Family Watch International

FWI Falsely Claims That CSE “Encourages Risky Behavior.” “We work to protect the health and innocence of children by exposing the negative impact on children of sexually explicit school curricula and media, including pornography. We expose the deceptive and harmful nature of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), and how these school-based programs sexualize young children, encourage them to participate in risky sexual behavior, and undermine parental rights.” [FWI, accessed 9/29/21]

In Contrast To CSE, Which Helps Accurately And Safely Inform Young Adults About Sex And Sexuality, FWI Supports Abstinence-Only Education, A Practice Proven To Be Unhelpful And Dangerous To Young Adults. “FWI supports policies and programs that encourage abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage. We recognize that any sexual relations outside of marriage—whether premarital, extramarital, heterosexual or homosexual—generally bring negative outcomes to individuals, families, and society.” [FWI, accessed 9/29/21]

FWI Turned This Into An Entire Misinformation Campaign—StopCSE—Which Produces And Spreads Dangerous And Inaccurate Videos, “Toolkits” And “Factsheets.” [StopCSE, accessed 10/23/21]

[StopCSE, accessed 10/23/21]

FWI Launched The Empowered Youth Coalition, Which Focuses On Getting Young People Involved In Spreading Dangerous Misinformation About Sex And Sexuality. [Empowered Youth Coalition, 5/15/21]

[FWI, accessed 10/24/21]

FWI Has Taken These Efforts To The UN, Where It Has Coalesced With Official Delegations To Oppose CSE. “Further, anti-rights actors at the UN are uniting across national and regional lines, and across sectors. Specifically, we have observed strengthening links between regressive civil society, religiously-defined intergovernmental entities, conservatively-oriented States and regional blocs. The coalition forged between the Holy See, ultra-conservative Civil Society Organizations, such as Family Watch International, and Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to oppose comprehensive sexuality education as a component of sexual rights is but one example.” [Rights At Risk, 2017]

FWI Is Campaigning Against CSE In At Least 10 Countries Across Africa. “Another US group, Family Watch International (FWI), is campaigning to ban comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in at least 10 African countries, including through its ‘Stop CSE’ website which hosts petitions against sex education. Family Watch International has, over this decade, been training high-level African politicians how to campaign against sex education and LGBT rights. They and their supporters claim that CSE is ‘abortion, promiscuity, and LGBT rights education’ and want it replaced by abstinence-only sex education.” [The Herald Ghana, 10/30/20]

Public Records Obtained By Equity Forward Show Sharon Slater And FWI Working With Arizona State Legislators—Including Speaker Rusty Bowers—To Oppose CSE Efforts In The State. [Records Shown Below]

FWI Co-Founded And Chairs The UN Family Rights Caucus, Which Promotes The “Natural Family” As The “Fundamental Unit Of Society.” “The mission of the United Nations Family Rights Caucus is to protect and promote the natural family as the fundamental unit of society as called for in Article 16 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.” [UN Family Rights Caucus, 2014]

By “Natural Family,” FWI Means The Marriage Of One Man And One Woman… “We support and promote natural marriage between one man and one woman. Social science research has conclusively proven that a strong family based on marriage between a man and a woman is the best environment to protect, nourish and develop individuals. This family structure provides significantly better outcomes for individuals and societies than any alternative structure.” [FWI, accessed 9/29/21]

…In Which Each Partner Must Serve In Sexist Gendered Roles. “We recognize and promote the essential contributions and the irreplaceable roles of both mothers and fathers in the lives of their children and to society. Research also shows that mothers and fathers, by nature of their genders, make unique contributions to the development of their children and that these contributions cannot be replaced by two ‘parents’ of the same sex. If society sanctions marriages that make it impossible for children to be raised by either their mother or father, children suffer.” [FWI, accessed 9/29/21]

FWI Advocates For So-Called “Conversion Therapy” For “Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction Or Gender Confusion.” “We urge compassion for individuals who struggle with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion and we promote and defend the availability of therapies that can help them deal with their conditions. It is our position that there is never any justification for violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and we opposed laws that provide harsh punishment for individuals based on these conditions.” [FWI, accessed 9/29/21]

Public Records Obtained By Equity Forward Show That FWI President Sharon Slater Lobbied Arizona Speaker Of The House Rusty Bowers For Legislation That Would Block Gender-Affirming Healthcare For Trans Youth.

