Editing Virginity (section)

===Prevalence of virginity===
{| class="wikitable sortable floatright"
|+ Prevalence of sexually experienced 15-year-olds based on self-reports<ref name=AP&AM>{{cite journal|first1=Emmanuelle|last1=Godeau|first2=Saoirse|last2=Nic Gabhainn|first3=Ce´line|last3=Vignes|first4=Jim|last4=Ross|first5=Will|last5=Boyce|first6=Joanna|last6=Todd|title=Contraceptive Use by 15-Year-Old Students at Their Last Sexual Intercourse Results From 24 Countries|journal=[[Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine]]|date=January 2008|volume=162|issue=1|pages=66–73|doi=10.1001/archpediatrics.2007.8|pmid=18180415|doi-access=free|hdl=10379/11683|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
|-
!Country
!Boys (%)
!Girls (%)
|-
|[[Austria]] || 21.7 || 17.9
|-
|[[Canada]] || 24.1 || 23.9
|-
|[[Croatia]] || 21.9 || 8.2
|-
|[[England]] || 34.9 || 39.9
|-
|[[Estonia]] || 18.8 || 14.1
|-
|[[Finland]] || 23.1 || 32.7
|-
|[[Flanders]] || 24.6 || 23
|-
|[[France]] || 25.1 || 17.7
|-
|[[Greece]] || 32.5 || 9.5
|-
|[[Hungary]] || 25 || 16.3
|-
|[[Israel]] || 31 || 8.2
|-
|[[Latvia]] || 19.2 || 12.4
|-
|[[Lithuania]] || 24.4 || 9.2
|-
|[[Macedonia (country)|Macedonia]] || 34.2 || 2.7
|-
|[[Netherlands]] || 23.3 || 20.5
|-
|[[Poland]] || 20.5 || 9.3
|-
|[[Portugal]] || 29.2 || 19.1
|-
|[[Scotland]] || 32.1 || 34.1
|-
|[[Slovenia]] || 28.2 || 20.1
|-
|[[Spain]] || 17.2 || 13.9
|-
|[[Sweden]] || 24.6 || 29.9
|-
|[[Switzerland]] || 24.1 || 20.3
|-
|[[Ukraine]] || 47.1 || 24
|-
|[[Wales]] || 27.3 || 38.5
|}

The prevalence of virginity varies from culture to culture. In cultures which place importance on a female's virginity at marriage, the age at which virginity is lost is in effect determined by the age at which marriages would normally take place in those cultures, as well as the minimum [[Marriageable age|marriage age]] set by the laws of the country where the marriage takes place.<ref name="Bozon"/>

In a cross-cultural study, ''At what age do women and men have their first sexual intercourse?'' (2003), Michael Bozon of the French [[Institut national d'études démographiques]] found that contemporary cultures fall into three broad categories.<ref name="Bozon"/> In the first group, the data indicated families [[Arranged marriage|arranging marriage]] for daughters as close to puberty as possible with significantly older men. Age of men at sexual initiation in these societies is at later ages than that of women, but is often extra-marital. This group included [[sub-Saharan Africa]] (the study listed Mali, Senegal and Ethiopia). The study considered the [[Indian subcontinent]] to also fall into this group, although data was only available from Nepal.<ref name="Bozon"/>

In the second group, the data indicated families encouraged daughters to delay marriage, and to abstain from sexual activity before that time. However, sons are encouraged to gain experience with older women or prostitutes before marriage. Age of men at sexual initiation in these societies is at lower ages than that of women. This group includes Latin cultures, both from [[southern Europe]] (Portugal, Greece and Romania are noted) and from [[Latin America]] (Brazil, Chile, and the Dominican Republic). The study considered many Asian societies to also fall into this group, although matching data was only available from Thailand.<ref name="Bozon"/>

In the third group, age of men and women at sexual initiation was more closely matched. There were two sub-groups, however. In non-Latin, Catholic countries (Poland and Lithuania are mentioned), age at sexual initiation was higher, suggesting later marriage and reciprocal valuing of male and female virginity. The same pattern of late marriage and reciprocal valuing of virginity was reflected in Singapore and Sri Lanka. The study considered China and Vietnam to also fall into this group, although data were not available.<ref name="Bozon"/>

