Intersections: Broadening Sex Education to Include Everyone
Published 5/26/2021 · 0 Comments
Our Intersections series highlights NEAT's work on issues that aren't always labeled as LGBTQ+ topics. These concerns affect everyone, yet they often land hardest on LGBTQ+ people. Take a look at the full range of issues we address.
NEAT Backs the Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act (REAHYA)
This month NEAT was one of more than 100 organizations to endorse the Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act, and we sent a letter to Congress calling on lawmakers to pass it. The bill was introduced in both chambers with strong co-sponsor backing as H.R. 3312 in the House and S. 1689 in the Senate.
If passed, REAHYA would:
- Work to narrow the sex education gap across the country, where only 29 states plus the District of Columbia mandate any form of sex education for young people.
- Create the first federal grants for comprehensive sex education and stop funding harmful Title V abstinence-only programs. These grants would support programs in high schools, colleges, and community organizations that advance students' sexual health and agency. Recipients would be required to promote gender equity and deliver instruction inclusive of young people across gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), who introduced the Senate version, explained in a press release why the bill matters to him and the nation. "By giving young people the tools to make informed, responsible, and healthy decisions, we can positively impact the health of all Americans and limit health disparities. The Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act will ensure that our young people have access to both sex education and sexual health services and are empowered to make healthy, informed decisions throughout their lives," Senator Booker says in support of the Act.
Read the Endorsement Letter View H.R. 3312 View S. 1689 Read the Press Release
Sex Education and the LGBTQ+ Community
The connection between inclusive sex education and LGBTQ+ equality is clear. Several studies document the harm of denying young people sex education, including research from the University of Southern California's School of Nursing linking the absence of education to rising sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned births.
For LGBTQ+ people in particular, a Forbes article from last year explains that sex education which leaves out the LGBTQ+ community leads to worse health outcomes. It also notes that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, LGBTQ+ youth face greater sexual health risks than their peers due to weak sex education policies. Specifically:
- In 2018, gay and bisexual men aged 13 to 24 accounted for 25% of new HIV diagnoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths are twice as likely to become pregnant or to cause a pregnancy, according to a study of New York City high school students.
- LGBTQ+ students also experience higher rates of STIs, and transgender students in particular are more likely to report sexual risk behaviors and HIV testing, according to the CDC.
USC Nursing Study Forbes Article CDC HIV Data Reuters Pregnancy Study GLSEN Report CDC Youth Disparities
Spotlight of the Month: Lisa Danz (CA)
Published 5/25/2021 · 0 Comments
Spotlight honors the NEAT supporters whose efforts are the backbone of our everyday fight for LGBTQ+ justice.
NAME: Lisa Danz · PRONOUNS: She/Her/Hers · AGE: 33 · LOCATION: Fremont, CA
Tell us about yourself outside of NEAT volunteering
I'm deeply committed to tackling climate change and advancing social justice. Beyond NEAT, I volunteer with Citizens' Climate Lobby (working to pass the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act), Communities for a Better Environment (environmental justice), Fremont for Everyone (housing and homelessness), and Engage Fremont (education justice). I work as a software engineer and have so far always worked for companies focused on climate solutions. I speak decent Spanish, which sometimes helps when phone banking, and I'm studying Mandarin Chinese.
What's your connection to LGBTQ+ justice work?
I joined my high school's GSA before I even knew I was queer. I don't quite remember why; I just felt it mattered. I realized I was pan while still in high school, though I think I used the term "bi" more at the time. During high school, I got an email saying Sylvia Guerrero, mother of Gwen Araujo, who was murdered for being transgender, was on a speaking tour. Our GSA contacted her agent, and she came to speak at a well-attended assembly at our school.
These days my main direct volunteering for LGBTQ equality is phone banking with NEAT, though many of my other activities connect to it. For example, LGBTQ issues and climate change intersect: LGBTQ people are more likely to be unhoused, especially as a share of unhoused youth. Because many shelters are religious-based and some denominations still discriminate against our community, it can be harder for our people to find suitable shelter. And of course, climate impacts like extreme heat and extreme weather hit people without shelter access harder.
What is your volunteer role at NEAT? What inspired you to get involved?
I phone bank for NEAT. I got involved after the 2016 election, which was deeply painful and made me want to do something, anything, to help. An email from one of the partner organizations invited me to phone bank with NEAT, and I thought it was a one-time thing, but then Brian called me afterward and convinced me to start volunteering regularly.
Share a memory from volunteering that sticks out
A few years ago, when Brian was traveling to San Francisco, we arranged a time for Brian, Hannah, and me to phone bank together in person. It was fun to make an in-person connection after so much remote collaboration.
What would you say to anyone considering volunteering with NEAT?
Just try it! They'll train you and support you, and if you keep coming back, NEAT starts to feel like a family.
Be You Events Connect Latinx, API and T/GNC Communities to the Equality Act
Published 5/20/2021 · 0 Comments
Alongside co-sponsors such as The National Equality Task Force, Trans Family Support Services, National Black Justice Coalition and many others, NEAT is hosting a series of events through the #EqualityTime coalition to teach participants about the Equality Act and how they can help it pass.
Launched on May 6 with an event aimed at the Latinx community and information on how the Equality Act will help them thrive at work, school, and in their communities, the next event in the series will be held on Tuesday, May 25, focused on the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community and the Equality Act. Guests are invited to join NEAT and our coalition partners for a night of fun, facts and action while learning more about the Equality Act! The Equality Act is a proposed law that would add LGBTQ+ protections to current civil rights laws, as well as improve protections for people of color, women and people of faith! The first hour features a panel of leaders and advocates from our community exploring how updating federal nondiscrimination protections will impact and improve our lives and those in our communities. The second hour focuses on resources for participants to take actions that will help them advocate for the passage of the Equality Act.
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From inclusive sex education to the Equality Act and our monthly volunteer spotlights, the NEAT blog follows the advocacy work our supporters make possible. Each post links to the organizations and resources behind the issue, so you can dig deeper and take action.