bottom.
• personal taste
[edit] Style
The modification of pubic hair can also be considered a statement about one's style or personal lifestyle as can leaving it unmodified. The fashion designer Mary Quant was notably proud that her husband trimmed hers into a heart shape.[20]
Some styles include:[21]
• Natural/Bush[22]
no trimming and/or maintenance
• Trimmed
hair length is shortened but not removed or shaped
• Triangle
hair removed (generally waxed) from the sides to form a triangle so that pubic hair cannot be seen while wearing swimwear. This can range from the very edge of the "bikini line" to up to an inch reduction on either side. Hair length can be from an inch and a half to half an inch
• Landing strip
hair sharply removed from the sides to form a long centered vertical rectangle, hair length about quarter of an inch
• Toothbrush mustache
a shorter, square version of the landing strip
• Brazilian waxing/G-wax
pubic hair completely removed except for a very thin remnant, centered, narrow stripe above the vulva approximately an inch in height, and the hair length in the sub-centimeter range
• Full-Brazilian/Hollywood/Bare/Bald Beaver
Pubic hair completely removed (as defined by professional pubic stylist, Emma Boughey)
• Fauxhawk
hair is styled in Mohawk fashion without shaving the hair
• Mohawk
shaving the hair on the left and right, leaving the middle to be spiked
• Dyed hair
coloring pubic hair to match hair on the head or to give it a unique look (for example, red--in the shape of a heart)
• The Butch/The Bull
trimming all the hair very short except for a small perpetual long patch[23] (AKA rattail) resembling a popular hairstyle among lesbian women.
• Others
V-shaped,[24] heart-shaped, arrow, initials, etc. These are usually variations of the Brazilian/G-wax, where a design is formed of the pubic hair above completely bare vulva. A controversial Gucci commercial included female pubic hair shaved into a "G."[25]
[

Pubic hair of a Caucasian male
• Abdominal hair
• Bikini waxing
• Hair
• Hirsutism
• Merkin
• Puberty
• Underarm hair


November 19, 2009 | 6:04 AM Comments  0 comments

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LGBTQ IN KENYA
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Sections 162 to 165 of the Kenyan Penal Code criminalize homosexual behaviour and attempted homosexual behaviour between men, which is referred to as "carnal knowledge against the order of nature". The penalty is 5 to 14 years' imprisonment. The age of consent is 16. Lesbian relations are not prohibited in the law.[2]

In August 2006, a bill famously called "Njoki Ndungu bill" was published into law. The aim was to consolidate all the sexual offenses into one body. The bill was published into law in August, but did not change very much the previous sections of the penal code. As such it remains a criminal offense that is punishable by 14 years and five years in the case of attempt.

October 19, 2009 | 6:09 AM Comments  0 comments

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IS THIS OUR POLICY?

The National Youth Policy
The policy is a blue print for youth development initiatives. It contains the definitions, aspirations and vision of Kenyan youth. It recognizes youth as people between the ages of 15 and 30 years. It addresses itself to the main issues impinging on the youth and suggest logical solutions to these issues through its action plan. The policy further identifies itself with the priority target groups: among whom are youth at high risk, street youth, youth with disability, youth infected with HIV/AIDS, out of school youth, and female youth. Most importantly, the policy identifies the eight thematic areas of great concern to youth thus simply the complex process of youth emancipation.
Why the policy?
The policy itself comes in the face of myriad challenges facing the youth in Kenya; although the number of organizations dealing with youth issues has increased over the years, the lack of comprehensive policy makes it difficult for these groups to effectively address these challenges.
Challenges

• Unemployment and under employment;
• Health related problems;
• Increasing school and college drop-out rates;
• Crime and deviant behavior;
• Limited sports and recreation facilities;
• Abuse and exploitation;
• Limited participation and lack of opportunities;
• Limited and poor housing;
• Limited access to information and communication technology (ICT)
The Vision

The National Youth Policy visualizes a society where youth have an equal opportunity as citizens to realize their fullest potential, productively participating in economic, social, political, cultural and religious life without fear or favor.
The Goal
The overall goal of the policy is to promote youth participation in the democratic processes as well as in community and civil affairs, ensuring that youth programs involve them and are youth centered.
Implementation
Once adapted by parliament as a youth bill, there will be established a National Youth Council (NYC) that will ensure effective implementation of the NYP. The National Youth Council will also facilitate, co-ordinate, monitor, advocate and promote youth issues and youth led initiatives, under the ministry in charge.
The Institutional Framework will minimize duplicity and enhance efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery to the youth.
The council shall be managed by youth elected from all over the republic.


