EDUCATION

Education is the fundamental pathway to protecting youth; developing educational environments and building support for teachers, including sexual and reproductive health teachers, must be prioritized. Safe sex advocacy, extensive reproductive education, and family planning access empower young people to make healthy and safe choices. More resources should be directed to measures to include youth with safe access to reproductive health care, regardless of age or class. From the youngest to the oldest menstruating person, obtaining quality reproductive healthcare early on is essential.

Youth Criminalization is rampant and poses a huge problem for us. We are criminalized in our schools, communities, and even our own homes. Young Black kids are sitting in jails right now mostly because of something they had to do to survive and because of racism. Kids are being forced into the prison systems because our schools choose to be carceral instead of restorative. Black girls are being suspended at alarming rates and pushed out of schools and into carceral systems. Foster care youth are being abused and then criminalized. Police and prisons do not keep us safe.