By Gillian Silver, MPH, CHES | January 8, 2020

My very first day working at ETR fell on our organization’s All Staff Retreat. It was an energizing day that allowed our growing staff to share priorities and interests, and to embrace a growth mindset in how we approach our work. An idea explored by Carol S. Dweck, adopting a growth mindset helps us move through challenges by identifying the opportunity within them. Inspired by my introduction to the organization, I wondered how the field of sexuality education can apply a #growthmindset to the topic of adolescent romantic relationships.

By Mia Barrett, MEd | December 19, 2019

Cheers erupted from the audience at the 24^th Congress of the World Association of Sexual Health (WAS) in Mexico City when Anne Philpott of The Pleasure Project urged sexuality educators to “Stop preaching and start having fun!  Learn to say YES to good, safe sex!” Later, WAS released an official Pleasure Declaration, stating that sexual pleasure is a fundamental human right. In a world where public health is so often focused on preventing negative outcomes and managing ill-health, this declaration and the conference’s focus on pleasure was revolutionary.

By John Shields, PhD, MSW | December 13, 2019

The US Department of Education’s proposed regulations on Title IX recently took an important step forward in the adoption process and the regulations may become official policy in the next few weeks. From our perspective as consultants and researchers in the K-12 space, our analysis of the regulations yields several significant implications on Title IX infrastructure, practices, and compliance.

By Emma Schlamm | December 9, 2019

First published on the blog of the Sexual Violence Research Initiative

The YTH Initiative of ETR, in partnership with the Public Health Institute (PHI) and GoJoven Honduras, is implementing and evaluating ZonaSegura. ZonaSegura is a multi-faceted tech-based intervention that uses a website, native mobile app, and a WhatsApp messaging campaign to prevent teen dating violence among Honduran youth. The evaluation has demonstrated that the power of partnership and human effort is an essential and irreplaceable component of a digital solution’s success.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | December 2, 2019

Sunday, December 1, 2019, marked the 31^st observance of World AIDS Day. The theme for 2019 is “Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Community by Community.” This feels especially appropriate since we have been developing community-driven responses from the beginning. While reflecting on the nearly four decades of the HIV pandemic, ETR started looking back at our response since the earliest reported cases. Check out this retrospective of ETR’s history developing some of the nation's leading HIV education, training and research.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | November 26, 2019

I’m grateful every year for the opportunity to share ETR’s science-based practice of expressing gratitude. This year, I’m especially thankful for living our values of centering equity. This includes the continued efforts of aligning our work with the Health Equity Framework. It also includes our internal work to center racial equity in our lives and our workplace.

By Cara Silva, MPH | October 1, 2019

Digital communication has disrupted the ways we socialize, communicate, and—let’s face it—how we function. Gone are the days where a check-in with a friend was a knock at the door or a telephone call. It’s now likely a quick text or a thumbs-up “like” on a social media post. This new way of communicating has also contributed to how we meet, flirt, and date people to whom we are attracted. Youth in particular are turning to online spaces to build community and explore sexual relationships, particularly in regions where access to peers is limited. 

By Taryn Gal, MPH, CPH, CHES and Brittany Batell, MPH, MSW  | August 28, 2019
Executive Director (TG) and Program and Engagement Manager (BB), MOASH

There has been an amazing push for greater inclusivity in sex education in recent years. The field offers programs that are more inclusive for LGBTQ+ youth, for survivors of trauma, and for youth with learning differences or developmental disabilities. We make these efforts because we are committed to creating a learning environment where all identities and choices are honored.

That’s why it’s also important for us to be sure we are creating welcoming, inclusive and effective sexuality education for expectant and parenting youth (EPY).