Kal Barteski Partners with SERC to Support Advocacy Efforts
Support SERC’s Advocacy Work!
In 2022, SERC partnered with Winnipeg-based artist, Kal Barteski, to celebrate Sexual & Reproductive Health Awareness Week (SRH Week) and to support SERC’s advocacy work. The theme of SRH Week that year was Advocacy in Action. Read about some of SERC’s ongoing advocacy efforts below:
SERC is actively working to raise awareness about the impacts of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and approaches and responses that stigmatize and criminalize this practice. Our approach to this work is to partner with community in responding to their own sexual and reproductive health needs. We work with a variety of communities to provide education on this practice so people can make informed choices about their bodies in line with their rights. Our approach is unique in that we do not advocate for harsh forms of intervention. Rather, we provide education and fact-based information in culturally-responsive ways in partnership with community. Education as the tool for ending FGC is respectful, kind, rooted in dignity and is extremely successful. Our FGC programming has the longest waitlist of all programs at SERC and this work is underfunded and underrecognized.
SERC is also working hard to release a position statement on the value and need for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in all places and spaces where sex ed takes place. CSE covers all the dimensions needed to support optimal sexual and reproductive health, including consent, communication skills, relationships, diversity and inclusion, and most importantly, it does NOT discriminate. Research shows that when done right, CSE actually saves lives. The good news is that everything we do at SERC involves CSE. However, schools, community-based organizations, and even the health care system have a ways to go. That’s why we’re elevating this as a key issue, alongside our partners nationally, to work towards a consistent approach. Why? Well, if some get CSE and some don’t, health inequities persist.
Support our advocacy work by purchasing limited edition items, created with our friend and supporter Kal Barteski, from the webstore today:
Shop Now!
To make a secure gift online, click here: www.serc.mb.ca/donate.
Free Poster: Conversation Starter About Sex Ed
As part of this exciting partnership, Kal Barteski has created a free, downloadable poster that encourages both reflection and discussion on the complexity of human sexuality and sexual health education. This tool can be used by parents, teachers, or anyone interested in starting a conversation about sexuality.
Download the posters here:
Sex Ed Is Poster – Black and White