Finally, in northern and eastern European countries, age at sexual initiation was lower, with both men and women involved in sexual activity before any union formation. The study listed Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic as members of this group.<ref name="Bozon"/>

According to a 2001 [[UNICEF]] survey, in 10 out of 12 developed nations with available data, more than two thirds of young people have had sexual intercourse while still in their teens. In Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, approximately 25% of 15-year-olds and 50% of 17-year-olds have had sex.<ref name=oecd >UNICEF. (2001). {{cite web |url= http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf |title= A League Table of Teenage Births in Rich Nations |access-date= 2013-12-15 |archive-date= 2019-07-02 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190702164616/https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf |url-status= live }}&nbsp;{{small|(888&nbsp;KB)}}. Retrieved July 7, 2006.</ref> A 2002 international survey sought to study the [[sexual behavior of teenagers]]. 33,943 students aged 15, from 24 countries, completed a self-administered, anonymous, classroom survey, consisting of a standard questionnaire, developed by the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) international research network. The survey revealed that the majority of the students were still virgins (they had no experience of sexual intercourse), and, among those who were sexually active, the majority (82%) used contraception.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Godeau E, Nic Gabhainn S, Vignes C, Ross J, Boyce W, Todd J|title=Contraceptive use by 15-year-old students at their last sexual intercourse: results from 24 countries|journal=Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med|volume=162|issue=1|pages=66–73|date=January 2008|pmid=18180415|doi=10.1001/archpediatrics.2007.8|doi-access=free|hdl=10379/11683|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In a 2005 [[Kaiser Family Foundation]] study of US teenagers, 29% of teens reported feeling pressure to have sex, 33% of sexually active teens reported "being in a relationship where they felt things were moving too fast sexually", and 24% had "done something sexual they didn't really want to do".<ref name=kaiser>{{cite web |url= http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/200604/200604_4USTeenSexActi.pdf |title= U.S.Teen Sexual Activity |access-date= 2013-12-15 |archive-date= 2016-03-04 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002436/http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/200604/200604_4USTeenSexActi.pdf |url-status= live }}&nbsp;{{small|(147&nbsp;KB)}} Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2005. Retrieved 23 Jan 2007</ref> Several polls have indicated [[peer pressure]] as a factor in encouraging both girls and boys to have sex.<ref name="pollingdata">The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (1997). [http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/national-data/what-the-polling-data-tell-us.aspx What the Polling Data Tell Us: A Summary of Past Surveys on Teen Pregnancy]. Retrieved July 13, 2006. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215145723/http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/national-data/what-the-polling-data-tell-us.aspx |date=December 15, 2013}}</ref><ref name=psychologytoday>{{cite web|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200305/peer-pressure-and-teen-sex|title=Peer Pressure and Teen Sex|last=Allen|first=Colin|date=2003-05-22|work=Psychology Today|access-date=2006-07-14|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Some studies suggest that people commence sexual activity at an earlier age than previous generations.<ref name="Mackay">Judith Mackay, ''The Penguin Atlas of Human Sexual Behavior'', Myriad Editions, published by Penguin, 2000; {{ISBN|978-0-14-051479-7}} [http://www.myriadeditions.com/books/the-penguin-atlas-of-human-sexual-behavior/ Human Sexual Behavior Atlas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926122618/http://www.myriadeditions.com/books/the-penguin-atlas-of-human-sexual-behavior/ |date=2015-09-26 }}</ref><ref name="durexnetwork.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.durexnetwork.org/en-GB/research/faceofglobalsex/Pages/Home.aspx|title=Home.aspx|date=September 10, 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910183850/http://www.durexnetwork.org/en-GB/research/faceofglobalsex/Pages/Home.aspx|archive-date=2009-09-10}}</ref> The 2005 Durex Global sex survey found that people worldwide are having sex for the first time at an average age of 17.3, ranging from 15.6 in Iceland to 19.8 in India<ref name=durexnetwork.org/> (though evidence has shown that the average age is not a good indicator of sexual initiation, and that percentages of sexually initiated youth at each age are preferred).