The analysis, published in Sexual and Reproductive Health Online Series Wednesday, made it clear that "Sexuality is an essential part of human nature and its expression needs to be affirmed rather than denied."

    Talking about time-honored trends toward youthful promiscuity, it said, "People who fear a tide of youthful promiscuity might take heart from the fact that trends towards early and premarital sex are neither as pronounced nor as prevalent as is sometimes assumed." 

    Based on surveys conduced in 59 nations, it said there is "no support for the common notion that there is a culture of multiple sexual partners in countries with poor sexual health." Rather, it said, "Multiple sexual partners, it turns out, are more common in industrialized than in developing nations."

    The analysis aimed at making a powerful case for an intervention focus on the broader determinants of sexual health. Public measures, it argued, should be "focus not only on individual behaviors but also on broader issues such as poverty, mobility, and especially gender inequality."

    But, it noted, public-health messages intended to reduce sexual risk-taking "should respect diversity and preserve choice," and "school-based sexual education delays and does not hasten onset of sexual activity." 

    It nevertheless made what many will find to be a controversial conclusion: "The greatest challenge to sexual-health promotion in almost all countries comes from opposition from conservative forces to harm-reduction strategies."
    
    No myths and moral stances are needed, it stressed, "To do otherwise will force stigmatized behaviors underground, leaving the most vulnerable people unprotected."

   (Agencies)