Sex Education Doesn’t Spur Activity In Youth, Says U.N.

Education about sexual health and AIDS leads to safer sexual behavior without encouraging young people to have intercourse at an earlier age, a U.N. study said Wednesday.

The study by UNAIDS, which coordinates AIDS prevention for the United Nations, said it reached its conclusion after reviewing 68 studies conducted in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

The research helps debunk the myth that sex education promotes sexual activity among youth, said UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot. Rather, students who attend sex education classes tend to wait until they are older to have intercourse, have fewer partners, fewer unplanned pregnancies, and fewer sexually transmitted diseases.

The findings coincide with those of a Swiss study, published in the American Journal of Health, which found that a national AIDS campaign and sex education in schools resulted in fewer sexually active 17-year-olds.

In England and Sweden, the average age of those having sex for the first time is 17, while in the United States it is 16, the report said.

About half of all new HIV infections strike those 25 years old and younger, Piot said, making AIDS education imperative for young people.

Most parents are happy to leave the job to the schools, if done professionally.

“Failing to provide appropriate and timely information to young people for fear of encouraging sexual activity is not a viable option,” he said.