Virginity Pledges Don't Work

This just in: ignorance and shame don't lead to better decision-making. According to conservative Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, "Virginity pledges don't reduce rates of STDs, study finds." This article reports on a study done by researchers at Yale and Columbia, universities in the United States. Youth who take virginity pledges, a fad being pushed in the abstinence-only version of sex miseducation favoured by the right, engage in sexual activity later, have fewer partners, and marry earlier, but they get STDs at the same rate as other youth, they are more likely to engage in oral and anal sex, and are more likely to engage in sex without using condoms. They are also less likely to seek treatment for STDs. The study was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. (Via this post at Feministing)