using the voki program

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This avatar program is free

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I can see lots of applications for providing sexual health (and other) information in a non threatening way. What do you think?

Go to the 'get a voki now' link and try it out.

All questions are good questions

This question from sexploration reminded me that all questions are good questions when it comes to sexual health. Thank goodness this person had someone, somewhere to ask this. Far to often we are embarrassed or shamed about our own bodies. Lets get a bit freer with our hang ups - lets support young people to question.

Q: The last time I had an orgasm, I got hives right after we were done and they went away in about five minutes. Is that called a “sex flush”? When I brought it up to my ob-gyn she didn’t seem too concerned.
A: You probably did not have hives. According to the National Institutes of Health, hives, or urticaria, are usually raised, reddish welts that often itch and do not typically go away after just a few minutes.
Hives can be caused by allergies, and medical literature documents semen allergies, though these are thought to be rare. One can also have allergies to latex, some oils and a few other accoutrements that you may have handy around your bed.
But since the reaction was very short-lived, you probably did have a sex flush caused by blood rushing toward the surface of your skin, your clitoris, your chest. This can be especially pronounced in light-skinned people and those who blush easily.
If you become uncomfortable from this reaction, or it worsens with time, consult another doctor.

How much do you know about working with a hetero person and HIV

A fact sheet for health professionals has been developed from a study called the 'straightpoz study'. Men and Women living heterosexually with HIV.

This has fantastic information for us as workers. I recommend having a look. It includes such things as:
Who are HIV positive straight people?
Whats important to knopw about this client group?
What does my client need to know?
What can I give my client NOW?

Also if you want hard copies of the fact sheet I am told they will be sent to you. (I presume only in Australia)
You can obtain them from: (the following was sent to me in a forwarded email)
Asha Persson at the National Centre in HIV Social Research. Please place your order viaemail to Asha Persson by the 1st of February 2008. All orders will be processed on this date. Please specify number of requested copies. Kind regards, Asha Persson, PhDResearch AssociateNational Centre in HIV Social Research
Robert Webster Building University of New South Wales
Kensington NSW 2052
Phone: (02) 9385 6414
Fax: (02) 9385 6455
Email: a.persson@unsw.edu.au

Ever wonder who you support? Anti abortion/homophobia

The following is taken from crikey.com.au

Borders passes the hat for anti-gay, pro-life charity

Crikey intern Alesha Capone writes:

Employees of the bookseller's chain Borders are expressing concern that they were required to promote a Christian charity which is allegedly anti-gay and pro-life.
Gloria Jean's coffee shops are located inside several Borders' stores. Last month, Borders' employees were asked to page customers, every hour, about the coffee emporium's 'Cappuccino for a Cause' day in which 10 cents from every Gloria Jean's cappuccino was donated to the charity Mercy Ministries. Mercy Ministries helps young girls and women with eating disorders, unplanned pregnancies and mental health issues. It was launched in Australia by Darlene Zschech, who is a worship leader at Sydney's Hillsong Church. The managing director of Gloria Jean's, Peter Irvine, is also the executive director of Mercy Ministries. He is also a member of the Hillsong Church. Mr Irvine's co-founder and partner in Gloria Jean's, Nabi Saleh, sits on the church's board of directors. So the part-owner of Gloria Jean's was using his businesses to raise money for a charity he is affiliated with. Well as long as Mercy Ministries does good work, is there really a problem? Perhaps Borders might be interested in digging into Mercy Ministries' background before they plug it over the PA.
Mercy Ministries' website says:
A young woman who is pregnant will attend a basic decision making course which equips her to make an informed decision about the future of her and her baby... our staff will assist a pregnant resident who chooses to parent her baby in making an individualised plan that will prepare her to effectively parent in a safe environment. Young women who choose to place their child for adoption or alternative care return to Mercy Ministries to complete the program.
In other words, although it isn't spelled out, abortion doesn't seem to be offered to the girls as an option.On the anti-gay front, the founder of the charity, American Nancy Alcorn said in 2005, that the church counsels girls to help overcome homosexuality:
We do have girls who have a history of lesbianism, and that's definitely an issue that we deal with... We are cautious to make sure that we're not putting them in an area where there's going be more struggle or temptation because this is a girls' home. In dealing with it in counselling, they have been able to walk in freedom from that.
Although there is no suggestion the Australian Mercy Ministries' groups run this kind of diversion program, a social worker who grew up in Hillsong Church and wrote a book about her experiences, Tanya Levin, says Mercy Ministries is, "... completely anti-gay and completely pro-life. That's why it was established." Ms Levin says she has seen an application form the charity sends to girls who wish to be admitted to its treatment program. She says the application asks if the girls have "ever been involved in witchcraft or lesbianism". She says the girls who receive treatment Mercy Ministries' in-patient program have to attend three Hillsong masses a week and sit in a "special section, where everyone points to them and says, 'Look at the Ministry girls, aren't they special and blossoming into a life like Jesus'," Ms Levin said. While growing up in Hillsong, she said the Church wasn't overtly homophobic, but referred to same-sex attraction as "a lifestyle we wouldn't agree with". Borders was approached for a comment but did not respond before Crikey's deadline.


http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20071114-Borders-between-charity-and-Hillsong-church-thin-.html

Transactional nature of sex

I came across this paragraph while reading some reseach about young people in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Maganja RK, Maman S, Groues A, et al. AIDS Care 2007;19(8).
and it started me thinking about the tranactional process that we and our youth engage in WITHIN relationships. Not only that but there seem to be STRONG gender roles working here etc - Boys will provide material support - girls will provide sex. Not much different than going to a movie on a date, or going out to dinner, or to a party etc etc. What are your thoughts.