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=de Irala|first1=J.|last2=Osorio|first2=A.|last3=Carlos|first3=S.|last4=Ruiz-Canela|first4=M.|last5=López-del Burgo|first5=C.|title=Mean age of first sex. Do they know what we mean?|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|date=2011|volume=40|issue=5|pages=853–855|doi=10.1007/s10508-011-9779-4|pmid=21618046 |pmc=3180636 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=de Irala|first1=J.|last2=Osorio|first2=A.|last3=Ruiz-Canela|first3=M.|last4=Carlos|first4=S.|last5=López-del Burgo|first5=C.|title=Informing Youth about the Age of Sexual Initiation Using Means or Percentages|journal=Health Communication|date=2014|volume=29|issue=6|pages=629–633|doi=10.1080/10410236.2013.775931|pmid=24131281|s2cid=16216848|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ai5fsSBdXX2pEzH63iMy/full|access-date=2014-05-26|archive-date=2015-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904092336/http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ai5fsSBdXX2pEzH63iMy/full|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A 2008 survey of [[United Kingdom|UK]] teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 (conducted by [[YouGov]] for [[Channel 4]]), showed that only 6% of these teenagers intended to wait until marriage before having sex.<ref name="sex stats">{{cite web|url=http://sexperienceuk.channel4.com/teen-sex-survey|title=Teen Sex Survey|access-date=2008-09-11|publisher=Channel 4|year=2008|archive-date=2008-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912225248/http://sexperienceuk.channel4.com/teen-sex-survey|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a 2011 CDC study, in the 15-to-19-year-old age group 43 percent of males and 48 percent of females in the United States reported never having an opposite-sex partner.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bakalar|first=Nicholas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/health/research/26statistics.html|title=For a Sex Survey, A Little Privacy Goes a Long Way|work=The New York Times|date=2011-04-25|access-date=2017-05-06|df=mdy-all|archive-date=2017-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701114446/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/health/research/26statistics.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The rates of [[teenage pregnancy]] vary and range from 143 per 1000 girls in some sub-Saharan African countries to 2.9 per 1000 in South Korea. The rate for the United States is 52.1 per 1000, the highest in the developed world – and about four times the European Union average.<ref name="oecd" /><ref name="ncbi">{{cite journal|author=Treffers PE|title=[Teenage pregnancy, a worldwide problem]|language=nl|journal=Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd|volume=147|issue=47|pages=2320–5|date=November 2003 |pmid=14669537}}</ref> The teenage pregnancy rates between countries must take into account the level of general [[sex education]] available and access to contraceptive options. Many Western countries have instituted sex education programs, the main objective of which is to reduce such pregnancies and STDs. In 1996, the United States federal government shifted the objective of sex education towards "[[abstinence-only sex education]]" programs, promoting sexual abstinence before marriage (i.e., virginity) and prohibiting information on birth control and contraception. In 2004, President [[George W. Bush]] announced a Five-Year Global [[HIV/AIDS]] Strategy, also known as the [[President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]] (PEPFAR),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://img.thebody.com/whitehouse/aids_emergency.pdf|title=Organization|publisher=DoS|access-date=2013-12-26|archive-date=2014-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029202419/http://img.thebody.com/whitehouse/aids_emergency.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> which committed the U.S. to provide $15 billion over five years toward AIDS relief in 15 countries in Africa and the [[Caribbean]], and in Vietnam.<ref>The 15 countries are Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.</ref> A part of the funding was earmarked specifically for "abstinence-only-until-marriage" programs.

In one study about virginity pledges, male pledgers were 4.1 times more likely to remain virgins by age 25 than those who did not pledge (25% vs 6%), and estimated that female pledgers were 3.5 times more likely to remain virgins by age 25 than those who did not pledge (21% vs 6%).<ref name="webmdVPDCSR"/><ref name="promise"/>