Research recently published in the journal Pediatrics has provided further evidence to demonstrate what most of us already knew about sex education: that the promotion of abstinence from sex as the only valid form of sexual activity for teenagers simply does not work.
The research, performed by Janet Elise Rosenbaum of Harvard Medical School, has shown in great detail that teenagers who are encouraged to fully abstain from sex are actually as promiscuous as any other teenager. More disturbingly, those who take abstinence pledges are less likely to use contraception during sex, leaving them more vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unwanted pregnancy.
Abstinence from sex was an increasingly popular message, supported by George Bush, with the current US government spending $200 million per annum on such schemes. The most famous one is the Silver Ring Thing, in which adolescents are encouraged by brainwashing born-again Christians not to engage in the naughty until they are married (presumably in case teenagers actually enjoy themselves?). To show off their chaste lifestyles, they are encouraged to wear chintzy pieces of jewelry.
These sort of campaigns are proving increasingly popular amongst the more evangelical wing of British policymakers, with Conservative MP Anne Widdecombe and party chairman Lord Tebbit endorsing the Silver Ring Thing, along with Lydia Playfoot becoming a cause célèbre in the UK after she was banned from wearing her own silver ring in school.
Thankfully, solid research constantly shows the failure and insecurity of such schemes and why they should be kept out of the classroom. They have real and damaging effects on many British and American teenagers. In an investigation into this phenomenon nearly five years ago, George Monbiot demonstrated how, despite the prevalence of abstinence schemes, the US suffers from near third-world rates of teenage pregnancy. Countries that encourage contraception use, however, have seen a drop in STI transmission and tiny amounts of teenage pregnancy. In my home borough of Sutton in London, the local council achieved a 17% drop of teenage pregnancy over seven years, after implementing policies that encourage contraception use and for teenagers to be open about their sex lives when speaking to doctors.
Hopefully, with the exit of George Bush from the White House, there will be a switch in US policy away from promoting asinine health schemes. As this report has shown, it can leave teenagers, those most confused about sex and relationships, more exposed and potentially damaged by the dangerous effects of STIs and unwanted pregnancy. Why are such schemes stil tolerated?
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Research recently published in the journal Pediatrics has provided further evidence to demonstrate what most of us already knew about sex education: that the promotion of abstinence from sex as the only valid form of sexual activity for teenagers simply does not work.
The research, performed by Janet Elise Rosenbaum of Harvard Medical School, has shown in great detail that teenagers who are encouraged to fully abstain from sex are actually as promiscuous as any other teenager. More disturbingly, those who take abstinence pledges are less likely to use contraception during sex, leaving them more vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unwanted pregnancy.
Abstinence from sex was an increasingly popular message, supported by George Bush, with the current US government spending $200 million per annum on such schemes. The most famous one is the Silver Ring Thing, in which adolescents are encouraged by brainwashing born-again Christians not to engage in the naughty until they are married (presumably in case teenagers actually enjoy themselves?). To show off their chaste lifestyles, they are encouraged to wear chintzy pieces of jewelry.
These sort of campaigns are proving increasingly popular amongst the more evangelical wing of British policymakers, with Conservative MP Anne Widdecombe and party chairman Lord Tebbit endorsing the Silver Ring Thing, along with Lydia Playfoot becoming a cause célèbre in the UK after she was banned from wearing her own silver ring in school.
Thankfully, solid research constantly shows the failure and insecurity of such schemes and why they should be kept out of the classroom. They have real and damaging effects on many British and American teenagers. In an investigation into this phenomenon nearly five years ago, George Monbiot demonstrated how, despite the prevalence of abstinence schemes, the US suffers from near third-world rates of teenage pregnancy. Countries that encourage contraception use, however, have seen a drop in STI transmission and tiny amounts of teenage pregnancy. In my home borough of Sutton in London, the local council achieved a 17% drop of teenage pregnancy over seven years, after implementing policies that encourage contraception use and for teenagers to be open about their sex lives when speaking to doctors.
Hopefully, with the exit of George Bush from the White House, there will be a switch in US policy away from promoting asinine health schemes. As this report has shown, it can leave teenagers, those most confused about sex and relationships, more exposed and potentially damaged by the dangerous effects of STIs and unwanted pregnancy. Why are such schemes stil tolerated?
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
This is interesting because I just read an article which said that the result of this research was not that “teenagers who are encouraged to fully abstain from sex are actually as promiscuous as any other teenager” but that they were as promiscuous as any teenager in a highly similar group selected from the set of all teenagers.
I guess it goes to show that you have to be a little sceptical about what you read in the media?
http://www.getreligion.org/?p=5313