October 19, 2009 | 5:52 AM Comments  0 comments

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ACTION


Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The National Equality March, NYAC style
On the day of the National Equality March, October 11, 2009, NYAC came out with youth from across the country and DC volunteers to rally around queer youth, talk to folks about LGBTQ youth issues, and raise our visibility!

So many of the messages that the March was pushing included very important advocacy pieces- repealing DOMA, DADT, and increasing HIV/AIDS funding, but did not explicitly include LGBTQ youth-specific demands. LGBTQ and queer youth were in overwhelmingly high attendance and in the lead at the March, and we felt it important to include a message that addresses issues that are directly affecting young people and those who serve them.

In order to pressure Obama and Congress to pay attention to rights for queer youth and youth service agencies we were able to collect hundreds of signatures on the petition:

We, the undersigned, petition President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid to increase availability of federal funding to organizations and programs providing services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and intersex youth. The ongoing economic recovery efforts must include assistance to these organizations, which are providing vital services and facing severe financial hurdles, and in some cases, closure.

Now that the March has passed, it is time to keep the energy going and continue to make demands with our government! If you would like to join us in our message to Congress and Obama,

October 19, 2009 | 5:33 AM Comments  0 comments

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YOUTH CONSISTENCY
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

It is very common a practice to find groups of youth really engaged with each other on issues affecting their sexuality.
This is usually characterized by display of bravado on how well we do understand our sexuality and behaviour. Common practice reveals that youth are well educated in issues of reproductive health through in school and out of school training.
In fact so serious is the issues that during youth functions abstinence, faithfulness and condom use are commonly displayed as advocacy messages on t-shirts bill board and banners,
I recently had a discussion with pupils from a local school within my region; it was very interesting.
90% of them understood dangers of unprotected sex.
10% did not understand the importance of faithfulness as a means of protection against HIV/aids. Feeling proud of knowledge amongst youth I decided to focus my discussion to sexually active youth.
This was the genesis of my epitaph.60% of them had been engaged in sex at least once.
20% were regularly engaged in sex and 2% had unsuccessfully attempted sex. My group constituted pupils aged 13-14 years with 25male and 40female.are you surprised? Don’t be.
I continued with my discussion and this is the point I felt we need to share.

70% of all who had had sex never used a condom.
90% of all pupils who had used a condom used it the first time only and continued without.
98% of female sexually active never suggested contraceptives.

This scenario repeated it’s self with different FGDs later and perhaps formed the basis of my submission.
What are the levels of condom consistency amongst youth?
What is the right age to contraception amongst female?
What are the current levels of safe sex practice?
Who is the custodian of morality amongst youth?

With common characteristics within youth it is possibly a challenge and with probable need to restructure youth approach to behavior change and perhaps need to evaluate youth convincing on current sexuality approaches.

November 13, 2008 | 9:43 AM Comments  0 comments



AFTERMATH
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

It really took a tumble of nodes and relentlessness amongst youth in America to embrace change.
Finally elections are over and we watched to religiously as it all happened. It is important to acknowledge technology as apt solutions towards globalization.
I wish we Kenyans could borrow a leaf; I admit I was intrigued and applaud the American electoral system for efficiency and effectiveness.
It might seem so obvious to other countries to get results within few hours after casting votes but my brothers and sisters that was the Alfa of conflict in kenya.
Having closely followed politics of now president barrack Obama it draws me to a tethers position.
1. Youth precedence to world leadership decision making organs.
2. was the elections characterized by youth euphoria or advocacy
3. Where will youth shift their energies after campaign?

Probably with regards to common clichés of ``tomorrow’s leaders’’ it is important for the archaic and classical thinking politicians to embrace the fact that youth is basic bedrock in government formation.
Dynamics of representation in decision making bodies draw sooner than later. it is important to acknowledge the fact that WE YOUTH ARE HERE TO STAY.


