Young Christians talk about contraception

Youth Gender and Pornography

Finding out what young people think of pornography, what they have viewed as pornography, how often the view pornography has been difficult. This of course means that we make assumptions about how young people are responding to the easily accessablre pornography of today. Perhaps our assumptions are wrong. Below is some interesting information from 'The Nordic Gender Institute NIKK

"Pornography turned out to be a well-known and actively debated phenomenon among Nordic young people, who cooperated willingly with the team of researchers concerning their own relationship to and attitudes toward pornography. Young people consume pornography in varying degrees, are familiar with various genres, and reveal themselves to be fairly reflective and critical in relation to what they see. At the same time, they point out that the consumption of pornography has become more standard, but that it continues to be viewed as more "normal" for boys than for girls. This is explained by saying, among other things, that pornography is after all produced by men and for men. In spite of the tendency toward normalisation, many things indicate that young people's approach to pornography is rather ambivalent. Among boys in particular, pornography works on the one hand as sexual inspiration in more private contexts, while at the same time it functions as a social rallying point, ridiculed and dismissed as containing exaggerated images of what sexuality really is in daily life. This ambivalence is not as marked among the study's girls, who, even when they are somewhat positively inclined toward pornography, express a critical stance toward it. "

Go here to read a bit more about thier research:

Here we go again!!

The following was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald on Nov 9th: If you want to read more go here.

"A FURORE has erupted over the content of a new national sex education package to be developed for Australian primary and high schools.
Sydney's Catholic schools head Dan White is warning against the planned national curriculum being used as a ''how-to guide'' for children to gain access to contraception and abortion clinics.
But NSW Teachers Federation president Bob Lipscombe said sex education in the 21st century should reflect the needs of young people and equip them with information to prepare them for adulthood.
Sex education and personal development would be taught in primary and secondary schools as part of the proposed Health and Physical Education National Curriculum."

Why is it that some groups, people, associations??? believe that providing young people with information and truth is a 'how to guide' for sex, contraception and abortion? I would think that we ALL want our young people to be SAFE. That we all want our young people to be INFORMED, that we all want our young people to be SUCCESSFUL. Well..... the longer young people delay thier first sexual experience the more likely they are to NOT have an unplanned pregnancy, NOT to contract an STI, and NOT to need a termination. You cant 'just say no'! Young people need to be able to know why they can say no if they want to. If we teach young people how to engage with each other in open and honest discourse in ALL fields maybe they will be better equipped to be safe and happy on all fronts. Including sexual health. Bring it out in the open. Sex isnt a secret!

Say NO - Unite to end violence against women

This site - Say No Unite has lots of great information from around the globe: There are links to "Actions Taken" that you can read about. There is a place for you to 'Start an Action' ( Maybe it's climbing Mt Kilimanjaro to raise awareness or Joining religions for peace etcetc).

Here is a blurb from this website:

"Up to 70 percent of women experience violence from men in their lifetime. Let us count you in to make a difference. Say NO – UNiTE. Take action NOW to end violence against women!

Say NO records what individuals, organizations and governments worldwide are doing to end violence against women. The initial goal is to reach 100,000 actions by March and 1 million actions by November 2010. Whether you volunteer at a shelter, donate, reach out to students or advocate for better policies – every action counts. Let us count you in. Your voice matters. Tell governments that you want them to make ending violence against women a top priority. More than 5 million people already signed on to Say NO.

Add your name to this powerful call to take one action now and stay informed."

New Youth Card

This is SHineSA new youth card with ALL the info a person needs to get in touch with shine.

If you want to order some give SHineSA a call on 08 8300 5300

OR email on info@shinesa.org.au OR just go to the website here and order via the online form. It's easy.

Lets get this information OUT THERE

Admit it. You are sexually active.

This is a great site to hear some information and discuss sexual health: Above is just ON#E of thier videos and discussions. Go for it! CLICK HERE

Walk for Aids: November 22

IF YOU ARE IN ADELAIDE:






Did you know about this walk? Sunday November 22:






Get out there and join in. Lets hope its a good turn out.





Go here for more information and rego forms.

THIS is why we should talk about this stuff

Have a look at this article from Medical News Today: Need I say more??

Teen Girls Diagnosed With STI More Likely To Tell And Seek Treatment For Partners After Watching Video

So... SHineSA has lots of videos and resources iof you want to get started doing some basic EDUCATION: Give us a call or email on :

General enquiriesTel: (08) 8300 5300Email: info@shinesa.org.au

STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

White Ribbon day is November 25th.

This is the Intenational Day for the Ellimination of Violence Against Women.

There are lots of things that you can do to get involved. Maybe download the document: 'Assault on our Future - The impact of violence on young people and their relationships' by Michael Flood and Lara fergus.( It is on the website).

You could just go on and send a white ribbon e card to someone to help raise awareness. OR you could organise an event. This year White Ribbon Day is also in national Youth Week so it could be a timely way to get young people involved.After all it is the young peope that can STOP this now.

Go to the white ribbon day website here to have a good look around.

Universal access to comprehensive sexual health education

The following is taken from the World Association for Sexual Health ( WAS) website. This is a great site for looking at the issue of sexual health from a global perspective. well worth a look. Of course as a sexual health and relationships educator this has my full support.

The World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) in its Declaration of Sexual Health for the Millennium considers comprehensive sexuality education as one of the foundations on which sexual health and general well‐being are built.
WAS proposes that to achieve universal access to comprehensive education the following actions are necessary:

• Mandate comprehensive, rights‐based, gender sensitive, and culturally appropriate sexuality education as a required component of schools’ curricula at all levels, and that the required resources be provided.

• Work with community agencies to reach out‐of‐school youth and other high risk populations with comprehensive sexuality education.

• Issue guidelines to ensure that sexuality education programs and services are grounded in the principle of fully informed, autonomous decision‐making.

• Ensure that sexuality education programs are evidence‐based and include the characteristics that have been shown to contribute to effectiveness. This should be done in a way that allows for creativity, and considers community specific needs in the development and evaluation of innovative programs.