NCJW Calls for Comprehensive Sex-Education Programs in Public Schools

October 30, 2006, New York, NY -- The Board of Directors of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) issued the following statement regarding sex education for young adults:

"The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) believes that providing medically accurate, comprehensive sexuality education is a matter of life and health for young people and a critical safeguard of public health for all. Appallingly, however, the federal government and many public school districts around the country are instead promoting abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula that deny young adults life-saving information.

"Federally funded abstinence-only programs are mandated to teach adolescents that abstaining from sexual activity outside of marriage is the only acceptable behavior. Further, they discuss contraceptives only in the context of failure rates, often depending on fear and shame to convey their biased messages. These tactics blatantly ignore the realities faced by sexually active students, LGBT individuals, and young people who have been or are being sexually abused. Further, such curricula are often couched in religious rhetoric, seeking to impose one religious belief system on everyone -- a clear violation of religion-state separation.

"Most importantly, these programs are ineffective. A 2004 Government Accountability Office report prepared for the House Committee on Government Reform reported that abstinence-only programs may actually increase students' risks for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

"Abstinence is rightfully an integral part of any comprehensive sexuality education program. However, the reality of teens' sexual behavior also necessitates the inclusion of information about contraceptives and STDs. According to an Alan Guttmacher Institute fact sheet compiled in September 2006, 46 percent of all 15- to 19-year-olds in the United States have had sex at least once and 48 percent of new cases of STDs occur among 15 to 24 year olds.

"We urge Congress to pass the Responsible Education About Life Act (REAL) which requires that educational messages be grounded in medical fact. And we urge parents and other concerned individuals to monitor what is being taught in their public schools and to speak out in favor of curricula that will best protect our youth today and throughout their lives."

NCJW is a volunteer organization, inspired by Jewish values, that works to improve the quality of life for women, children, and families and to ensure individual rights and freedoms for all through its network of 90,000 members, supporters, and volunteers nationwide.

Contact:
Vanessa Schnaidt
212 645 4048 x179; vschnaidt@ncjw.org