Abstinence Education – Old-Fashioned Values or Successful Public Health Model?

From the Desk of

Lisa Frick, Program Director

Perhaps you have seen sitcoms or stand-up comedy acts that make fun of “abstinence education”, also called Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) education. Abstinence has often been the butt of the entertainment industry’s jokes as it is assumed to be an archaic school of thought only relevant to religious groups or unstylish antiquated values. Cultural progressive logic touts the idea of encouraging sexual “freedom” as long as “no one else gets hurt,” and if we just teach students how to have “safe” sex, the problems of teen pregnancy and STDs can be solved. After all, teens are going to have sex, so we might as well teach them how to lessen the consequences. This is the philosophy behind Sexual Risk Reduction (SRR) or “condom-based” programs. However, there is an inconvenient truth behind this ideology. It does not support real-world scenarios and consequences for sexually active teens.

Live Free’s motto is “Respect Reality, Live Free”. SRA education, such as Live Free, is an evidence-based, medically accurate approach that addresses the realities of the emotional and physical consequences of teen sex.  It considers the fact that no birth control or protection method is without failure rates, not to mention user errors and side effects. Sexual activity among teens is not only risky physically but leads to emotional insecurity and higher rates of depression and suicide.

The SRA apprach is a recognized and successful public health model in which avoiding risks, rather than reducing risks, is the goal. This public health model is the same used for underage drinking and smoking. We don’t tell our kids to drink lighter beer or smoke less-toxic cigarettes. We tell teens to AVOID all alcohol and forms of tobacco because it is the optimal health standard for teenagers. The same truth applies to sex. It is the healthiest choice for teens to avoid sexual activity altogether and when given the facts, teens often choose this for themselves. For the sexually active teen, this health model still applies. Just as we would encourage a teen who smokes to discontinue smoking, a sexually active teen can make the healthy decision to discontinue sexual activity.

SRA education is not only reality-based but effective. The latest CDC research shows that more teens are choosing to not be sexually active. The percentage of teens that say they have not had sex has increased 32% in the last 26 years. Also, 25 peer-reviewed studies have shown that students who take a SRA program, such as Live Free, are more likely to 1) not initiate sex if they have not been sexually active and 2) discontinue sexual activity if they are already sexually active and are no less likely to use a condom.1

Believing in an SRA approach is believing in our kids. They have the ability and intelligence to make a healthy decision when given the facts.

1 References: https://weascend.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Sexual-Risk-Avoidance-Education-What-You-Need-to-Know.pdf