We are empowering young women from South Central L.A. to make innovative films about reproductive justice. The fact is that teenagers are having sex. But that’s not necessarily the problem. We believe that the problem is that elected officials, schools, and/or parents want to believe they are not in fact having sex. This has created endless rules, regulations, and agencies that pressure schools into withholding comprehensive information in favor of abstinence-only education. Instead, sex education that includes both abstinence and contraceptive options is proven to have significant beneficial impacts on teen health. Despite these findings, the government has poured over $1.5 billion into abstinence only programs, leaving many youth with inadequate knowledge or understanding (Guttmacher Inst.). Due to this situation, sex ed most often happens peer-to-peer yet many youth are misinformed. BUT what if youth could exchange reliable information across their neighborhood, city, and nation? Film and media paired with the internet can empower teens to do just that. By empowering young women from LA County (where over 360,000 teens contract an STD each year) with accurate information and the media tools to share it, our program will help youth broadcast the truth (LA Co. Dept. of Health). Teens will be able to visit our website to watch informative films that are relevant to their every-day lives.

This is so important to us because our own formal sexual education was isolating, uncomfortable, and uninspiring. Open dialogue was stifled and we were left without comprehensive understanding. We can change this culture of silence and misinformation by establishing mentoring relationships that allow women to learn about sexual health and reproductive justice among trusted peers. We believe sexual education should be an exploratory, youth-driven process that helps young women determine what they need to know and how to access this information safely. By reaching out to broader audiences through diverse media, we will strive for a comprehensive community-wide impact. As filmmakers and activists we believe all young women have the power to critique and create media in our globalized world.

ImMEDIAte justice is a summer program designed to empower young women leaders from South Central and East LA to share their knowledge through film. This program will bring youth mentors who have received comprehensive training in reproductive justice at Reach LA and Planned Parenthood into creative collaboration with peers who have had limited access to this education. Under guidance these women will write, direct and screen films that offer a fresh take on sex education, addressing critical issues and concerns that are relevant to the lives of young people in LA. To ensure a long-term impact we will develop a participant-led interactive web forum that sparks informative dialogue between young people about the films, sexual health, and reproductive justice. Through video resources on the website we will establish a model for other groups of young women to create their own ImMEDIAte Justice workshops.