Does teaching abstinence really work?

What other choice is there? Can you imagine a society worse than the one we live in? Well, that would be a society where abstinence is unheard of, let alone encouraged! The society we live in is a rotten one and it has continued to cripple the morals of young people. However, the teaching of abstinence in schools and other community gatherings has to be seriously appreciated and followed, otherwise I’m afraid to envisage what the world would be without things like sex education.Abstinence is what prevents unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. In a nutshell, it is the safest and most convenient way to avoid all these mishaps that continue to befall the human race. From childhood, we are taught how to say words the right way, we are encouraged to walk and we are taken to school to learn how to write, think and make rational decisions. I guess what I am trying to say is that, life is about learning. We learn everything and that includes abstaining. And while some people actually put an effort into learning and following simple instructions that are actually for their own good, others stubbornly do not. They continue to do otherwise and I’m sorry to say this but they are the ones that have continued to die of AIDS or suffer with unwanted pregnancies and other mishaps.As of 2011, the number of people living with HIV in Rwanda was 170,000, and because of other preventive measures including abstinence, that number has not increased. I’m sorry, who said it didn’t work?Together with other preventive measures, the number of new HIV infections in Sub-Saharan Africa dropped to 1.7 million in 2011 from an estimated 2.6 million in 1997.Abstinence is the only way to sidestep abortions which lead to deaths and other fertility complications. Even if this sounds so cliché, abstinence is also the only way to avoid heartbreaks. I mean if you have not ‘given away’ anything then you have not lost anything.Abstinence is the only guarantee that you will get a partner who loves you and respects you because of your decision and not a phony that will ‘get some’ then head for the door faster than you can blink! Abstinence can be a very difficult thing especially if you hang around the wrong kind of people and things like drugs and alcohol that normally affect ones judgment – more so when it comes to not giving up the goods. However, it all starts with baby steps; we must continue teaching abstinence even when there is no immediate reaction or result. People will follow with time (at least the ones who have not already) and before you know it, the environment will be healthier and happier.