Abstinence education

Abstinence-only sex education is a form of sex education that teaches not having sex outside of marriage. It often excludes other types of sexual and reproductive health education, such as birth control and safe sex. Comprehensive sex education, by contrast, covers the use of birth control and sexual abstinence.

Evidence does not support the effectiveness of abstinence-only sex education. It has been found to be ineffective in decreasing HIV risk in the developed world. It does not decrease rates of sexual activity or unplanned pregnancy when compared to comprehensive sex education.

The topic of abstinence-only education is controversial in the United States, with proponents claiming that comprehensive sex education encourages premarital sexual activity, and critics arguing that abstinence-only education is religiously motivated and that the approach has been proven ineffective and even detrimental to its own aims.

Abstinence education teaches children and adolescents to abstain from sexual activity, and that this is the only certain method of avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). With a heavy focus on the importance of "family values," programs also teach that abstinence until marriage is a standard by which to live.

Systematic reviews of research evaluating abstinence-only sex education have concluded that it is ineffective at preventing unwanted pregnancy or the spread of STIs, among other shortfalls.

A 2015 meta-analysis found that abstinence-focused programs had no effect on the likelihood of contracting STDs.

A Cochrane systematic review suggests that abstinence-only education neither increases nor decreases HIV risk in high-income countries. In the developing world there is a lack of evidence of effect. In 2008, Douglas Kirby reviewed the evidence for the effectiveness of abstinence-only education programs and found little evidence to justify the use of such programs. A 2011 meta-analysis found that it was ineffective at reducing the risk of HIV infection among adolescents. Abstinence education has also been found to include misleading medical information and exclude potentially life-saving information about sexual risk reduction.

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