The World Association of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides participated in the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women by throwing a “no-adults-welcome-panel.” The panel was, naturally, aimed at teenage girls, and it’s causing some controversy because Planned Parenthood was allowed to distribute a sex guide during the meeting.
The brochure was titled “Happy, Healthy and Hot” and was aimed at young people living with HIV. It encourages them to explore their sexuality in a safe manner. The brochure also argues that national laws requiring HIV-positive people to reveal their status to their partner(s) “violate the rights of people living with HIV” and calls for readers to fight to ”change laws that violate your rights.”
Conservative organizations are incensed at Planned Parenthood’s involvement. Some, like Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America, even accuse the venerable reproductive rights advocacy group of “encouraging kids to be sexually active.” But the Girl Scouts aren’t alone in their decision to promote sex education and HIV issues. Several powerful agencies within the UN have joined together to form the “UN Adolescent Girls Task Force,” which is designed to promote and support programs that “empower… adolescent girls, particularly those aged 10-14,” and a big priority for that empowerment is going to be access to “life-skills based sexuality education, HIV prevention, and sexual and reproductive health.”
The UN has been involved in controversial sex education decisions in the past – the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization also recently co-sponsored controversial curriculum that includes teaching children as young as five about sexuality.
Comments
Jennifer
March 20th, 2010 - 11:28:47 AM
This is untrue and is irresponsible journalism. If you had checked with the Girl Scouts of America you would have been advised that the Planned Parenthood pamphlets were simply in the room, that 7 adults were present during the sole Girl Scout sponsored forum that was about the ways girls could take a leadership role in dealing with worldwide issues that impact girls and women.
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Marian
March 20th, 2010 - 8:42:00 PM
In light of the article and Jennifer's comment above, I wish I could have attended the meeting so I'd know what REALLY happened. I'm concerned that the message of both PP and Girl Scouts may not reach many young women and girls who could benefit because of sexist religious attitudes in so much of the world.
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Jim
March 22nd, 2010 - 6:32:47 PM
Its worse. The WAGGGS delegates were openly marching and demanding their sexual rights, including access to safe, affordable abortions. WAGGGS even has the nerve to post it on their official website, to which they have now added a media release downplaying their UN abortion advocacy. See for yourself at http://www.wagggsworld.org/en/CSW54/Day6 This is the bigger issue, not whether they made the pamphlet available.
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