Increasing family communication about sexuality and reproductive health issues.

In 2001, SIECUS launched its Family Project to give parents/caregivers the necessary tools to convey their attitudes and values about sexuality-related issues, as well as relationships, self-esteem, and decision-making skills to their children. We also aim to involve parents in advocacy efforts to ensure quality sexuality education and access to reproductive health services.

SIECUS focuses on two target audiences--reaching parents/caregivers directly, and intermediaries that work with parents/caregivers, such as community service providers, parent-teacher associations, and the workplace. Recent program highlights follow.

SIECUS and CRN Radio International aired our "Take a Minute to Talk About Sexuality With Your Kids" radio series this year in Hartford, CT; Baltimore, MD; Tucson, AZ; Cleveland, OH; and Charlotte, NC. This year, we developed a new approach to targeting radio markets to enhance our impact. Cities were chosen with a geographic overlay of policy, program, partner, and funder considerations. SIECUS ran the series in September 2002 and January 2003 during driving commute times, while at the same time leveraging the influence of our state and local partners.

In the summer of 2002, SIECUS worked with Public Interest Media Group (PIMG), a New York City-based firm, to strategically identify and develop messages that resonate with parents/caregivers, particularly those in underserved communities, to encourage them to talk with their children about sexuality-related issues and become advocates for comprehensive sexuality education. PIMG managed a national public opinion survey of 800 primarily underserved parents and caregivers, with a particular focus on African-Americans and Latinos (conducted by Lake Snell Perry & Associates). We are using the survey results to develop messages to empower parents/caregivers to communicate with their children about sexuality-related issues. Our nationwide survey found by a five-to-one margin (81% vs. 16%), these parents favor sexuality education programs that teach young people about all aspects of sexuality, including how to use birth control to prevent unintended pregnancy and STDs, over programs that focus solely on abstinence-only-until-marriage.

PIMG and SIECUS identified key messages, determined the best messengers, and focused on the most effective medium(s) to reach parents. These messages influence and shape SIECUS publications targeting parents, our policymaker outreach, and the key points we focus on when speaking with the press.

As part of our recognition of National Family Sexuality Education Month in October 2002, we held a press briefing to release our new publication, Innovative Approaches to Increase Parent-Child Communication About Sexuality: Their Impact and Examples from the Field, and our national opinion survey results.

SIECUS launched www.familiesaretalking.org which includes information about the programs we featured in Innovative Approaches as well as new ones that we identify, other SIECUS publications, and additional resources. We also published and widely disseminated three issues of our Families Are Talking newsletter both in English and Spanish.

To complement our radio series, SIECUS conducted a targeted state and local print media campaign to reach a diverse array of parents, primarily those in economically challenged areas. We ran the ads below in Baltimore Child, Brooklyn Family, Oueens Family, Connecticut Parent, and Tucson Family in November 2002 and repeated them in January 2003.