Advocates for Youth (AFY) is a left-of-center advocacy group that focus on topics such as youth sexual health, youth reproductive health, sexual violence, racial issues, and LGBT issues in both the United States and the “Global South,” a term referring to less economically developed nations. [1] A primary function of AFY is organizing activist groups, which focus on the aforementioned issues. [2]
Background
Advocates for Youth was founded in 1980 and established the International Clearinghouse on Adolescent Fertility—a distributor of information on childbearing in various languages—that same year. [3] AFY launched the Great American Condom Campaign in 2009 with the condom company Trojan to encourage condom use on college campuses. In 2012, AFY launched the 1 in 3 Campaign to advocate for expanded abortion and to train “emerging young leaders” in pro-abortion-rights advocacy. [4] AFY is one of the primary authors of the International Guidance on Sexuality Education, a support program published by UNICEF and UNESCO to help sex educators create curriculums. [5]
Funding
AFY receives grants from the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the James H. Clark Charitable Foundation. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation gave AFY a total of 8 grants to AFY from 2008 to 2016, totaling at $10,498,030. [6] In 2009, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation reported giving AFY $1,200,000. [7] The James H. Clark Foundation gave it $1,000,000 in 2009. [8]
In 2015, AFY had total revenues of $6,262,482, total expenditures of $7,321,378, and net assets of $4,400,067. [9] In 2016, AFY had total revenues of $8,725,476, total expenditures of $7,151,712, and net assets of $5,973,779. [10] In 2017, AFY had total revenues of $9,697,879, total expenditures of $7,801,341, and net assets of $7,870,317. [11]
Controversies
Oceanside Elementary Education
In 2018, the Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD) of San Diego County, California suspended use of an Advocates For Youth-produced sex education curriculum for Kindergarten through sixth grade due to negative feedback from parents. [12] In one case, AFY taught middle school students that mutual masturbation posed no risk of a sexually transmitted infection, which a review determined “was not medically accurate.” [13]
OUSD parents were also not informed about the curriculum’s proposal, adoption, or implementation, despite a provision of California law stating that “parents and guardians have the ultimate responsibility for imparting values regarding human sexuality to their children.” [14] The Advocates For Youth curriculum included teaching that parents and faith leaders are biased in sexual information. [15]
New Jersey Education Curriculum
In April 2022, Republican Lawmakers in the state of New Jersey advocated against a proposal by AFY to develop new learning curriculum for health and physical state learning standards, such as including sex education and emphasizing diversity and inclusion, called “The Three R’s”(rights, respect, and responsibility).” [16] The lawmakers in question developed their own “Three R’s plan” based around “repealing” standards, “replace” diversity education, and “restore” parental control over curriculum to “give back parental rights in education.” [17] Addition provisions in the Republican plan included removing sex education from school curriculum entirely, eliminate diversity and inclusion requirements, and require school districts in the state to create curriculum through input from family and community members. [18]
Leadership
President
Debra Hauser has been president of AFY since January 2012. Before that, she was the executive vice president. She holds a Masters of Public Health in Population Planning and International Health from the University of Michigan. [19] She is also on the Board of Directors for the American Sexual Health Association. [20]
Board of Directors
Kimberly Hoover operates RED Multifamily Development and Allyson Capital, she is also chair of the Victory Fund, a left-of-center PAC. [21]
Julie Bernstein is the deputy director for program advocacy and communications within global policy and advocacy at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. [22]
Carmen Berkley is a senior associate at the Civitas Public Affairs Group. [23]
Deborah Arrindell is the vice president of health policy at the American Sexual Health Association. [24]
Heather Smith is the film fund lead and a senior advisor at the OCE Foundation. [25]
Valerie Tarico is the co-founder of the Progress Alliance of Washington, the primary founder of WisdomCommons.org, co-chairs at Washington Women for Choice, and serves on the Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest Board of Advocates. [26]