THIS is in response to the letter by Dr Rafidah Hanim Mokhtar that was published yesterday in The Star, “Sex education must be guided by our values” (July 8; online at bit.ly/star_sexeducate).

Various arguments on the approach to empowering young people about their sexual and reproductive health inevitably include a personal and moral compass. There is no doubt that the notion of abstinence would serve as one of the solutions to the social issues young people are facing – but when it comes to interventions, they must be evidence-based rather than based on moral judgements, which are often subject to personal bias.