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Tackling Sex Ed and Menstrual Literacy in Libraries

February 21 @ 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

**NEW DATE** Please note that this webinar has been rescheduled from February 14th to February 21st; if you registered for the original date, you will still be registered to attend this event or to receive the recording. 

REGISTER HERE

In an era where library services promoting gender equality and social justice are under attack, it’s time to lean in rather than back away. In this new webinar, Rakisha Kearns-White will demonstrate how libraries can be places for menstrual literacy and advocacy and underscore the importance of providing unbiased and accurate access to sexuality education to tweens and teens!

Nearly half of the states in the U.S. have mandated sex education classes, but only 13 states require that sex education be medically accurate. In 2022, about 20.82 million women were living below the poverty line in the United States, and two-thirds of the low-income women in the US could not afford menstrual products in 2021. Nearly half of those women had to choose between menstrual products and food. The number of Americans living in poverty is rising and the current political climate is making it more difficult for young adults to access sex education relevant to them.

This event will show you how your library can contribute to closing the economic and political divide, one patron at a time!

Learning Objectives

  • Learn how libraries can help patrons and communities separate discussions of menstruation from sex/pregnancy
  • Gain an understanding what period poverty is and how it manifests
  • Learn how we can broaden the idea of sex education beyond biology
  • Examine what sex ed and menstrual literacy can look like in a library
  • Gain strategies for getting stakeholders on board

Presenter: Rakisha Kearns-White is a 2023 Library Journal Mover and Shaker; a 2022 recipient of the Brooklyn Public Library’s Dr. Lucille C. Thomas Excellence in Librarianship Award; and an 18+ year veteran as a YA Librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library. Rakisha has spoken about Menstrual Equity and Sex Ed in libraries at the New York Library Association, Metropolitan New York Council, Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California, and Greenburgh Public Library’s 2022 FanCon. Rakisha has also presented at New York Comic Con in 2019 and 2023 and the Toronto Comic Arts Festival in 2022.

Free to RRLC & ESLN Members. This webinar will be held on Zoom Webinar; registration is required.

All attendees will receive a certificate of attendance for 1.5 hours of CE credit. This webinar will be recorded. All registrants will receive a copy of the recording within 1 month of the webinar.

We are committed to offering inclusive, diverse, and equitable services to all of our members. To request specific accommodations, please contact RRLC at least five business days ahead of the program you’d like accommodations for.

RRLC Registration & Program Attendance Policies

If you have any questions, please contact Tina Broomfield.

REGISTER HERE

Details

Date:
February 21
Time:
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Venue

Zoom Webinar

Visit our Policies Page for information on our Code of Conduct, Registration Policies and requesting interpreter services.