Youth Advisory Board
Mission Statement
The role of the Youth Advisory Board is to oversee WomenSafe's work with youth in Addison County as well as create and implement additional projects to support youth in the surrounding schools. Our goal as an organization in creating this board is to make sure that we are adequately serving youth in our community. The board focuses on determining youth needs as it relates to WomenSafe's work and creates strategies to meet those needs.
The Youth Advisory Board is dedicated to the fostering of healthy sexuality and elimination of sexual violence for all teens in Addison County through education, activism, and social change. This mission is most successful when led by youth for youth, with the support of committed adults. This collective of youth aims to remain inclusive to the experiences of all youth in our county and to uplift the voices of the most marginalized.
General Goal Areas:
Expanding sex education
Adult partnership
Community involvement
Expanding Sex Education
Our board seeks to create a community free from sexual violence through the expansion of sexual health education. This education must be inclusive, accessible, and thorough, at a minimum.
We will work to ensure that all teens in Addison County receive education regarding:
Gender identity and sexual orientation.
Healthy romantic, sexual, platonic, and familial relationships.
How to communicate and assert physical and emotional boundaries.
Asking, using, and respecting consent.
Pleasure and sexual agency.
What sexual violence is and how to confront it.
How to support friends who are experiencing violence and how to hold friends accountable who may be causing harm.
Adult Partnership
The Youth Advisory Board will work with adults to make them more askable for the youth in their lives. It is imperative that this work be led by youth, and in partnership with adults. The board is committed to equipping adults to be non-judgmental, trustworthy, safe, trauma-informed, accessible, and inclusive.
Community
Violence prevention and the promotion of healthy sexuality cannot happen without buy-in from community members. The Youth Advisory Board will work to educate community members on issues related to healthy sexuality and sexual violence prevention. Our community is made up of youth and adults with different backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and values and everyone has something important to bring to the table when it comes to ending violence in our community. In order to best support teen survivors, we need everyone to play their part in this work.
What We’re Up To
June Update
We just ended an incredible year! We celebrated all the amazing work we’ve done, shared stories, and leaned into our joy at our end of year gathering. We’re looking forward to working with six new students from Addison County next school year and widening our web of activism, education, and advocacy! While we take some much needed R&R for the summer, check out the community committee’s newest edition of the Yabber, here just in time for Pride Month! We’re so grateful to all the people in our community who have helped make this pertinent work possible.
