Santa Barbara Non-Profit Organization, What is LOVE, Ready to Help California Schools with Curriculum for New Sex Education Law
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (PRWEB) October 14, 2015 -- Santa Barbara non-profit organization, What Is LOVE, has designed, produced, and tested an educational curriculum to help California high schools address the newly approved legislation by Gov. Jerry Brown requiring schools to teach lessons about sexual consent. The legislation, AB239, requires school districts that already include health as a graduation requirement to teach about sexual consent and sexual violence prevention starting in 2016.
“One in three teens in the US report experiencing physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, and digital abuse from a dating partner and most do not ask for help,” says Christy Haynes MA, Psy, Founder & Director of Prevention for What is LOVE. “Our educational programs are a culmination of twenty years of working with youth throughout the United States – in schools, community organizations and prisons.”
Adds Haynes, “Dating abuse prevention is not an easy topic to teach, and many educators don’t know where to start. That’s where What is LOVE can help. We have a variety of proven programs and materials that can be implemented in all school settings. We can train school administrators and staff, we offer workshops for parents, and we provide community outreach materials to help teens throughout the country.”
What is LOVE has been actively providing educational school-based programs for six years, and has partnered with educators in Santa Barbara County and researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara to measure the program’s effectiveness. Since 2009, the What is LOVE program has reached 23,292 teens:
• 96% reported an increased knowledge and understanding of dating violence
• 82% reported they know how to find resources and would get help for an abusive relationship
• Which has led to a 300% increase in teens asking for help
Educators who are interested in learning more about educating adolescents on sexual assault prevention and sexual consent are invited to learn more at whatisloveteens.org.
About What is LOVE
What Is LOVE is a school-based program working directly with teens, educators and parents to identify abusive dating, build healthy relationship skills, and connect youth and families to helpful resources. What is LOVE addresses dating abuse through restorative justice principles, an innovative outreach strategy with interactive technology, the power of storytelling, and a media awareness campaign. The goal of the program is to provide students, parents, and educators with comprehensive tools designed to help teens: identify and avoid abusive relationships, recognize harm caused by unhealthy relationships, identify and practice healthy relationship skills,and empower teens to ask for help. To learn more or to support What is LOVE, visit: whatisloveteens.org
John Stillwell, Communication Coordinator, What is LOVE, http://whatisloveteens.org, +1 805-705-0011, [email protected]
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