Are some in the media beginning to understand that the sexual revolution isn’t an unalloyed good?

Today’s Irish Independent ran a column by Sinead Moriarty suggesting that rising levels of STIs, abortion and depression among young people means we should look again at what our culture is telling young people about sex.

She discussed the phenomenon in the context of a group called Pure in Heart, which promotes abstinence in schools by  giving talks favouring chastity.

Moriarty writes: “The group goes around to secondary schools and gives lessons on sexual restraint and abstinence. The members encourage young people to chose pre-marital chastity instead of contraception.

“A few years ago this earnest group would have been sneered at, as many young people were far too busy spending money on designer underwear and vajazzaling to listen to talk about abstinence.

“But with the recession giving everyone more time for reflection and the recent spate of overt sexual displays (twerking anyone?) and aggression towards women on Twitter and Facebook, Pure In Heart may now find a more receptive audience.

“We are seeing rising numbers of teenage pregnancies, an increase in the number of abortions, an escalation of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and increasing levels of anxiety and depression amongst the young. Perhaps it’s time they did reflect on their sexuality and where, how and when they want to use it.

“Can sex education in schools help? Can it keep up as it tries to compete with the barrage of sexual imagery children are now exposed to?

“Teenagers are being taught safe sex and the mechanics of sex in school. Perhaps schools should focus sex education on self-worth, having choices and saying no until you feel comfortable?”

Moriarty believes that Pure in Heart “leans too far in one direction. The group’s teachings are too conservative to reach most teenagers”.

She adds: “Telling young people to ‘just say no’ is unrealistic. Teaching them the biology of sex is useful but doesn’t help with the emotions involved. What we need is for our young people to learn how to respect themselves and trust their own judgment. To only do things when it feels right to them.”

For a start, to characterise the approach of Pure in Heart as telling teens “just say no” is misrepresents them. The group essentially base their method on the teaching of the Catholic Church, which is to say that they present sex as good and healthy within the context of marriage.

More fundamentally, however, the article is yet another example of the main problem that our society has with sex education is that it assumes that teenagers will experiment with sex no matter what we say or do. We tell ourselves and our children that self-restraint is “unrealistic”. The reality is that in the UK, permissive sex education and promoting easily available contraception does not reduce teen pregnancy, but leads to a spike in the prevelance of STIs.

Meanwhile, we have State-sponsored research telling us that nearly a third of teenage girls and eight per cent of boys have come under pressure to have sex before they are ready, and that teenagers who do have sex early are more likely to become pregnant and to contract a sexually-transmitted disease.

Research also tells us that young people who had sex at an early age were also more likely to express regret.

According to Professor Hannah McGee of the Royal Irish College of Surgeons, teenage sexual activity is highly culturally influenced, she said, and “myths” of early sexual experience abound. In fact, the majority of Irish young people wait until they are 17 or over to have sex.

Less than one-third of young adult men (18-24 year olds) and 22 per cent of young women say they had sex before the age of 17.

It is time we took a more realistic approach to sex education, and gave our young people the tools to wait before deciding to have sex. Underselling teenagers’ capacity does nobody, least of all them, any favours.