[Equity Forward public records received 3/16/20]

[Equity Forward public records received 3/16/20]

In Addition To 18 Existing Harmful And Inaccurate Anti-Trans Videos Already Produced, FWI’s Website Shows 15 Anti-Trans “Videos Under Production,” Meaning An Even Harsher Focus On Anti-Trans Advocacy Could Be Coming Soon. [FWI, accessed 10/23/21]

[FWI, accessed 10/23/21]

Sharon Slater is the founder and current President of FWI. After founding FWI as Global HAWC in 1999, Slater grew the organization to maintain a presence at the UN, where she regularly pushes homophobic, transphobic, anti-abortion and anti-CSE efforts. As Chair of the UN Family Rights Council, Slater engages at the UN so regularly that she has even been wrongly identified as a “spokesperson for the United Nations.” Slater has referred to LGBT individuals as diseased and “more likely to engage in pedophilia,” and was for many years connected to Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa, who enthusiastically supported the country’s “Kill the Gays” legislation.

As the Director of FWI’s work in Africa, Seyoum Antonios has aided the concerning and widespread work that FWI conducts across the continent. Anotonios is a high-profile anti-LGBT activist based in Addis Ababa, where he is known for claiming that homosexuality is an “abomination” and that “Africa will be the graveyard for homosexuals.”

Laura Cunliffe joined FWI in September of 2021 as the organization’s Executive Director and Vice President of Policy. Cunliffe has a background in the federal government, where she worked in the Obama administration on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Then, as part of the Trump administration, Cunliffe served in various roles before becoming the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Mission to the UN. Cunliffe’s experiences expand and deepen FWI’s touchpoints with both the UN and the Trump administration.

Married to FWI President Sharon Slater, Greg serves as Senior Legal Advisor to the organization. In this role, he has advised FWI on legal strategy toward their legislative goals and has presented training to foreign diplomats on how they can push anti-LGBT legislation abroad. Greg’s full-time job is as the Vice President and Senior Director of Global Regulatory Affairs at manufacturing giant Intel. Throughout his career at Intel, Slater has served in several influential senior positions at one of the world’s biggest companies, all while continuing to push his anti-LGBT, anti-abortion and anti-CSE ideologies on the side through FWI.

FWI President Sharon Slater Got Her Start At A WCF Conference, Where She Was Inspired To Establish A Similar Anti-LGBTQIA+, Anti-Abortion Organization. “Sharon Slater founded Family Watch International as Global HAWC in 1999 after experiencing what she claims was a political awakening at the World Congress of Families gathering in Geneva, Switzerland. WCF, an anti-LGBT hate group based in Illinois is composed of Christian Right activists and serves as an umbrella for the Christian Right to create networks at home and abroad and drum up support for their efforts to curtail LGBT and reproductive rights. The organization opposes all that It sees as oppositional to the heterosexual, divinely ordained, ‘natural family’ – including abortion, birth control, and homosexuality.” [SPLC, accessed 9/15/21]

Over A Decade Later, Slater’s Organization—FWI—Was Co-Hosting UN Conferences With Groups Linked To WCF. “[The first annual Global Family Policy Forum in January 2011] included ‘26 UN staffers from 23 different countries for a two-day conference on how to resist UN initiatives on sexuality.’ It was co-hosted with the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, a group that is linked with the WCF (World Congress of Families). For two days there were ‘expert presentations on family issues, briefing sessions and discussions on how to better protect and promote the family and family values at the UN.’ My colleague heart that homestays with ‘genuine’ American families were part of the experience.” [Georgetown University, 11/17/11]

While Serving As FWI President, Sharon Slater Was Also President of United Families International, Another Arizona-Based Hate Group With Ties To WCF. “While managing her own organization, Slater also worked as president of United Families International (UFI) from 2001 through 2006. Also based in Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, Arizona, UFI is a hate group that formed when two organizations founded by activists Susan Roylance (current the International Policy and Social Development Coordinator at WCF) and Jan Clark merged in 1983.” [SPLC, accessed 9/15/21]

