Reducing Teen Pregnancy -- Educational

Reducing Teen Pregnancy -- Educational Source Review

Forrest, Simon. "Sex Education that Works." (2009). Retrieved October 21, 2009, from: http://www.avert.org/sex-education.htm.

Brief Summary of Source Reviewed

AVERT is a charitable British organization dedicating to "AVERTing" HIV and AIDS through education about safe sex practices and other risk minimization techniques. As part of its mission, the AVERT website provides a critical review of various approaches to sexual education. Because the sexual behaviors responsible for transmitting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are the same as those responsible for unwanted pregnancy, the concepts and distinctions outlined by AVERT are equally applicable to the prevention of unwanted teenage pregnancy.

In its online educational resources, AVERT provides a section titled "Sexual Education That Works" that details the reasons and rationale for promoting a comprehensive sexual education rather than an abstinence-only approach such as that heavily favored by the last U.S. presidential administration.

Rhetorical Stance of Source Reviewed

The fundamental position of the AVERT material on effective sexual education is that a message that relies on trying to discourage teenage sexual activity by promoting abstinence is completely useless. The resource provides statistical evidence documenting that abstinence-only sexual education results (at best) only in temporary behavioral changes that are very short-lived and incapable of providing long-term behavioral changes necessary to prevent STD transmission, HIV / AIDS, and unwanted pregnancy.

This educational resource details the benefits of a more comprehensive approach to sexual education based on statistical data as well as the anecdotal information provided by experienced educators. In principle, AVERT argues that a truly effective approach to teenage sexual education must acknowledge the reality that six of every ten teenage girls and five of every ten teenage boys experience sexual intercourse before the age of 18. For that reason, the approach to sexual education of teenagers recommended instead of one-dimensional focus on discouraging sexuality altogether must include three main elements: (1) sexual development and reproduction; (2) contraception and birth control; and (3) relationships.

Furthermore, this resource argues that sexual education should begin before puberty and before teenagers begin to experiment sexually and develop habits that are more difficult to address after the fact. Likewise, the resource suggests that information about appropriate sexual behavior and intimate relationships should come from more than a single source such as school-based educational programs. In that regard, parents and counselors should also contribute to the development of healthy attitudes and beliefs about sexual expression. Finally, the resource presents evidence to discount the unwarranted fear that early exposure to these concepts might encourage earlier sexual experimentation than would occur without it.