Advocacy continues against sexualization

On May 12th, APA’s Public Interest Government Relations Office convened the first follow up conference call of the Healthy Image Advocates Coalition, which included representatives from various organizations and 7 young girls from around the world. The purpose of the meeting was to assign action items from the strategic plan which was created at the April 13th Advocacy Against Sexualization Summit. In the upcoming months, coalition members will be planning a coalition briefing, creating a fact sheet about sexualization for teachers, endorsing the Day of the Girl on September 22nd, and creating social media with healthy images.

As a result of the promotion of the Advocacy Against Sexualization Summit, two local DC metro area TV stations aired segments on sexualization and how parents can work with their children to reduce the negative effects of sexualization.  The segments featured Shari Miles-Cohen, PhD, Director, APA Women’s Programs Office; Eileen Zurbriggen, PhD, Chair of the former Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls; Deborah Tolman, PhD, member of the former Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls and co-founder of the SPARK movement; and Lyn Mikel Brown, EdD, co-founder of the SPARK movement.