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Interagency Youth Working Group

© 2003 Sean Hawkey, Courtesy of Photoshare© 2001 Jim Stipe/Lutheran World Relief, Courtesy of Photoshare© 2001 Jennifer Knox/CCP, Courtesy of Photoshare© 2006 Jane Koehler/CCP, Courtesy of Photoshare© 2005 Esther Braud, Courtesy of Photoshare

Resources On Youth Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS

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2006 Basil Safi/CCP, Courtesy of Photoshare Abstinence Email to a friend

Recommended Resources

Program Reports

Tools and Curricula

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Complete sexual abstinence is the most effective means of protecting people against both pregnancy and HIV infection. Adolescents who successfully practice abstinence require strong social support from community members, a high degree of motivation and self-control, and good communication skills.
 
The term “abstinence” means different things to different people. Most faith-based groups generally view abstinence as a commitment to refrain from sex until marriage. Others view it as delaying sex until some future time, such as when entering into a committed relationship. Or the term can refer to those who have been sexually active at one time but now have decided to refrain. This is often referred to as “secondary abstinence.”
 
Programs on abstinence should:
  • teach practical skills in refusal and negotiation and help youth develop an “abstinence plan”
  • use role plays in which young people practice successfully handling peer pressure and saying no to sex
  • develop age-appropriate messages that are segmented for youth audiences with varying levels of emotional maturity
  • consider media campaigns, which have contributed to delay in sexual initiation
Recommended Resources

Program Reports
Abstinence: An Option for Adolescents. Evidence that sexual abstinence may have played an important role in reducing HIV infection in Uganda has renewed interest in promoting this method of protection against unplanned pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections. (Family Health International, 2002)
 
Abstinence and Delayed Sexual Initiation. Promoting abstinence is an important strategy that can help delay sexual activity, but complementary messages are needed for those who are sexually active. (Family Health International/YouthNet, 2003)
 
Abstinence and Delayed Sexual Initiation for Youth. Programs that include comprehensive messages can teach skills for practicing abstinence as well as provide information for sexually active youth about condoms and reducing the number of partners. (USAID, 2004)
 
Abstinence, Fewer Partners, and Condom Use are Complementary Messages. The first phase of a major six-country study suggests that promotion of abstinence from sex to prevent HIV infection contributed to an approximately one-year delay of sexual initiation among youth in two countries — Uganda and Zambia — where HIV prevalence declined throughout the 1990s. (Family Health International, 2003)
 
Abstinence: Zambian Youth are Asking for It. This success story from USAID/Zambia points out that media campaigns can help present abstinence as a social norm. (USAID, 2003)
 
Condom Use and Abstinence among Unmarried Young People in Zimbabwe: Which Strategy, Whose Agenda? This paper compares the views about abstinence and condom use expressed by young people in Zimbabwe. (Population Council, 2003)
Tools and Curricula
These tips on practicing abstinence help young people develop a strategy for choosing abstinence. (excerpted from HIV Counseling and Testing for Youth, Family Health International/YouthNet, 2005)

Disclaimer: The information provided on this web site is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Government or The Johns Hopkins University.