Abstinence-only Education
What is Abstinence-Only Education?
Abstinence-only is a form of sex education that focuses on teaching individuals that abstinence remains the only safe way to prevent disease and unwanted pregnancy. This type of program provides little, if any, discussion on safe sex, birth control or contraception. What does it Teach? As Defined By Section 510(b) of Title V of the Social Security Act, P.L. 104-193: 1. "Has as its exclusive purpose teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity (8 Point...)." 2. "Teaches abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage is the expected standard for all school-age children (8 Point...)." 3. "Teaches that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems (8 Point...)." 4. "Teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of sexual activity (8 Point...)." 5. "Teaches that sexual activity outside the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical side effects (8 Point...)." 6. "Teaches young people how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increase vulnerability to sexual advances, and the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity (8 Point...)." What is the Effectiveness of Abstinence-Only? There is immense amounts of research to show that comprehensive sexuality education is effective in training youth safe sex techniques and contraception use. However, there is little if any evidence to show that abstinence-only programs are effective even at achieving abstinence among its students. Here are individual studies examining and analyzing Abstinence-Only Programs: The Mathematica conducted a congressional study of four popular abstinence-only programs and found that every program was completely ineffective. The students who partcipated in the programs were no more likely to abstain from sexual behavior than students who did not (Comprehensive...). "Evaluations of publicly funded abstinence-only programs in at least 13 states have shown no positive changes in sexual behaviors over time (Comprehensive...)." In 2004, the U.S. House of Representative's Committee released a report showing that 80% of the most popularly funded abstinence-only education programs used a curriculum that contain basic scientific errors, provide false information on contraceptives, and safe sex, use scare tactics, provide misrepresentation of abortions and the risks, and provide stereotypes about relationships and female/male bodies as scientific fact (Comprehensive...)! "Among youth participating in “virginity pledge” programs, researchers found that among sexually experienced youth, 88 percent broke the pledge and had sex before marriage (Comprehensive...)." Among these participants, many had more partners in a shorter amount of time and were even less likely to use contraception, than those who did not take the pledge. "No abstinence-only program has yet been proven through rigorous evaluation to help youth delay sex for a significant period of time, help youth decrease their number of sex partners, or reduce STI or pregnancy rates among teens (Comprehensive...)." |
Abstinence-Only Laws/Policies:
For almost one hundred years, the federal government has supported and funded abstinence-only programs, which provide censored information to youth. Federal support of these programs began in 1982 through the Adolescent Family Life Act. "Then beginning in 1996, funding for abstinence-only grew exponentially with the enactment of welfare reform. The law contained a little noticed mandate of $50 million a year to fund abstinence-only programs (Howell)." In fact, the law amended Title V of the Social Security Act and became groundbreaking, both for its funding and for its extensive definition of the program. "The funding was added to an existing, set-aside account within the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) block grant known as Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS). As with all MCH block grants, states had to provide three matching dollars for every four federal dollars they received. This boosted total potential funding for abstinence-only to $87.5 million annually (Howell)." "Conservatives enthusiastically embraced CBAE as their preferred funding vehicle, as evidenced by its growth from $20 million in 2001, the program’s first year of funding, to $113 million in 2007 – a 465 percent funding increase (Howell)." Abstinence-Only States: http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=487&parentID=478 This link provides information regarding each U.S. state's policies/laws regarding Abstinence-Only Education and facts on how much funding each state receives. Facts and Statistics: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files /PPFA/AbstinenceOnly_10-07.pdf This link provides a fact sheet for Abstinence-Only education, which includes funding, statistics, government policies and effectiveness. http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/623?task=view This link provided by AdvocatesForYouth, illustrates and establishes statistics state-by-state over a 5 year period of evaluation for Abstinence-Only programs. |
References:
"8 Point Definition of Abstinence-Only Education." AdvocatesForYouth. N.p.. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/topics-issues/abstinenceonly/132?task=view>.
"Abstinence-Only Programs." PlannedParenthood. Katharine Dexter McCormick Library, n.d. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/AbstinenceOnly_10-07.pdf>.
"Comprehensive Sex Education: Research and Results." AdvocatesForYouth. N.p.. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/publications-a-z/1487-publications
"A Portrait of Sexuality Education and Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in the States (Fiscal Year 2010 Edition)." Siecus. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=487&parentID=478>.
Hauser, Debra. "Five Years of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education: Assessing the Impact ."AdvocatesForYouth. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr 2013.
<http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/623?task=view>.
Howell, Marcela. "The History of Federal Abstinence-Only Funding ." AdvocatesForYouth. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/429>.
"8 Point Definition of Abstinence-Only Education." AdvocatesForYouth. N.p.. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/topics-issues/abstinenceonly/132?task=view>.
"Abstinence-Only Programs." PlannedParenthood. Katharine Dexter McCormick Library, n.d. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/AbstinenceOnly_10-07.pdf>.
"Comprehensive Sex Education: Research and Results." AdvocatesForYouth. N.p.. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/publications-a-z/1487-publications
"A Portrait of Sexuality Education and Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in the States (Fiscal Year 2010 Edition)." Siecus. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=487&parentID=478>.
Hauser, Debra. "Five Years of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education: Assessing the Impact ."AdvocatesForYouth. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr 2013.
<http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/623?task=view>.
Howell, Marcela. "The History of Federal Abstinence-Only Funding ." AdvocatesForYouth. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr 2013. <http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/429>.