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For a country that prides itself on moral integrity and values, it seems ironic that the U.S. has a higher rate of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases than any other developed country in the world.
People blame the media, advertisers, and a myriad of other sources as the reason behind our sex-obsessed culture. But perhaps it is what we aren’t learning that is causing the problem.
In dozens of recent studies conducted throughout the last decade, nearly every single one concluded that abstinence-only sex education has not only failed, but has in fact mislead teens and contributed to an increase in teen pregnancy and STDs. The American Psychological Association conducted a study in 2005 that found comprehensive sex education to be more effective in preventing unwanted pregnancies and STDs.
Committee chairwoman for the APA’s study and psychologist Maureen Lyon, Ph.D., said, “Both comprehensive sex education and abstinence only programs delay the onset of sexual activity. However, only comprehensive sex education is effective in protecting adolescents from pregnancy and sexually transmitted illnesses at first intercourse and during later sexual activity.
In contrast, scientifically sound studies of abstinence only programs show an unintended consequence of unprotected sex at first intercourse and during later sexual activity.”
According to a 2002 study by Chris Collins, M.P.P. Priya Alagiri, J.D. and Todd Summers for the AIDS Policy Research Center & Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences recommended eliminating congressional, federal, state and local requirements that public funds be used for abstinence-only sex education.
What neither side disputes is the fact that abstinence is the only 100-percent effective way to avoid unplanned pregnancies and STDs. However, with the majority of high school students losing their virginity by their senior year, there is an urgent need for practicality in sex education.
When minors are told that sex in any way, shape, or form is dirty and shameful, it discourages them from being safe when they do become sexually active because it has been stigmatized. So instead of buying condoms or talking to their parents about birth control, unprepared teenagers delve into sex without knowing how to protect themselves or fully understanding the consequences.
The Obama administration has taken note of the ineffectiveness of abstinence-only sex education and is currently looking into whether or not to adjust the policy that states not receive funding for sex education if they teach “abstinence-plus” or comprehensive sex education.
Despite what happens politically, it is important for parents to educate their children in whatever manner they see fit and to rely on school-sanctioned sex education only as supplemental information.
For tips on how to talk to your children about sex, visit the following links:
Children Now and the Kaiser Family Foundation
Values Parenting
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Add a Comment11 Comments
I disagree. Looking at it from my perspective (that of an 18 year old) I am ashamed that, at sixteen, I couldn't name the different parts of what makes up the vagina! They turn it into something to blush at; dirty, shameful, embarrassing. Sex is something very important, and after twelve years in the public school system's health education system, I have to say, it has failed. The reason people use the words cunt and pussy as derogatory words are because we are taught that the female body is something shameful, to be covered up and hidden away at all costs. The word vagina is unacceptable to use now, and because people blush over using that word, instead using slang words, other meanings of the word vagina have become derogatory. Sex is good and everything, but girls need to learn to love themselves. Dr. Sue Johanson says that woman should be sexually active from the time they hit puberty until the time they die, either through sex or masturbation. We eat, shower, etc to take care of our bodies. Doing so honors God. But sexual needs are often forgotten. Embrace being female. Don't depend on men for an orgasm. Call it a Vagina, and learn all about it. It's on YOUR BODY,for goodness sakes! It shouldn't be a mystery!! Embrace who you are, and teach these children about it from a young age. When young adults decide to have sex, they want to do it safely, and I've had friends who didn't know that the pill is less effective on antibiotics, or how to correctly use a condom. These things are important. I think love is much more important in sex than marriage is. And telling us not to won't stop us, it just makes us dreadfully ignorant. And where there is ignorance, there is blundering.
June 1, 2009 - 7:43pmThis Comment