Research shows that Jamaican youths are at risk of incurring tragedy in their young lives. Either with an unwanted pregnancy or HIV infection, due to high sexual activity, particularly in the case of girls. The danger is that youths do not properly assess their vulnerabilities. Abstinence as the preferred option and condom use as a secondary option must continue to be encouraged if not pressed upon youths by a range of influential sources, including the media, to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, since so many cases of teen sex "just happens".

- Futures Group USAID study: Promoting Abstinence, Condom Use and the Emergency Contraception Option among Sexually Active Youth in Jamaica

Against the background of the explosion in the rate of teen pregnancies with the mean age of first sexual contact being 12 for girls and nine for boys, it may be instructive for Jamaican churches to follow other countries to encourage virginity pledges among teens with the view of preventing, delaying early sexual intercourse until marriage or at least when they are more responsible.

Abstinence

A virginity pledge is a commitment, usually made in a group, to practise abstinence until marriage. These pledges are usually symbolised by the exchange of purity rings, or covenant cards.

According to the Heritage Foundation, teens who make virginity pledges enjoy the following life outcomes:

Less likely to experience teen pregnancy;

less likely to be sexually active while in high school and as young adults;

less likely to have a child out of wedlock;

are less likely to engage in risky unprotected sex; and

will have fewer sexual partners.

Baptist origin

Virginity pledges started in the United States in 1993 by the Southern Baptist Convention and hundreds of churches, schools and colleges around the world now promote them. Virginity pledge programmes take many forms with religion as the driving motivation for the pledge with biblical quotes on pledge cards.

Where social agencies promote virginity pledges, statistics are used to motivate the pledge. Virginity pledges are more effective when supported by abstinence-only sex education in schools. According to Wikipedia, any other type of sexual education would promote sex outside of marriage, which they hold to be immoral and risky.

The purity rings are used to symbolise the pledge. There are several designs from which to choose. Examples are 'Coincide - Crown of Thorns' - symbolic of the constructive interference phenomena where two waves coinciding with each becoming one, ultimately increasing their strength. One may also select 'Miss Faith Purity Ring' with a single white jewel representing innocence, purity, virginity and pure love. It represents faith and a willingness to wait.

Another is 'Remember the Cross' purity ring to symbolise the love God gave to the world and worn as a commitment to God's teachings.

Conflicting views

Although the virginity pledge to remain a virgin until marriage has helped some teens and young adults delay sexual activity, there are conflicting views on the effectiveness of the pledge. According to a study by the Rand Corporation in the United States in a report published in the October 2008 issue Journal of Adolescent Health, virginity pledges have helped some teenagers delay sex as 34 per cent of youths who took the pledge as teens have sexual intercourse within three years compared to 42 per cent of similar teens who did not take the virginity pledge. The study took into account differences such as religious beliefs, parenting and friendship characteristics.

Oral sex

Lead researcher in the Rand study, psychologist Steven Martino, believes that 'making a pledge to remain a virgin until married may provide extra motivation to adolescents who want to delay becoming sexually active'. It is believed that the act of pledging may create some social pressure or social support that helps them to follow through with their clearly stated public intention. Some researchers had speculated that teens might substitute other sexual activities such as oral sex for intercourse (Alan Guttmacher Institute).

There are arguments against virginity pledges as a guarantee in delaying sex until marriage. New research says the mere act of taking a public vow will not keep teens from sexual activity. A new study on "virginity pledges" reported in Pediatrics (July 2009) suggests that they are ineffective and perhaps dangerous. The study by Janet Rosenbaum of Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health on the effects of "virginity pledges" suggests that the mere act of taking a public vow of abstinence is ineffective and likely to lead to riskier choices if (or when) teens have sex.

Unprotected sex

The study found that teens who took a virginity pledge have sexual relationships that are nearly identical to those of similar teens who did not make such a pledge. The study highlighted the negative effect of the pledge in that teens who took a virginity pledge and broke it by having sex, were less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control to prevent pregnancy and contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. In this regard, the study warns that taking a virginity pledge is at best ineffective, and may even be dangerous for the health of those who break their pledge.

Early marriage?

Are church leaders encouraging young couples to marry early to prevent pre-marital sex instead of taking virginity pledges? Are the early marriages encouraged even when the couples' peers and parents are holding them back because they believe that sex can wait and so can marriage?

The conversation is spreading from what pastors say is a relatively small number of churches and ministries that promote early marriage to the broader evangelical community, with the latest development being a Christianity Today magazine cover story this month titled, 'The Case for Young Marriage'. (Associated Press, August 9, 2009).

Several couples are caught between two powerful forces of Christianity's abstinence culture, with its chastity balls and virginity pledges, and the forces of society pushing average marriage age deeper into the 20s.

From a health standpoint, teens are better off waiting until they are older to have sex. Virginity pledges should not be a substitute for comprehensive sexual education. For young people to maintain virginity pledges and delay sexual encounter, an overall sex education effort is needed as part of the motivation that there are several reasons to delay sex as they chart their course to adulthood.