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Transitions
Volume 12, No. 3,
March 2001
This Transitions is
also available in [PDF] format.
Teaching Abstinence as a Part of Comprehensive Sex Education: What
Is Abstinence?
Purpose: Participants will define abstinence and identify
skills to make sexual abstinence work.
Planning Notes: Abstinence is the only
100 percent effective method for avoiding unwanted pregnancy
and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Teens—especially
young teens—should be encouraged to delay sexual
initiation. Educators should acknowledge the importance
of abstinence and provide youth with the knowledge, attitudes,
and skills necessary to make abstinence work. Educators
should also plan lessons to discuss other areas of reproductive
and sexual health, including contraceptive technology.
Even youth who pledge to remain abstinent need information
about contraception and condoms to help them prevent unwanted
pregnancy, HIV and other STDs when they do become sexually
active. Research indicates that information about
contraception does not increase sexual activity nor hasten
the onset of sexual initiation in teens.
Materials: Newsprint and markers, or
chalk and board.
Time: 50 minutes
Procedure:
- Introduce the activity by pointing out that failure
to make good decisions about sex is one of the reasons
teens can become infected with HIV, other STDs and/or experience
an unplanned pregnancy. Explain that one decision teens
can make about sex is to not have it—to abstain until
they are older.
- Pin up two different newsprint sheets with the word "Abstinence" written
on each one.
- Ask teens to define abstinence. Write their responses
on one of the newsprint sheets.
If the youth do not make the following points, make them yourself:
- Abstinence is a deliberate decision to avoid something. People choose
to abstain from many different things, such as sweets, meat, candy, tobacco
products, voting, alcohol and/or other drugs, and/or sexual activities.
- People choose to abstain for many different reasons, such as health
(avoiding sweets or fat), personal religious beliefs (avoiding meat,
alcohol), commitment to a cause or person (abstaining from voting and/or
participating in some behaviors), fear (of punishment, of negative consequences),
and disinterest.
- People define sexual abstinence in many different ways. For one person,
it may mean no physical contact with potential partners—no kissing,
no holding hands. For another, it may mean abstaining from one particular
behavior, such as avoiding vaginal intercourse.
For the purpose of this exercise, abstinence should mean
having no sexual intercourse: vaginal, oral, and/or anal.
- Split the class into four groups give the groups 15
minutes to list and discuss at least ten reasons why teens
might decide to not have sex.
- Once the groups have completed their list, ask them
to share the reasons they have listed with the rest of
the class. Record the reasons on a master list using the
second newsprint sheet.
Teens should have identified some of the following, if not add them to the
list:
- Religious beliefs, personal beliefs, not ready for
sex, want to wait until married, want to wait until out
of high school, risk of pregnancy, risk of STDs, don't
want to jeopardize goals, relationship with parents,
not in love, peer pressure, not interested.
- Ask the class to discuss the reasons listed. Ask
the teens to evaluate if each reason is a "good" or "bad" reason
in their opinion to choose abstinence.
Validate that people have different reasons for choosing abstinence and that
each should be valued and respected.
- Explain to the group that abstinence is only 100 percent
effective if used consistently and correctly. Ask teens
what they think you mean by that statement.
- Conclude with the following discussion:
- Given what we learned today, do you think that
there are some good reasons to choose abstinence
from sexual intercourse?
- Is it difficult to stick to the decision not to
have sex? What are some things people can do
to help themselves follow through with that decision?
- What can you do to help your friends if they choose
to be abstinent?
Adapted from Life
Planning Education, a comprehensive sex education curriculum. Washington,
DC: Advocates for Youth, in press.
Transitions (ISSN
1097-1254) © 2001, is a quarterly publication of Advocates for Youth—Helping
young people make safe and responsible decisions about
sex. For permission
to reprint, contact Transitions' editor at 202.419.3420.
Editor: Sue Alford
Click here to view the Publications Catalog and/or
to order this publication.
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