INTRODUCTION: Sex education is defined as a broad curriculum aimed at obtaining facts and attitudes, ideas, and values about one’s identity, relationships, and intimacy in order to lay a firm foundation for lifetime sexual health. The World Health Organization defines sexual health as a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being related to sexuality, rather than just the absence of disease or infirmity. The use of psychological and sociocultural factors in the delivery of this education can improve its effectiveness.
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of India struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalizing homosexuality and clearing the door for the LGBTQ+ community to live a free life. Despite this, sex education remains a taboo subject in the country.
Furthermore, India is the world’s second-most populous country, and it is on its path to overtaking China as the world’s most populous country. With such a rapidly growing population, the need for sex education is evident, but it goes unmet.
According to the 2011 census, India has 253 million adolescents (aged 10 to 19 years) who makeup 21% of the country’s population and receive little to no instruction regarding their sexuality.
The Adolescence Education Programme (AEP) was launched in schools almost a decade ago by the Indian government in partnership with NACO, NCERT, and the United Nations. As a result, 13 states have urged for a ban on it, claiming that it is “against Indian culture.” Prominent political personalities have expressed their opposition to the initiative, with some even claiming that it will encourage young people to engage in sexual promiscuity.
WHAT IS SEX EDUCATION?: Sex education is an age-appropriate program that teaches and informs young people about sex, sexual health, sexuality, and sexual rights. It raises their awareness of both their own and the other gender’s bodies.
When adolescents reach puberty, they experience a variety of physical changes that might be embarrassing. They are self-conscious about physiological changes such as pubic hair, facial hair, developing body parts, and so on due to a lack of awareness and disinformation. These changes make children more vulnerable to insecurities and low self-esteem. By preparing young people for what is to come, the Adolescence Education Program dispels these doubts and bewilderment.
WHY IS ADOLESCENT SEX EDUCATION SO IMPORTANT IN INDIA?:1.) HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Infections– HIV infection affects around 2.3 million people aged 15 and up. In India, this represents around 31% of the entire population affected with AIDS/HIV. There is a lack of understanding about safe sexual interactions and the consequences of having several partners in unprotected relationships.
Such high-risk sexual vulnerability can be prevented if schools follow the National AIDS Prevention and Control Policy of 2002, which emphasizes the importance of AIDS prevention and the protection of affected individuals’ rights through education and awareness.
2.) Female reproductive health and hygiene– Underage weddings are a sad reality in rural and urban India, with young girls as young as 15 years of age being married off to older men. This results in a disproportionate number of high-risk pregnancies among teens, with 62 percent of rural women having at least one child before they have even graduated from elementary school.
This is also the time when they have many births, putting them at risk for a variety of health problems. Even worse, a lack of knowledge of reproductive cycles leads to poor menstrual hygiene and diseases of the reproductive system.
3.) Sexual Abuse– Children and women are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse if they are kept in the dark about sexuality and its abuse at the hands of abusers who are often friends and family members.
According to a poll conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, about half of all boys and girls in India have experienced sexual abuse during their childhood. Adults have a responsibility to equip these young people with the knowledge they need to defend themselves from such abuse.
It is also said that such an education reduces the need for teenagers to act on sexual needs in a disrespectful manner, resulting in fewer cases of adolescents abusing others and developing criminal behavioral tendencies.
As a result, such programs require the involvement of psychiatric professionals who can address behavioral issues and assist in the development of an appropriate method for translating the need for sexual duties.
IS IT ENOUGH?: Though sex education has been addressed in a variety of ways in the situations above, such as through special classes or two limited chapters in a biology textbook, it is an insufficient method of instructing pupils. Adolescents are not exposed to reality in this way. Girls and women in India still try to hide their pads and period stains.
THE WAY FORWARD: Making sex education a part of the curriculum would be the ultimate solution. Classes should be held on a weekly basis rather than on an ad hoc basis.
To fight taboos and superstition around sex and sexuality in India, sensitizing both genders and educating them to respect each other from a young age is critical. Furthermore, with the number of rapes on the rise in India, and the country’s reputation as the world’s most hazardous location for women, education about consent, particularly passionate consent, is critical to the country’s social well-being.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4711229/
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