This slide presentation analyzes the goals, obstacles, strategies, and lessons learned from the first years of the Teen SENSE initiative. Teen SENSE provides a new strategy for addressing sexual health care for youth at high risk of STIs and HIV, by acknowledging that sexual health care requires not only appropriate medical services, but also counseling, education, and a safe, inclusive environment for youth of all sexual orientations and gender identities. The presentation discusses challenges to initiatives for creating long-term change in state institutions and focuses on conclusions and lessons drawn from the first years of Teen SENSE, such as the need to combine legal analyses and policy advocacy to address the needs of communities disproportionately affected by HIV, how to create successful strategies using collaboration among experts from intersecting fields, and the benefits of combining national initiatives with local leadership. The presentation compliments CHLP's paper Comprehensive, LGBTQ-Inclusive Sexual Health Care for Youth in State Custody as a Human Right: The Teen SENSE Initiative, also available in the Resource Bank.
CHLP fights stigma and discrimination at the intersection of HIV, race, health status, disability, class, sexuality and gender identity and expression, with a focus on criminal and public health systems. As part of this work, we support movement building that amplifies the power of individuals and communities to mobilize for change rooted in racial, gender and economic justice. We do this through legal advocacy, high-impact policy initiatives, and creation of cross-issue partnerships, networks, and resources.