During Her Time At UFI, FWI President Sharon Slater Connected With Anti-Rights Leaders In Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi And Uganda Over Shared Interests In Abstinence-Only Education And Denying Access To CSE As A Warped Way To Curtail HIV Infection Rates. “It was at UFI that Slater forged ties with activists in African countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi and Uganda, usually through their shared efforts to curtail HIV infection rates with programs that taught abstinence until marriage and denied young people access to sex education. In 2002, for example, Slater invited Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni to give the keynote speech at the WCF gathering that she organized in New York City.” [SPLC, accessed 9/15/21]

FWI Has Submitted Amicus Briefs Opposing Rights For Same-Sex Couples In Partnership With UFI. “When courts began hearing an increasing number of cases pertaining to the rights of same-sex couples, FWI – sometimes partnered with UFI – submitted amicus briefs to argue against same-sex marriage.” [SPLC, accessed 9/15/21]

FWI Maintains Economic and Social Council Consultative Status At The UN, Which Slater Uses To Access And Convene UN Leaders, Putting On Events Where She Spreads Misinformation And Bigotry. “FWI’s Economic and Social Council consultative status allows Slater to meet with U.N. leaders and put on events, like a 2011 conference where delegates were supplied with ‘scientific studies and statistics reports on cutting-edge family issues’ to help them negotiate ‘pro-family outcomes’ and, according to FWI’s newsletter, reveal to attendees ‘how the U.N. system is being manipulated by sexual rights activists to promote the sexual agenda.’ This is one of FWI’s primary tactics: peddling pseudoscientific research to U.N. delegates in order to steer policymaking.” [SPLC, accessed 9/15/21]

FWI Co-Founded And Chairs The Anti-Abortion, Anti-LGBTQIA+, Anti-CSE UN Family Rights Caucus. “UN Family Rights Caucus: Family Watch co-founded and currently chairs the UN Family Rights Caucus (UNFRC), a widely respected and highly effective coalition of pro-family advocates and organizations, representing more than four million people across the globe. … the Caucus is ‘dedicated to defending and protecting the traditional family at the UN’ and ‘has been keenly involved with the recent rise of ‘protection of the family’ resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council.’” [FWI, accessed 9/20/21]

The Holy See’s Official Delegation To The UN Has Formed An Anti-Rights Coalition With FWI And Has Used FWI Talking Points To Oppose Abortion And CSE. “The Holy See regularly attempts to set up a ‘battle of rights,’ such as presenting abortion rights as in opposition to the right to life, and setting child and youth rights to comprehensive sexuality education against ‘parental rights.’ These approaches echo the talking points and negotiating techniques of such anti-right civil society training materials as Family Watch International’s UN Resource Guide.” [Rights At Risk, 2017]

Given These Realities, FWI Has Been Called One Of The Seven Most Influential Organizations In The World At Advancing This So-Called “Family Values” Agenda. “A recent report, ‘Rights at Risk,’ identified Family Watch as one of the seven most influential organizations in the world in advancing pro-life and pro-family policies and in thwarting the radical sexual rights agenda at the UN. Interestingly, this report comes from a coalition of some of the most powerful organizations, including some with multi-billion dollar budgets that support and develop policies that undermine the traditional family.” [FWI, accessed 9/20/21]

FWI President Sharon Slater Worked With Arizona State Senator Sylvia Allen To Oppose CSE In Arizona Public Schools.

• Allen wrote an op-ed pitching Anti-CSE Senate Bill 1082 using the below bullet points, approved by anti-abortion advocates Lisa Fink and Sharon Slater

[Equity Forward public records received 3/2/20]

• In August 2019, Allen notified her colleagues she would host Slater for a discussion on sex-ed:

[Equity Forward public records received 3/2/20]

• Slater sent an email to Allen’s administrative assistant calling to attention a Planned Parenthood sex-ed response form for Arizona public schools—and suggesting they send out a Freedom of Information Act request to the schools to see what their responses were:

[Equity Forward public records received 3/2/20]

Slater Forwarded An Email To Bowers Stating That She Had Fed Material To Liberty Counsel, A Legal Firm Disputing CSE In Arizona.

[Equity Forward public records received 3/16/20]

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers Hosted An August 2019 Meeting With FWI President Sharon Slater With Other “Friendly” Legislators And Members Of the Protect Arizona Coalition.

[Equity Forward public records received 3/16/20]

Bowers And State Senator Sylvia Allen Spoke At FWI’s “Protect Arizona Children Event” In September 2019.

