Pinch Me Films Launches ‘Breaking the Silence of Sex’ Events in Support of the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, May 5, 2004
BREAKING THE SILENCE OF SEX: On May 5th, 2004, Pinch Me Films joins the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy to focus the attention of teens on the importance of avoiding pregnancy and other serious consequences of sex. Pinch Me Films is promoting open dialogue between young people, parents, and educators by organizing local events across the country featuring our innovative documentary “Silence Ain’t Sexy”. Using the film and a Leader Guide, participants will explore attitudes and feelings about sex through an interactive, thought-provoking discussion, and sustain the momentum by taking the National Campaign Quiz.
May 27, 2004 (Berkeley, CA) — Organizing events in locations across the
country to promote open dialogue between young people, parents, and educators,
Pinch Me Films announced today its support of the third annual National Day to
Prevent Teen Pregnancy, May 5, 2004. The non-profit events – titled “Breaking
the Silence of Sex” - will feature the newly released Pinch Me Films
documentary, “The Silence of Sex”. Hosts will be using the film and Leader Guide
to help participants explore attitudes and feelings about sex through an
interactive discussion, followed by taking the National Day Quiz.
On the
National Day, teens nationwide are asked to go to http://www.teenpregnancy.org and take a short, scenario-based
“quiz” that asks young people what they would do in a number of sexual
situations. Tens of thousands of teens are expected to participate. Pinch Me
Films is providing National Day literature to Breaking the Silence of Sex hosts,
a link to the Quiz on their website and media outreach to expand awareness.
Currently, events are planned in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
CA; Denver, CO; Orlando, FL; St. Louis, MO; Pittsburgh, PA; and Austin,
TX.
WATCHING, TALKING AND THINKING
Through viewing and discussing the
“Silence of Sex”, (http://www.thesilenceofsex.com) Pinch Me Films hopes to help
young people learn to make smart decisions about sex. The initial film in this
four-part documentary series, “Silence Ain’t Sexy”, introduces a novel approach:
it talks about sex in a way that reflects teenagers’ reality – with real kids,
real situations, and real music. Armed with accurate information, support from
peers and parents, and a dose of self-respect, young people can:
• Make
healthy decisions about starting, or waiting, to have sex
• Avoid pregnancy,
STDs, and emotional damage
• Develop critical thinking and communication
skills
• “Stop, think, and talk before you jump into bed.”
Reactions
from teens who have seen early screenings of the film:
“It showed people our
age saying things we could relate to – things that we really feel.”
“I
think the movie was good, a lot of stuff I could relate to in the movie. It was
informational and it made you think.”
“The diversity in the film is
impressive! A good representation of ages, cultures and issues.”
Pinch Me
Films (http://www.pinchmefilms.org) is a nonprofit organization based
in Berkeley, California, dedicated to social change through educational
multimedia. The National Day is sponsored by the nonprofit, nonpartisan,
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and National Day founding partners,
TEEN PEOPLE magazine and TeenPeople.com. In addition, more than 115 prominent
national organizations have signed on as official National Day partners and
related events are planned in hundreds of communities across the
country.
Why a National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy? Despite
significant progress during the past decade, 35 percent of teen girls become
pregnant at least once before age 20 and the vast majority (78 percent) of teen
pregnancies are unintended.
Making a Difference: Nearly 300,000
individuals took the National Day Quiz in 2003. A survey of the some of the
teens that participated in the 2003 National Day indicates:
• 57% of teens
said that the National Day Quiz made the consequences of sex more real to
them
• 70% said the Quiz made them think about what they would do in such
situations
Call to Action:
Support The National Day to Prevent Teen
Pregnancy on May 5th. To sponsor a “Breaking the Silence of Sex” event, contact
Pinch Me Films or download materials at http://www.pinchmefilms.org/breaking_silence
Support
for the National Day: National Day partners include a diverse group of over 115
prominent national organizations, including:
• Health sector leaders (AMA,
American Academy of Pediatrics)
• Education leaders (National Education
Assoc., National School Boards Assoc.)
• Businesses (Procter & Gamble,
Candie’s Foundation)
• Fatherhood groups (National Fatherhood Initiative,
National Practitioners Network for Fathers and Families)
• Faith-based groups
(Presbyterian Church USA, National Council of Churches)
• Other prominent
national organizations (Child Welfare League of America, Boys & Girls Clubs
of America, National Parenting Association, Goodwill Industries)
About
Pinch Me Films
Pinch Me Films (PMF) is a non-profit organization that
promotes social change by creating and distributing compelling video and
multimedia education. The organization’s name was chosen to reflect Pinch Me
Films’ mission to help people wake up and talk candidly about important social
issues that are obscured by silence, ignorance, or hype.
Director/Producers: Crescent Diamond, Julia Robertson and Nils Moe
co-founders of PMF (Bios available at http://www.pinchmefilms.org/bio.htm). Our Board of Advisors
includes Barbara Huberman, founding board member of the National Campaign to
Prevent Teen Pregnancy and current National Director of Education and Outreach
Education for Advocates for Youth, Washington D.C.; Dr. Lynn Ponton, author of
“The Romance of Risk: Why Teenagers do the Things They Do” and “The Sex Lives of
Teenagers”; and Dr. Dale Rose, an expert in psychometric measurement and
evaluation of educational programs. Part one of the “Silence of Sex” documentary
series has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood. Part two is in
production.
About the National Campaign: Founded in 1996, the National
Campaign is a private, nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the
well-being of children, youth, and families by reducing teen pregnancy. The
organization’s goal is to reduce the teen pregnancy rate by one-third between
1996 and 2005.
Pinch Me Films
Contact: Donna Lehman,
510-525-1474
e-mail protected from spam bots
National
Campaign
Contact: Bill Albert, 202-478-8510
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/3/prweb114390.htm