No sex for teens

Abstinence is the only safe way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), said Dale Jones, a student of Fatima College, and one of ten secondary school students between the ages of 13-15 years who took part in the Abstinence Convention in Louisiana, USA, on April 4-6. Speaking at a media briefing on the trip hosted by the Health Ministry at its head office on Park Street yesterday, Jones said abstinence clubs  that are not only information driven but also interactive “which challenge and encourage young leaders among us.” He said a “purity ring” should be designed which will be a public display to inspire youths to remember their commitment and enhance the abstinence lifestyle.

Jones and the other participants in the Convention have presented recommendations to the Health/Education Ministries advising how abstinence could be promoted among young people. An abstinence curriculum on HIV/AIDS is also being developed by the Ministries. Yvonne Lewis, Health Education Officer with the Health Ministry, said 14 years is the average age when youths begin having sex in TT, and 42 percent of youths are sexually active. She said these figures, from the 1999 Adolescent Health Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Pan American Health Organisation, and World Health Organisation showed sexual activity is “starting from young.”

Lewis said seminars, workshops, and practical approaches were used at the Convention to focus on abstinence. She said a workshop entitled “Dream On” addressed refusal skills and showed youths how to manage situations where they are being encouraged to engage in sex. Another workshop “Death of a Dream” discussed the impact of STDs. “Start Dreaming Again” dealt with how young people who are already sexually active could abstain “and follow the abstinence pathway until they make a choice for one partner.”  Mona Rahael, patron of youths and one of the chaperones on the trip, “challenged” the Government “and those in authority” to get involved and take youths seriously.

Although this statement evoked chuckles because her husband, Health Minister John Rahael was in attendance, she also appealed for Ministries to become more involved. Rahael asserted that the success of the programme in Louisiana was due to the Governor’s involvement. Commenting on “the way forward” following the abstinence Convention, Rahael said participants will form an abstinence committee and share their experiences with their own schools and others. She said a cadre of peer educators will be trained in May by Gail Dignam, the US coordinator for the Louisiana Governor’s Programme on Abstinence and another training session will take place in August on how abstinence clubs should be managed in schools. Rahael appealed for sponsors to get involved in the clubs.