Differences Between Real Sex Education & Abstinence-Only Programs
Tell Me the (Whole) Truth Tool Kit
| Real Sex Education Programs | Abstinence-Only Programs |
|---|---|
| Provide information about sex, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and abstinence | Limit content to abstinence |
| Provide accurate information about HIV and other STDs | Often stress inaccurate information about HIV and other STDs by exaggerating statistics, and framing STDs as punishment for pre-marital sex |
| Emphasize postponing sexual activity until a young person is ready for a mature relationship | Teach that marriage is the only acceptable context for sexual activity |
| Teach that abstinence is the most effective way to prevent pregnancy and STDs | Tell students that the only way to avoid pregnancy and STDs is to wait until marriage to have sex |
| Give young people information to make informed decisions about when to have sex and how to deal with peer pressure | Teach that sex outside of marriage is mentally and physically damaging |
| Include accurate information on sexual orientation | Assume all young people are heterosexual |
| Include information about LGBT sexuality in a sensitive way | Exclude information about LGBT sexuality except when discussing disease risk, immorality, or psychological pathology |
| Teach that proper condom use reduces the risk of pregnancy and STDs | Often mention condoms only to exaggerate condom failure rates |
| Discuss various forms of contraception, their role in reducing the risk of pregnancy, their advantages and disadvantages | Often mention contraception only to exaggerate contraceptive failure rates |
| Acknowledge that religious values can play a part in a young person's decisionmaking about sex | Often promote specific religions or religious messages |
| Discuss ways to avoid STDs | Often view STDs as an inevitable consequence of sex before marriage |
| Explore options for pregnant young women including raising the baby, adoption, and abortion | Emphasize adoption for young women based on the belief that bearing a child out-of-wedlock harms the child, the parents, and society; do not explore abortion |
| Discuss increased HIV infection rates and the AIDS epidemic | Ignore realities regarding increasing HIV rates |
| Empower youth to make well informed decisions | Often use scare tactics which prevent youth from seeking treatment for STDs and counseling regarding sexual activity |
Adapted from SIECUS, Toward A Sexually Healthy America: Roadblocks Imposed by the Federal Government's Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education Program 8 (2001).
