Healthy Sexuality

Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy Reinvented!

Girls Inc. Healthy Sexuality will assist girls in understanding and embracing sexuality with a positive, empowered approach that is built on a foundation of accurate information, cultural sensitivity, and values of inclusiveness and respect. Girls will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to take charge of and to make informed, thoughtful decisions about their sexual health.

Girls Inc. Healthy Sexuality program help girls gain the knowledge and skills necessary to take charge of and make informed, thoughtful decisions about their health. Girls Inc. recognizes that sexuality is a key element of the whole girl. With a rapidly changing society influencing girls’ lives, it was time to strengthen our sexuality programming to incorporate new learnings, update information, and address the diverse world of the girls we support.

By the ninth grade, nearly one-third of girls have already had intercourse. In order to provide girls with sustained support they need, the Girls Incorporated healthy sexuality program begins with girls as young as nine years of age and continues through the completion of high school. The program facilitates on going communication among girls, their parents, and other trusted adults. The program incorporates information about HIV/AIDS and other STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases), and encourages girls to build healthy, enjoyable relationships.

A three-year program evaluation that tracked 750 high-risk teens found:

  • Older teen who completed the program were half as likely to get pregnant as those who participated less or not at all.
  • Younger teens who completed the program were twice as likely to postpone sexual intercourse as those who participated less or not at all.

Growing Together is designed for girls 9-11 and their parent or guardian. the curriculum jump starts crucial conversation between the girls and adults concerning values, human development and sexuality. The interactive ten-hour program engages the adult-child pairs in activities and discussion which enhance their relationships, increase comfort levels and expand communication.

Informed and In Charge is a this multi-session toolkit, for girls ages 12-14, Informed and In Charge contains four distinctive modules, each addressing a theme related to healthy sexuality:  Healthy Relationships; Sexuality Thumbprint; Sexual Health and Reproduction; and Sex, Media and Technology.  Each module contains multiple session plans to address the variance in young people’s experiences.  Girls learn to identify, establish, and cultivate healthy relationships through assertiveness and negotiation skills.  They have several opportunities to increase their understanding of sexuality, including ways to demonstrate respect, equity, and fairness.

Taking Care of Business is for older teens ages 15-18. In this program, teens explore their sexuality, acquire the skills to avoid pregnancy, and begin to plan and prepare for the future. Participants learn to avoid health risks which can jeopardize their plans, and chart their future education and career goals.

For other suggestions and more information about the Healthy Sexuality programs, call Girls Incorporated of the Greater Capital Region at 518-374-9800.

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