No evidence to support funding of abstinence-only programmes

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

A special issue of Sexuality Research and Social Policy, the official journal of the National Sexuality Resource Center (NSRC), examined a broad range of problem associated with abstinence only programmes. Having reviewed 56 studies assessing the impact of abstinence programs and that of comprehensive programmes on adolescents’ sexual behaviour (pdf) Douglas ...

Polygyny

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

Abstinence and faithfulness are often promoted as the only and best forms of protection against HIV infection. If the theory is true, in the real world abstinence and faithfulness have shown an impressive rate of failure. In a couple it takes two for it to work, and when single it ...

Clash of the Titans: Abstinence vs Condoms

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

Ivory Coast Campaign (Click to enlarge) A few days ago Elizabeth Pisani commented on her website on how the Cambodian government caved in to US pressure. US pro-abstinence ideologues were meddling with a recognised efficacious HIV prevention intervention in exchange for economic advantages. This was an interesting post and it fitted with ...

Saved by romanticism?

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

In The Invisible Cure: Africa, The West and the Fight against AIDS, Helen Epstein suggests that "What may have helped spare the West a heterosexual AIDS epidemic on the scale of Africa's is the romantic belief that there is a”perfect partner” , a “soul mate”, to be cherished “for richer ...