Abstinence-Based Sex Education: No Scientific Basis Whatsoever

This morning I recoiled in horror reading that the government had introduced abstinence-based sex education to be rolled out in September of this year. The program would also segregate students according to red, yellow and green colours based on their risk of sexual activity, which would constitute clear breaches of human rights. 

I immediately wrote an article in response which can be found at the Malay Mail Online and the Malaysian Insider. This blogpost is just to refer you all to the academic journal articles that I referred to in writing the article. 

The first article I referred to is available here, whereby a meta-analysis of different interventions in American schools was conducted over 15 years and found that there was a “very small overall effect of the interventions in abstinent behaviour”.

~ Mónica Silva, 'The effectiveness of school-based sex education programs in the promotion of abstinent behavior: a meta-analysis' (2002) 17(4) Health Education Research 471-481

The second article showed that abstinence-only education ‘did not reduce the likelihood of engaging in vaginal intercourse’ and that adolescents who received comprehensive sex education (including safe sex education) were less likely to report teen pregnancy. 

~ Pamela K Kohler, Lisa E Manhart and William E Lafferty, 'Abstinence-Only and Comprehensive Sex Education and the Initiation of Sexual Activity and Teen Pregnancy' (2008) 42 Journal of Adolescent Health 344-351

And the third article surveyed teachers in South Africa and found that although teachers were inclined to promote abstinence, they recognised the importance of the role that safe sex education played. The authors commented that these modalities: 'might be strategically combined to promote a comprehensive sexuality education that builds a sense of agency and responsibility without alienating young people through moralism.’ 

~ Dennis A Francis and Renée DePalma, 'Teacher Perspectives on Abstinence and Safe Sex Education in South Africa' (2014) 14(1) Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning 

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