November 11, 2008 | 8:02 AM Comments  0 comments



SENTRY ON YOUTH ADVOCACY
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Peer group advocacy, is one of the most important ways in which a young person can develop the skills of responsible adulthood. This is most especially the case with those who, for whatever the reason, are most vulnerable and excluded. One might include among this group those living with disabilities, those from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds, those from divided or dysfunctional families and those who find themselves culturally alienated or suffering from the debilitating effects of racism – both conscious and unconscious.
Unfortunately, however, though many pay lip-service to the potential value of advocacy, many adults continue to regard advocacy with, at best, ambivalence. The idea of young people taking control of any aspect of their own lives does not rest easy with those responsible for their care and upbringing. This despite an overwhelming body of research that indicates that the most successful programmes for the young have historically been those stimulated by the needs, desires and often rage and despair of young people themselves.
Part of the problem, of course, is the nature of the term ‘advocacy’. It is a term that is used in many disparate ways. Often it is associated with the stridency and antagonisms of political advocacy movements, whether animal rights or ‘right to life’ groups, environmentalists or field sports supporters. It is also no doubt linked with the adversarial nature of legal advocacy.
Yet social and health care advocacy out of which advocacy for young children and adolescents has emerged is none of these things. At its best, this form of advocacy is pro-active and conciliatory by nature, depending on the advocate’s awareness and understanding of the often conflicting needs and priorities involved in the provision of social care services and assessments of needs and risks. Above all, it is about giving people of low self esteem a strategy to achieve the ability to assess their own needs and successfully represent them in a manner that will achieve the optimum solution with a minimum of conflict. This means, of course, developing the skill to identify and understand the other person’s point of view because, unless this is understood by the advocate, conflict inevitably follows.
Understanding the other person’s point of view, of course, does not necessarily mean agreeing with it, but at least it creates a common ground in which the needs of the person advocating can negotiate ground rules and priorities that are acceptable to both parties.
At the heart of all forms of advocacy is the development of assertiveness skills and an awareness that advocacy cannot be practiced in a vacuum. In this respect it has to be acknowledged that the term ‘self-advocacy’ is slightly misleading, in that self-advocacy can only exist within the framework of a strong and organised peer group framework that can sustain individual and group support and the formation of ‘Speaking Up’ groups. It also has to be recognised that advocacy, as with assertiveness, is a learned activity – an invaluable learned skill. This is a lesson that has been hard-learned by those involved in the various forms of disability and social care advocacy. The shortage of skilled and experienced advocacy trainers has been one of the major impediments of the development of advocacy. This is especially true where advocacy as a recognised movement is in its infancy. In fact the most urgent problem articulated has not been, ‘who will provide the training?’, but, ‘who will train the trainers?’.
This question has a special resonance when discussing self-advocacy for the young, because it is a fact that advocacy training at its best is a peer group activity – in this case, the young training the young. Yet for this to happen there must be a strong cadre of young people who have themselves acquired the skills of advocacy and assertive behaviour and this, unfortunately, cannot be ‘learned’ by some process of osmosis. It is a process that can only be carried out as a group activity led, in the first instance at least, by a skilled facilitator who is most likely to be an adult – but an adult who is acceptable to and in empathy with the particular group.
Because we are talking about what is, after all, an educational activity, the ‘obvious’ solution would seem to have advocacy developed as a formal educational activity within the school/college system – an activity implemented and supervised by trained teachers. Yet experience elsewhere suggests that, although there is an absolute need for ‘personal development programmes’ being an integral part of formal education, advocacy training programmes invariably work better outside the formal education system and in locations removed from the school/college environment.
It appears to be a fundamental tenet in advocacy that the ‘service user’ (in this case young people peer training groups) work best when the service users are allowed to select both the time and place for their self advocacy awareness and development meetings – whether this is for formal training or for advocacy discussion and development. It has to be realised that ‘Youth’ is not, as many adults think, a homogenous group. In any community, adolescents will separate into groups according to their needs. Sometimes these groups will overlap – sometimes they will merge and sometimes conflict. Thus you might find that one group will want to place their place of development in a park; others in a private house, a youth club, a place of worship - the common denominator being access to a space where the group members feel comfortable, safe and empowered.
Self/peer group advocacy for adolescents may not be a complete panacea but experience has shown that, properly implemented, it can prove an invaluable tool for carers, educationalists, social care professionals and, above all, the kids themselves.

November 3, 2008 | 2:13 AM Comments  0 comments

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