Why does the state of sex education need to be bettered up in India?

pinku pradhan

| Posted on 27-Apr-2023

The state of sex education in India has been a topic of concern for many years, and there are several reasons why it needs to be improved. Here are some of the most important reasons:

Letsdiskuss

High rates of teenage pregnancy: India has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the world, which can lead to a range of health and social problems for young mothers and their children.
Lack of awareness about sexual health: Many young people in India have limited knowledge about sexual health, including how to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies.
Myths and misconceptions: There are many myths and misconceptions about sex and sexuality in India, which can lead to misunderstandings and stigma surrounding these topics.
Limited access to contraception: Despite the availability of various contraceptive methods, many young people in India have limited access to them, which can lead to unintended pregnancies and STIs.
Gender-based violence: The lack of sex education in India has been linked to gender-based violence, including sexual harassment and assault.

Overall, improving sex education in India is essential to promote healthy sexual behaviors, prevent unintended pregnancies and STIs, and reduce gender-based violence. It can also help to dispel myths and misconceptions surrounding sex and sexuality and promote a more open and inclusive society.

Priya Gupta

Working with holistic nutrition.. | Posted on 26-Feb-2019

The state of sex education in India is not right at all, this much every one of us silently acknowledges.

Letsdiskuss (Courtesy: The Daily Californian)

One problem with India is that it fails to recognize that sex education is broader than just telling the adolescent population about sexual health in terms of the absence of sexual diseases. Sex education spreads broadly and stretches to include everything from consent to emotional and mental well-being in a sexual act. Until we embrace a definition which incorporates all these standards, sexual health and sex education can’t be bettered up in India.

According to certain trends, 18% of the global population consists of adolescents. And in this 18%, India has the largest share of the adolescent population. In addition, psychological studies and even literature points out to the fact that adolescence is the age when people are experimenting with their sexual desires which involve reckless exploration, engagements, and risky behavior.

state-of-sex-education-in-india-letsdiskuss

(Courtesy: Spectrum: Autism Research News)

Moving on with the studies, less than 30 percent of the Indian girls don’t even know what does a contraceptive means, according to a report of Indian express. In Mumbai, 88% of male and 58% of female college-going crowd admits that they haven’t received even an ounce of sex-related education from their parents. Not only this, states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan have banned the sex education in schools saying that it opposes the Indian values and leads to irresponsible sexual behavior. (Source: Indian Journal of Psychiatry)

In such a scenario adolescents are accessing the details about sexual activities from wherever they can. **** tops the list and is followed by information on the internet, books, magazines, etc. The information gained from these resources, however, is not always accurate.

Also read: What are the common sexual problems in men, and what are their causes?

Recently, a story was surfacing of Facebook in which a doctor told that a 17-year-old girl approached her and confessed very apologetically that it was just a onetime mistake and she has immediately taken i-pill after the act. When the doctor discussed the matter thoroughly with her, it turned out that she has just kissed her boyfriend and knows nothing about a sexual intercourse. She didn’t even know how a male sexual organ looks like.

Imagine! She’s a 17-year old girl and has no idea about sex. This sheer ignorance is dangerous at so many levels.

In India, sex education and sexual health is a failure at so many levels –social, cultural, on the level of gender, and medical.

We need to acknowledge all these problems in order to look for their solutions. Proper sex education can make Indian youth (especially young women) aware of their rights, choices, the need for communication, decision-making, negotiation, etc.