For Immediate Release:
September 26, 2005

Contact: Adrienne Verrilli 212-819-9770 x325

Washington, DC - As part of its Third Annual "Back to School" briefing, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) is pleased to release its latest reviews of three abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula used in federally funded programs. Although the programs vary, these reviews document that the programs are riddled with messages of fear, shame, gender stereotypes, and medical misinformation that put young people at risk.

"These reviews provided an excellent portrait of the types of abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula used in the programs funded by the federal government," said William Smith, vice president for public policy at SIECUS . "We hope this information will give educators, policymakers, community leaders, and parents the true picture of what our nation's young people are, and in many cases, are not learning with respect to their sexual health," Smith continued.

SIECUS reviewed Passions and Principals, Worth the Wait, and Navigator . These curricula are taught in federally-funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs located in more than a dozen states across the nation, including, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Texas, and Virginia among others. Since FY 2001, the programs that use these curricula have received more than $4 million.

Examples of the messages included in the curricula are as follows:

Passions and Principles:

•  "'The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good your whole body will be full of light.' Matthew 6.22" (Passion & Principles, Leader's Guide, reprint of page 2)

•  If a student rolls a four, he or she contracted AIDS and the Leader is instructed to say "You're heading to the grave. No cure." (Passion & Principles, Leader's Guide, 34)

•  "One in 5 times condoms will fail for pregnancy." (Passion & Principles, Leader's Guide, 10)

Worth the Wait:

•  "Condoms can never protect someone from the emotional problems that can result from multiple sexual partners and premature sexual activity." (Worth the Wait, Section 6-20.41)

•  Males will often have their first intercourse experience with a woman to whom he feels no particular attachment while females tend to have their first sexual experience with a man they love and may want to marry." (Worth the Wait, Section 5-11)

•  "Equally as serious as the physical risks/side effects can be the emotional impact of abortion. 'Some women may feel guilty, sad, or empty while others may feel relief that the procedure is over. Some women have reported serious psychological effects after their abortion, including depression, grief, anxiety, lowered self-esteem, regret, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sexual dysfunction, avoidance of emotional attachment, flashbacks, and substance abuse.'" (Worth the Wait, Section 6-8)

Navigator:

•  "The doctor has done the first scrape of her cervix. If this procedure does not remove all of the cancer, she will need to have a full hysterectomy in order to remove all the cancer, in which case Sherri will never be able to have children." (Navigator, work book, p. 48)

•  "She realized that the emotional pain she was experiencing was real, and that a condom wasn't going to do anything to blunt the emotional hurt she was experiencing." (Navigator, workbook, p. 33)

•  "Abortion is often listed first by students, because it seems to be a quick and easy solution. If students list abortion, ask 'if a girl chooses to have an abortion, do you think it will have long-term consequences for her? Do you think it will affect her physically, emotionally, mentally, or socially?'" (Navigator Guide Book, p. 36)

"Programs that disparage condom use, instill fear and shame in young people, perpetuate gender stereotypes, and contain anti-abortion messages, among other deplorable statements, have no place in any program for school-aged young people, let alone programs sanctioned by the federal government, and paid for with hard-earned tax dollars." Smith said.

Over the past five years, more than $600 million federal dollars have been spent on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. President Bush is seeking an additional $206 million in FY 2006 alone. Y et no sound study exists that shows these programs have any long-term beneficial impact on young people's sexual behavior. More than a dozen states have evaluation their Title V programs, and still none have found the abstinence-only-until-marriage approach to be effective. In fact, recent studies are showing that these programs may be potentially harmful to young people.

In contrast, numerous studies and evaluations published in peer-reviewed literature suggest that comprehensive education about sexuality, programs that teach teens about both abstinence and contraception/disease prevention, are an effective strategy to help young people delay their initiation of sexual intercourse.

SIECUS believes in time-tested and proven evidence that finds teaching abstinence alongside other issues, not in isolation from them, provides the best long term outcomes for youth," said Smith. "We hope by exposing the messages included in many of the abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula will encourage policymakers to rethink their commitment to these unproven and harmful programs, and support a more comprehensive approach," Smith said.

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Read the Full Curricula Reviews on SIECUS' Community Action Kit website