ABOUT PONTON
We are an informal group of volunteers affiliated with the Federation for Women and Family Planning.
OUR VISION
We believe everyone has the right to live in an egalitarian and diverse society, in which sexuality is considered to be an integral and equal part of life.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to work with and for young people, to foster their psychosexual development and to ensure that they have access to knowledge and to a safe space where they can realize their full potential.
WHAT WE DO AND WHY
Ponton Group has been working since 2002 to provide young people with decent sex education. We call ourselves young counsellors. Our scope of action includes mainly sex education and counselling for young people about sexuality in its widest sense.
Ponton volunteers run workshops at schools, appear in the media, publish articles, reports and reviews. They also offer advice online, via a discussion forum, social media and a helpline.
We talk about, among other things, contraception, body, puberty, pregnancy, sex, LGBTQI+, relationships, emotions, STIs, violence prevention and health. We also raise such issues as co-responsibility, assertiveness and patient rights.
We know from experience that it is very often that young Poles cannot discuss with anyone their doubts about intimate relationships, their own bodies, sex and contraception. For that reason, we try to provide them with what they cannot find on the Internet or in the popular press. We create an atmosphere of security and confidence; during our classes, pupils are interested, they listen and ask many questions, and we give them reliable, neutral (in terms of world views) answers that are compliant with up-to-date scientific knowledge.
We believe decent sex education not only prevents many misfortunes, such as STIs, unwanted pregnancies or sexual violence, but also makes it possible for young people, equipped with adequate knowledge, to take more conscious, safer decisions about their sex life. They become more assertive, as well as they are able to identify violence and to respect their own and other people’s boundaries.