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Sex education: India can learn from West

Quote
“ Sexual activity is being practised at a younger age, which is why we are seeing an increase in the number of STDs and HIV infections ”

- Dr Chander Puri, Director, NIRRH

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Akhilesh Patel, Noopur Tiwari, Anjali Doshi
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 (London, Paris, Mumbai)
The Indian government could do well to borrow a leaf or two from sex education manuals being taught abroad in countries like England and France.

Sex education in these countries starts early and doesn't shy away from the hard realities of sex, both its perils and pleasures.

The government has not woken up to the need for sex education but many others have.

Concerned by the rise in adolescent sex and teenage pregnancy, countries like UK have made sex education compulsory for children between 11 and 14 years.

Classes on reproductive health and general sexual health are must, though and sex and relationship classes are optional.

French classrooms are even more progressive with three courses - biological, social and pyscho-emotional - on sexuality must for middle school.

The courses detail French laws on contraception and sexuality. Teachers are given clear guidelines on how to approach the subject.

And apart from the obvious topics they also discuss homosexuality, sexual violence, incest, prostitution, and even sex tourism.

Early awareness of sex and early initiation into sex has their perils, which are dogging countries in the West too. But they are trying to cut the damage with a sex education that's contemporary and informal.

In India our moral brigade continues to fight it. They say sex education promotes free sex.

So how then, say in a city like Mumbai where there is no sex education, 15 per cent of adolescents have unplanned pregnancies? Not just that, 50 per cent of children in India are sexually abused.

Half-baked knowledge

Studies say most of them don't talk about it because their parents or schools don't ever discuss anything sex-related with them. They, in fact, discourage it.

"Sexual activity is being practised at a younger age, which is why we are seeing an increase in the number of STDs and HIV infections," said Dr Chander Puri, Director, NIRRH.

At the end we are left with a young India unaware about sex and unsafely so. According to available sex data in India:
17 per cent teenagers have premarital sex
33 per cent college-going students have premarital sex
33 per cent are unaware of 'unsafe' sex
50 per cent don't use condoms
75 per cent Indians learn about sex from friends and porn films
Half-baked knowledge has become a curse.