Sex Education in India: The need of the
hour
We are living in the
21st century and talking about sex is still a taboo in India. People
are still not open about the sex education. That is why, sex education in India
is the need of the hour. According to WHO, “Sexual health is considered to be a state of physical, emotional, mental,
and social well-being in relation to sexuality and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity” Lack of sex education can lead to severe health,
economic and social consequences.
There are various reasons why sex
education is still not implemented in our country
Cultural
differences
India is a place which has various
cultures and traditions. There are conservative families in India who don’t
feel appropriate to discuss any topic related to sex with their children. The
reason is that they feel that it is not in the Indian culture and people are
getting easily influenced by the western culture in which it is alright to talk
about sex.
Early
Marriages by the family
Child
Marriages is still prevalent in the Indian society. This is not only the case
with the rural areas but also with the urban areas of India. According to
UNICEF, 240 million women alive in India today were married before the age of
18. According to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, the age to marry for a
girl is 18 and for a boy is 21. Despite the act, In India, 18% of the girls are
married before the age of 15 and 47% of the girls before 18 years of age. The
consent of the girls is rarely asked. Early marriages result in the
discontinuity of education of girls. The girls then drop out of the school.
Girls are also forced to reproduce early. That is the reason that 36% of
children and 64% of adolescents are pregnant or already mothers. If there is a
forced marriage before 18 years of age, the girl would not have sex education
and knowledge about the contraceptives.
Lack of sex education can arose various
health, economic and social issues:
Teenage
Pregnancy
India is one of the highest in number
of reported adolescent pregnancy. This teenage pregnancy can take a heavy toll
on a girl’s body. If the child is born out of the wedding lock, parents usually
force the girl to do an abortion. Abortion is legal in India but for the
teenagers whose body is not actually prepared to carry a child can have life
threatening effects on the girl’s body. The girl can also undergo form
depression. 62 out of every 1000
pregnant women are teenagers. That is why imparting sex education becomes
essential.
HIV
AIDS
About 26% of Indians are infected with
HIV/AIDS and still there is no sex education in India despite these shocking
facts. Young adults and children should be made aware that unprotected sex with
one or more than one known or unknown person can result in HIV AIDS. HIV AIDS
can be transmitted if a person comes in contact with infected sexual fluids.
According to statistics released by Government, 31% of the AIDS cases comes
under the age group of 15-29.
Sexual
Abuse
A study
commissioned by the Indian Ministry of Women and Children Development and
carried out by UNICEF and Prayas, a non-governmental organization, interviewed
12,247 children and 2324 young adults in 13 Indian states. The study revealed
that a shocking 53% of children between t 5 -12 years of age have been sexually
abused in India. That is nearly more than half of the children.
If sex education
is not done children will not be able to recognize what happened to them.
Parents, teachers, media and the Government
can help to impart sex education among the children and the teenagers.
Role
of parents in imparting the sex education
As children come
into their adolescent age, parents should have a more open conversation about
the puberty, menstruation, sex education and pregnancy. However, a lot of
parents in India do not do so. According to a study, 42-52% of youth feel that
they do not have adequate knowledge about sex. Some studies have also shown
that parents do not think it is their responsibility to impart sex education
and that the children would know on their own after their marriages.
Another survey of
Mumbai colleges showed that 88% of the male students and 58% of the female
students had received no sex education from parents. However, parents should
understand it is their utmost responsibility to ensure the safety of their
children. Parents should discuss with their ten kids about the problems they
are facing. If parents feel that their children are feeling awkward to have
such conversations, they can take their children to the trained counsellors.
Counsellors can counsel the children about the various issues, effect regarding
the sex education.
Role
of schools and teachers in imparting the sex education
Students spend most of the time
in schools. The teacher plays a pivotal role in developing the personality of
students. According to WHO, sex education should be imparted to children who
are 12 years and above. Schools in India should take up the responsibility to
educate the students about the good touch and a bas touch. They should teach
about the use of contraceptives and other protection measures.
According to Dr. Archana
Sharma, a clinical psychologist from Delhi, “Sex education falls under the
category of health education”. Thus when the schools can provide the education
of health and hygiene, it becomes essential that they also give sex education
because it is a part of health education.
Role
of the Media
Media is an effective tool which can be
used to positively influence about the sexual behaviour among the teenagers.
Media can help in positively changing the attitude of the youth.
Role
of the Government
Sex education is topic on
which not only the parents and teachers but also the government has to work on
it. In 2007, The Indian Government came up with the Adolescent Education
Program. It is an initiative to empower the young people with the appropriate
information, the right age and inculcate the positive attitude about the topic.
It also aims at imparting adolescent reproductive and sexual health concerns.
In 2007, when sex education
curriculum was promoted by India's Ministry of Human Resource Development, it
arose to a lot of controversy. Many people believed that educating the youth
about sex and its effect on health would corrupt the young minds. They also
believed that it is against the traditions of our Indian culture. Additionally,
they also believed it will result in irresponsible behaviour amongst the youth.
After lots of discussions and
debates, they finally argued that sex education is a western concept and it has
no place in India. They also said that India should not be forced by these
western construct.
The final outcome was many of the Indian
states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Gujrat, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh banned the sex education program.
As we are moving ahead, people
will become more liberal and open. The health, social, economic and
psychological impact of sex education should be addressed. That is why, banning
of sex education program is not an option.
Common
myths about sex education
Myth 1: A lot of people believe that
sex education encourages sexual activity in young adults.
But the fact is, sex education helps to increase the awareness about sexual health. It teaches the difference between a good touch and a bad touch. It is also seen that sex education is beneficial in reducing the incidence of high sexual behaviour among the children and youngsters.
But the fact is, sex education helps to increase the awareness about sexual health. It teaches the difference between a good touch and a bad touch. It is also seen that sex education is beneficial in reducing the incidence of high sexual behaviour among the children and youngsters.
Myth
2: Sex education is not for children.
Urbanization has led to imparting more
liberal ideas among the people of today’s generation. Therefore, it is
essential that parents and teachers should teach their children about sex
education.
Benefits
of the sex Education
1.
An
effective sex education program can help in lowering the teenage pregnancy
rates in India.
2.
The
students who attend sex education programmes learn about the benefits of using
contraceptives and protection measures before indulging in any kind of sexual
activity.
3.
It
will provide the children and young adults appropriate information on sexual
health.
4.
It can
help in giving a better life for women.
5.
HIV/AIDS
can be controlled to a certain extent.
What
is the solution?
Parents should take up the
responsibility to give sex education to their children. Parents should take
their children to counsellors and doctors for their advice. Schools can include
sex education in their curriculum. Schools can also setup documentaries which
can be beneficial to the students. Teachers should talk more openly with the
students. The NGO’s should go the schools and raise awareness about the
issues. The Government of India should
look at the problem and the repercussions that it causes on the physical,
emotional and psychological health of the children. The Government can come up
with the rules and acts to raise awareness about sex education. People of India
should try to understand that sex education is not something that violates our
Indian culture and should take initiatives for sex education.
Conclusion
Sex Education
is thus the need of the hour to give better future for the youth of India.
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