Abstinence
The great sexual energy that one has on abstinence can be transformed into art, poetry, dance, and inventions - Girdhar Joshi
image by: Abstinence in Kolonia
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Huh, Another Study Says Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Doesn’t Work
You know how sometimes you read a headline about a scientific study and the finding is so obvious you wonder "why did they even bother?" Enter: a comprehensive review of studies published Tuesday that found teaching teens only the "wait-until-marriage" kind of sex ed doesn't work.
Try not to faint from shock.
What's important here, though, is that researchers have been racking up data and evidence for decades showing that abstinence-only sex education isn't effective. It not only fails to delay the age when teens first have sex, but also fails to reduce unintended pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections. Sadly, there is a need to continue this research…
Resources
The Millennials Embracing a Life Without Sex
I'm a 29-year-old man who's voluntarily accepted celibacy. Hearing from other people who've made the same choice, what else unites us?
The New Era of Abstinence
The administration’s approach defies all common sense. There is no good evidence that abstinence-only education prevents or delays young people from having sex, leads them to have fewer sexual partners or reduces rates of teen pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. And given that almost all Americans engage in premarital sex, this vision of an abstinent-outside-of-marriage world is simply at odds with reality. Abstinence-only education also spreads misinformation.
How young people talk about abstaining from sex
New research determines how college students initiate conversations about their decision to abstain from or delay sex, and the strategies they use to explain this to their partners.
Abstinence-only programs don't work
There are several problems with the abstinence-only-until-marriage, or “sexual risk avoidance” (SRA), approach. First, almost no abstinence-only program which has undergone rigorous evaluation has been shown to have any effect on young people’s behavior. Rather, programs that provide young people with information about both abstinence and birth control have a better track record of helping young people to delay sexual behavior.
Is Abstinence for You?
Abstinence can mean something different to every individual. Whether it is because of the values you’ve been taught, because you don’t want to get a disease, or for any other reason, abstinence is the best way to protect your body. Abstaining from sex (aka not engaging in any sort of sex: oral, anal, or vaginal) is actually 100% effective in preventing the spread of STDs and preventing unplanned pregnancy—and those odds seem pretty awesome to me!
John Oliver takes on America's disastrous approach to sex education
In some schools, sex education focuses on abstinence — the idea that people should wait until they're married to have sex. "You may think of [it] as a relic of the past, but it is still very much around," Oliver said, pointing to the recent boost in federal funding for abstinence-only programs from $50 million to $75 million — a sum that some states then partly match. "Look, abstinence is a healthy choice that many teens will make," Oliver said, "either by choice or, as I can attest, by circumstance."
Modified Rhythm Method Shown to Be as Effective as the Pill—But Who Has That Kind of Self-Control?
Whether or not this method will ever gain ground on other contraceptive methods—the most recent data available indicate that less than 1 percent of women who use birth control in the U.S. use any method of periodic abstinence—all observers agreed that STM can only work for couples who stick to the plan 100 percent.
Research Confirms That Abstinence-Only Education Hurts Kids
A pair of new scientific reviews conclude that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs (AOUMs) not only fail to protect kids, but also violate their human rights.
Sex Education Based on Abstinence? There’s a Real Absence of Evidence
Sex education focused on an abstinence-only approach fails in a number of ways.
Thank Contraception, Not Abstinence, for the Drop in U.S. Teen Pregnancies
The United States' teen pregnancy rate, the very highest among the world’s 20 nations with complete statistics, has been falling since the 1990s. Since 2007, it has dropped precipitously, but teens didn’t report a significant change in their sexual activity. What could possibly be behind this welcome decline in adolescent fertility?
The Pros and Cons of Abstinence Programs in Sex Education
Though the idea of abstinence-only sex education seems outdated, it is actually more popular of a teaching ideology than expected. While only two percent of schools taught abstinence-only in 1988, twenty-three percent of schools taught abstinence in sex education courses in 2015 (Livni). Despite this increase in popularity, studies have found that abstinence-only programs do not decrease the average age of sexual initiation and actually offer incorrect and potentially dangerous information.
The Unintended Consequences of Purity Pledges
A new study suggests teens who vow to be sexually abstinent until marriage—and then break that vow—are more likely to wind up pregnant than those who never took the pledge to begin with.
Why Is a Former Sex Blogger
That abstinence was even being considered as a solution to the young adult sexual minefield is a surprisingly conservative shift.
Huh, Another Study Says Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Doesn’t Work
Scientists and public health experts continue to rack up evidence that this kind of education is failing young people.
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