The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) is a lobbying organization and advocacy group

Advocacy group

Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...

 dedicated to sex and sexuality education

Sex education

Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...

, sexual health, and sexual rights. It is acknowledged as the institutional voice of these concerns and a pioneer of the comprehensive sex education program.

The organization was founded in 1964 by Mary Calderone

Mary Calderone

Mary Steichen Calderone was a physician and a public health advocate for sexual education. She served as president and co-founder of the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States from 1954 to 1982. She was also the medical director for Planned Parenthood...

, medical director at Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...

, to challenge the American Social Hygiene Association

American Social Health Association

The American Social Health Association , is an American non-profit organization established in 1914 and is dedicated to improving the health of individuals, families, and communities, with an emphasis on sexual health and a focus on preventing sexually transmitted infections and their harmful...

's sex education program. In 1968, Billy James Hargis

Billy James Hargis

Billy James Hargis was a fundamentalist Protestant Christian evangelist. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, his Christian Crusade ministry was broadcast on more than 500 radio stations and 250 television stations...

 and Gordon Drake targeted SIECUS in the famous "Is the School House the Proper Place to Teach Raw Sex?

Is the School House the Proper Place to Teach Raw Sex?

Is the School House the Proper Place to Teach Raw Sex? was a pamphlet written in 1968 by Gordon V. Drake and published by Billy James Hargis's Christian Crusade...

" pamphlet, as well as other similar publications.

SIECUS is based in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 with a public policy

Public policy

Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...

 office in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

.

External links

• Official website
• The SexEdLibrary A comprehensive source of sexuality education materials for educators