Friend,

Over the next four years, we anticipate that targeted harassment along the lines of gender and sexuality will impact many young people. To protect and support these young people, and to help strengthen communities’ resilience to manipulative disinformation, we’ve developed a guide for all adults who care for, support and educate young people.

Not Just a Joke: Understanding & Preventing Gender- & Sexuality-Based Bigotry aims to prevent these harms by providing all community members with the information, tools and resources they need to help young people remain resilient to manipulation by extremist ideologies.

Developed in partnership with the American University’s Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL), Not Just a Joke also provides caregivers with the tools to recognize if a young person has become susceptible to male supremacy or anti-LGBTQ+ ideologies, and shares ways to respond and intervene. Further, we’ve compiled ample resources to provide extensive support to those who have been targeted or harmed by hateful rhetoric or actions.

Together with our two previous full-length guides and supplemental resources, the SPLC and PERIL are seeking to surround communities with the support and resources they need to bolster social cohesion and uplift all young people’s well-being.

You can view and share Not Just a Joke and other preventative resources developed with our partners at PERIL for free here:

Thank you for your continued commitment to building strong, healthy communities.

In solidarity,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center