Imagine trying to convince teenagers that they shouldn't have sex. Such a ridiculous idea would be laughable, except that it is the policy of US President George Bush, and is undermining the health and wellbeing of young people in the US and around the world.
A review conducted in the US by Advocates for Youth (AFY) that examined evaluations in 10 states of the effectiveness of abstinence-only sex education programs found that these programs not only fail to delay the initiation of sexual activity by young people, but also fail to bring about a decline in unsafe sex.
In 1996, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act, which included the allocation of US$250 million over five years for abstinence-only sex education. Such education prohibits discussion about any forms of contraception except to highlight their failure rates. It promotes abstinence from sex outside of marriage as the only morally acceptable behaviour.
According to the AFY report's author, Debra Hauser, "some of the evaluations indicate that abstinence-only programs may have a negative impact on young people's willingness to use contraception or condoms once they do become sexually active".
Data from the US government's Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the sexual behaviour of high school students confirms that since Bush's abstinence-only programs were initiated, there has been no significant decline in the number of US high school students who are sexually active.
James Wagoner, president of AFY, said on September 28 that the reports "provide further indication that the abstinence-only approach is misguided and should be abandoned". Wagoner added that "30 years of public health research shows — and parents agree — that young people need encouragement and support to delay sex and they need information about condoms and birth control to help them protect themselves when they do become sexually active".
There's nothing wrong with young people having sex, as long as it's consensual and safe. Young people don't need Bush's Christian fundamentalist morals shoved down their throats — they need sufficient access to information, education and contraception in order to make informed and confident choices. Such choices are undermined by abstinence-only "education".
According to the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, each year in the US there are around 15 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases and a quarter of these are among teenagers.
Nearly 900,000 people under the age of 19 become pregnant every year — the US has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the developed world.
In 2003, 47% of high school students had had sexual intercourse at some stage, and according to the CDC, 37% of sexually active high school students did not use a condom when they last had sexual intercourse.
But despite the utter failure and the potentially deadly consequences of abstinence-only sex-education programs, the US House of Representatives passed a 49% increase in funding to them in early October.
And Bush's attacks are not restricted to the US, but extend across the globe.
In July, the International Working Group on Sexuality and Social Policy, a global forum of professional researchers and activists, released two reports revealing that the US government's ban on aid funding to Latin America and the Carribean for family planning programs that include both abortion and the use of condoms is not only undermining effective sex education for young people, but is setting back the global fight to eliminate AIDS. Known as the "global gag rule", this policy is responsible for a "sweeping, comprehensive attack on sexual rights", according to the IWGSSP.
US family planning funding is being channelled into agencies that promote abstinence as the only way to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Bush's policy prohibits the funding of any group that advises or counsels women about abortion, performs abortions or campaigns for the legalisation of abortion services (even if the group uses its own funds for these activities).
Bush has promised $15 billion over the next five years to help fight the spread of HIV and AIDS. However, one-third of these funds will be spent on abstinence-only programs. This is murder.
"It's time", concluded Wagoner, for the US government "to invest in programs based on science and public health research, rather than politics and ideology".
Kerryn Williams
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, November 24, 2004.
Visit the