For years the debate has raged as to whether abstinence only or safer sex based education programs is most appropriate for teenagers. Advocates of abstinence only programs maintain that the only 100% effective method of preventing teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases is by not engaging in sexual contact and this makes abstinence the only acceptable form of education. Advocates of safer sex education programs contend that this is not a realistic goal for teenagers and the research appears to support their claims.
Abstinence Only
Planned Parenthood and many other advocates of using condoms or barrier methods of protection refer to this as safer sex, rather than safe sex, because no method of protection is 100% effective. A point that abstinence only advocates are quick to point out.
From a biological standpoint it is true that the only way to completely guarantee that an individual will not contract a sexually transmitted disease or conceive a child is to not engage in sexual activity.
However, requiring teens to consistently choose to disregard their sexual attraction to each other is roughly the equivalent of asking them to graduate college by 7 years of age. Theoretically it will be possible for a few of them, but it is neither realistic nor developmentally appropriate. Sexual attraction is not an accident. It’s ingrained in the human consciousness by design and it blossoms during the teenage years.
Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Disease
In 2006 a federally funded evaluation of 25 years of abstinence only programs was rather unceremoniously released confirming that abstinence only programs are no more effective than safer sex programs in preventing teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. This is one of several studies in recent years to highlight the dangers in denying teens information about safe sex practices.
Probably the most startling of these results came from the eight year, federally funded National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which tracked students who took virginity pledges declaring their intent to abstain from sex until marriage. Because these teens were trying to abstain from vaginal intercourse, but were fighting the same natural urges all teens have, 13% of the pledgers engaged in anal or oral sex and most did so without any form of protection since they were never educated in safer sex practices. By comparison only 2% of teens who didn't take these pledges engaged in the same high risk behavior.
Safer Sex
The most unfortunate aspect of safer sex programs is that they are widely seen as encouraging teens to have sex. This is not in fact the case. Most safer sex programs at least acknowledge the benefits of abstaining as a choice. But they also acknowledge the likelihood that teens will act on their perfectly natural urges and seek to prepare them to make informed responsible choices.
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