Abstinence is the choice to refrain from sexual activity until marriage. It is a positive lifestyle that emphasizes personal responsibility, healthy relationship skills, how to achieve goals, and so much more.

Abstinence education teaches that everyone is valuable for who they are and not what they do. Young people are taught that sex is something special to be enjoyed at the proper time and place: in a healthy, committed faithful marriage. Parents and families of teens are encouraged to take an active role in their youths’ sexual education, for they are proven to be extremely influential factors.

Abstinence is the only 100% effective means for preventing all sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy, and the emotional consequences often associated with sex outside of marriage. As a result, it is the best and healthiest message to promote in today’s sex-saturated culture. Abstinence from sexually activity until marriage includes vaginal intercourse, oral sex, anal sex, and mutual sex play.

Abstinence education is character-based education that provides opportunities for youth, from their earliest years, to develop character traits like respect for self and others, responsibility, honesty, self-discipline, self-control, integrity, fairness, courage, etc. With these skills and traits, abstinence not only makes sense, but is a truly viable option.

For more information about abstinence education, and a wide variety of related issues, please visit our prevention website at www.betheone.org.

“Does it really work?” Those of us who work in the field of abstinence-until-marriage education hear that question quite often. The answer is a resounding YES! Numerous studies in scholarly journals show beyond a doubt, that even a very small amount of true abstinence education has a long-term impact when it comes to encouraging young people to save sex for marriage. Data available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demonstrates the positive effect that abstinence-until-marriage education can have on a community.

Every two years the CDC surveys thousands of young people across the country. Palm Beach County participates in this study called the “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey” (YRBS). The YRBS asks students a series of questions ranging from their eating habits, to their TV watching, and to their sexual behavior. Comparing 2004 results with the latest survey taken in 2006, it is obvious that the youth of Palm Beach County are changing their attitudes and behaviors with regard to sex.

• The results outlined below demonstrate just how differently teenagers in Palm Beach County are behaving compared with the rest of the state of Florida.
• The number of Palm Beach County teenagers who described themselves as “currently sexually active” decreased 11%, while statewide numbers stayed the same.
• The number of Palm Beach County teenagers who reported having sexual intercourse before age 13 decreased by 25%, even as state rates increased by 6%.
• The number of Palm Beach County teenagers who reported having “had sexual intercourse with four or more persons during their life” decreased by almost 20%, while state numbers increased by more than 4%.

What makes Palm Beach County so different? The main thing is Be the One’s authentic, abstinence-until-marriage education. From 2004 to 2006, Be the One educated more than 36,000 teenagers with four hours of abstinence-until-marriage education and what a difference those four hours have made!

Be the One teaches young people that there is a proper time and place for sex - only inside of a faithful, committed marriage. Young people are listening and responding. Without Be the One there would be no one teaching our youth the value of marriage and the benefits of saving sex. Next time someone asks you if abstinence really works, you can confidently tell them, YES!