“Virginity pledges” — public promises to remain virgins until marriage — do not protect the young people who make them from the risk of engaging in unsafe sexual practices that could lead to sexually transmitted diseases. Some pledgers engaged in alternative sexual behaviors in order to preserve their virginity. In fact, among those who had not had vaginal intercourse, pledgers were more likely to have engaged in both oral and anal sex than their non-pledging peers. Among virgins, male and female pledgers were six time more likely to have had oral sex than non-pledgers, and male pledgers were four times more likely to have had anal sex than those who had not pledged, the research shows.” .

— Study in the March 18 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health