SIECUS featured on National Public Radio (NPR)

SIECUS’s very own Nawal Umar (She/Her) was interviewed by NPR in their hourly News Now 4PM EST edition on July 29th, 2024. 

The Sex Ed for Social Change organization’s policy analyst was featured in a story about Southern Baptist organization’s “True Love Waits” event in Nashville. The yearly puritanical gathering, which has taken place for three decades, encourages teenagers to sign a pledge card declaring they’ll maintain abstinence until marriage. The organizer’s behind the event believes/purports that waiting to have sex is “a commitment to god… self… family… friends….”

In response to the international campaign, Nawal stated, “You need to teach all the different ways, and all the different facets of sexuality, and all the different things about sexual health beyond abstinence.”

The story also references SIECUS’s study that 17 states still teach abstinence only despite its lack of effectiveness.

Listen to the full report here.

Listen to Nawal’s soundbite at the 3:57 mark here.

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About SIECUS:

SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change has served as a leading national voice for sex education since 1964, asserting that sexuality is a fundamental part of being human, one worthy of dignity and respect. Through advocacy, policy and coalition building, SIECUS advances sex education as a vehicle for social change—where all people receive sex education, are affirmed in their identities, and have power to make decisions about their own health, pleasure, and wholeness.