"Youth described the exchange of sex for money or other material goods in all types of sexual relationships. While the exchange was explicit in casual relationships, young women voiced material and monetary expectations from their committed partners as well. Young men described their pursuit of multiple partners as sexually motivated, while women sought multiple partners for economic reasons. Young men were aware of the expectations of material support from partners, and acknowledged that their ability to provide for a partner affected both the longevity and exclusivity of their relationships. Youth described a deep mistrust of the motivations and commitment of their sexual partners. Furthermore, young women's financial dependence on men affected their ability to negotiate safe sexual behaviors in both casual and committed relationships. Programs designed to reduce HIV risk among Tanzanian youth need to take into account the transactional component of sexual relationships and how such exchanges differ according to partner type."

2008 SE&X course

The dates have just been released for the 2008 SE&X course:

So if you (or someone you know) would benefit from learning about the sexual health issues facing our young people (things like prevelence and transmissions of STIs - effects of racism on sexual health, power and gender, AND how to teach young people about these things) then PLEASE go here (http://www.shinesa.org.au/go/courses-and-workshops/youth-worker-courses/course-details)

to find out more or to download an enrollment form. Frances and I hope to see you there.

Lud

OPENING DOORS WITH YOUNG PEOPLE 4 KEYS

This is a fantastic resource and provides lots of information applicable to those of us working with young people. Have a look HERE after reading the extract from the executive summary below.

The case for investing in young people now is more than clear. Almost 1.5 billion people in the world today are between 10 and 25 years old. More than half of all youth--about 525 million people--survive on less than $2 a day. More than 100 million adolescents do not
attend school. Fifteen million adolescent girls become mothers every year. Among mothers under age 20, infant mortality rates average 100 deaths per 1,000 live births; among mothers aged 20-29 and 30-39, the rate is 72-74 deaths per 1,000 live births. Six thousand
young people are infected with HIV everyday; most of them are girls in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia1. Ratios of new female-to-male infections among young people between ages 15-24 run as high as 8:1 in South Africa. These are not just numbers. These are the realities of
young people at the crossroads. The gap between the MDG targets and the current state of affairs for young people leaves no time for questions. It is time for action.

RESPONDING TO EVERY DAY BIGOTRY

I was sent this link via email. If you havent looked at this site it is quite good

RESPONDING TO EVERYDAY BIGOTRY

Your brother routinely makes anti-Semitic comments. Your neighbor uses the N-word in casual conversation. Your co-worker ribs you about your Italian surname, asking if you’re in the mafia. Your classmate insults something by saying, "That’s so gay."
And you stand there, in silence, thinking, "What can I say in response to that?" Or you laugh along, uncomfortably. Or, frustrated or angry, you walk away without saying anything, thinking later, "I should have said something."
No agency or organization counts or tracks these moments. They don’t qualify as hate crimes, and they rarely make news. That’s part of their insidious nature; they happen so often we simply accept them as part of life. Left unchecked, like litter or weeds, they blight the landscape.
In the making of this book, the Southern Poverty Law Center gathered hundreds of stories of everyday bigotry from people across the United States. They told their stories through email, personal interviews and at roundtable discussions in four cities: Baltimore, Md.; Columbia, S.C.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Vancouver, Wash.
People spoke about encounters in stores and restaurants, on streets and in schools. They spoke about family, friends, classmates and co-workers. They told us what they did or didn’t say — and what they wished they did or didn’t say.
We present the stories here anecdotally, organized by the following categories: among family; among friends and neighbors; at work; at school; and in public. Yet no matter the location or relationship, the stories echo each other.
When a Native American man at one roundtable discussion spoke of feeling ostracized at work, a Jewish woman nodded in support. When an African American woman told of daily indignities of racism at school, a white man leaned forward and asked what he could do to help. When an elderly lesbian spoke of finally feeling brave enough to wear a rainbow pin in public, those around the table applauded her courage.

Website update girl2girl

Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT has recently updated the safer sex website,
girl2girl.info.
http://www.girl2girl.info/ is developed for and by women who have sex with women and provides accurate and accessible information, including:
What is safer sex and why bother having it?
Staying safe emotionally before,during and after sex;
Relevant STI and risk reduction info;
Frequently asked questions;And much more!

girl2girl is proudly produced by Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT Inc with the assistance of the Australian Lesbian Medical Association/ACON Grants Scheme.