[Equity Forward public records received 3/16/20]

FWI Has Been Training High-Ranking African Political, Religious And Civic Leaders For At Least A Decade. “For at least a decade, African ambassadors to the United Nations have been invited to FWI’s annual training programme in the US. The focus of the training is on opposing both LGBT rights and CSE … FWI’s training for African leaders also includes practical sessions on how to negotiate at the UN.” [openDemocracy, 10/27/20]

FWI And Its Tactics Have Been Behind A Number Of Anti-LGBTQIA+ And Anti-CSE Campaign In Various African Countries. “In Africa, several countries have retreated from a commitment to the UN-approved comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) because of spirited opposition from the religious right. In the runup to Ghana’s 2020 election campaign, a religious lobby constituted itself against what it termed ‘Comprehensive Satanic Education’ – primarily because it allegedly promoted LGBTQ+ rights. … A similar anti-CSE campaign was successful in Zambia, and is gaining ground in populous Ethiopia, too. Like those in Latin America and eastern Europe, these campaigns used materials and tactics generated by ‘pro-family’ movements in the US, primarily Family Watch International (FWI) and the World Congress of Families (WCF). FWI, which is based in Arizona, and led the anti-LGBTQ+ education campaign there, has provided the muscle to the Ghana and Ethiopia campaigns in particular.” [The Guardian, 6/22/21]

FWI, Along With Its Partner World Congress Of Families, Has Been Cited As A Driving Force In Spreading Anti-LGBTQIA+ And Anti-CSE Movements Throughout Africa. “Jedidah Maina, executive director of the Kenyan NGO Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health, says that between 2010 and 2015, the anti-LGBT movement in Africa was ‘largely white evangelicals from the US, such as Family Watch International and the World Congress of Families.’ But she says, ‘Now it is morphing with new African actors. The conversation is the same but the actors have changed. These organisations are all fronted by Africans but the messaging is the same, especially in regard to CSE, which they claim sexualises children, encourages them to have sex and turns them gay.’” [Daily Maverick, 10/27/20]

FWI Organized A Coalition In South Africa To Oppose The Country’s Proposed CSE Syllabus. “In South Africa, several organisations recently launched a campaign against the new curriculum called the Protect Children South Africa Coalition. According to organisers Family Watch International, the stated purpose was to stop the ‘exploitation’ of children, which they allege occurs through CSE programmes. Family Watch joined up with its Cape Town-based partner, the Family Policy Institute, to create the movement.” [Mail & Guardian, 11/10/19]

FWI President Sharon Slater Has Developed Ties With High-Profile Anti-LGBTQIA+ African Leaders, Including Martin Ssempa. “Slater, along with a network of other religious fundamentalist organizations active in Africa, spreads her homophobic, anti-choice, abstinence-only agenda by claiming that the U.N.’s push for equal rights for LGBT people and women is part of a Western neo-imperialistic project. She’s forged close ties over the years with virulently antigay African activists like Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa – an enthusiastic supporter of the country’s “Kill the Gays” bill – who have helped her lead campaigns to oppose the decriminalization of homosexuality.” [SPLC, accessed 9/15/21]

FWI Trains NGOs And Civil Society Leaders. “Training Of And Partnering With Other NGOs: Family Watch trains civil society leaders around the world on how to successfully address controversial issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gender confusion, comprehensive sexuality education, and other issues affecting the family.” [FWI, accessed 9/20/21]

FWI Holds Secretive, “Closed-Door Events” For These Organizations and Their Leaders. “Family Leadership Summits: Family Watch holds closed-door events for other NGO leaders from around the world, equipping them with pro-family language, tools, and strategies on emerging issues of concern.” [FWI, accessed 9/20/21]

FWI Has Privately Briefed A Number Of UN Delegate Organizations, Including The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), The African Group And The Organization Of Islamic Cooperation. “UN Government Briefings: FWI has been invited to give private briefings to the UN delegates in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the African Group, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to prepare delegates in these blocs to protect the family in further UN negotiations.” [FWI, accessed 9/20/21]

FWI Puts On Large Gatherings, Such As At Its Annual “Global Policy Forum,” Where Many Prominent Anti-Abortion Extremists From The Trump Administration, UN And NGOs Have Spoken.

[Equity Forward public records received 3/16/20]