Teen Pregnancy Prevention Campaign Aims Its Messages at Adults
The "Get Real! About Teen Pregnancy" campaign is focused on promoting healthy adolescent sexuality through comprehensive sexuality education and access to contraceptives for sexually active teens. The campaign has been developed by Deen+Black with a $4 million grant from TCWF as part of its Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative. "The goal of the Initiative is to decrease teen pregnancies in California and the physical and mental health problems related to unplanned pregnancies," said Pauline Daniels, TCWF senior program officer. "The central focus of the campaign is to promote communication between adults and youth about sexuality and increase access to contraception for sexually active teens." The campaign’s primary audience consists of policymakers and opinion leaders whose decisions affect the environments in which teens learn about healthy sexuality, said Christi Black, principal with Deen+Black. "The ‘Get Real!’ campaign provides information that’s not easy to address: that teens are sexual beings, and it’s up to the adults in their lives to help young people be sexually healthy adolescents and to grow up to be sexually healthy adults," Black said. Although the campaign acknowledges that the most effective way to prevent pregnancy is by practicing abstinence, it cites research indicating that by the time teens graduate from high school, more than 70 percent are sexually active. "The ‘Get Real!’ campaign urges educators and community leaders to use their influence to help teens prevent pregnancies by offering comprehensive sexuality education, as well as access to contraceptives," Black said. The campaign kicked off in May of last year, which was Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, with major media ads, the launch of a campaign website and the release of research results on Californians’ attitudes on sexuality education and teen pregnancy. On June 21, a two-page insert prepared by L.A. Youth news service appeared in the Los Angeles Times’ Health section featuring articles by teens about how their parents have addressed sexuality issues. A report outlining the status of sexuality education in schools was released by Deen+Black in January to coincide with new state legislation mandating improved standards for sexuality education in the public schools (AB 246). Although the issues raised by the campaign are often uncomfortable for many adults to address, it has been well received by its target audiences because "we’re presenting information in a manner that’s hard to oppose," Black said. "We’re working to find a common ground where people understand the need for sexuality education and support for sexually healthy young people." For more information on the "Get Real!" campaign, visit its website at www.letsgetreal.org. |
ublic education
efforts to prevent teen pregnancies are often directed at youth. TCWF, on the other hand,
is funding a teen pregnancy prevention campaign aimed at the adults who control the
environments of children and teens.
Winter 1999-2000
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