Our Adolescents Deserve a Better Deal

"Our adolescents deserve a better deal," says Simonne Dyer, Deputy Leader of the Kiwi Party.

A recently published randomised controlled trial with young adolescents, approved by the University of Pennsylvannia, shows a greater reduction in their sexual activity over a 24 month period after they received an abstinence only intervention, compared with that of another group who received a safer sex only intervention.

Educators in New Zealand are being asked to look at this programme but Peter Gall, President of the Secondary Principals Association, says he is happy with the programmes schools are currently using.

"Surely Mr Gall you are not happy with the statistics that show no reduction in teenage STDs, pregnancy and abortion in spite of the years Family Planning have spent pushing the use of condoms in their safer sex programmes in schools. And surely you also are deeply offended at the latest Family Planning campaign promoting the condom as the next Kiwi icon.

"Furthermore, Mr Gall," says Dyer, "there are thousands of New Zealand parents who would like to have this abstinence only programme offered to their adolescent children.

"It is time to try another approach and the Kiwi Party calls on school principals to not allow prejudice to refuse an effective means of helping our adolescents delay their sexual activity."

ENDS

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