According to The Times of India, six states have banned sex education. This is at a time when the estimated prevalence of HIV in India is 5.7 million (and that’s probably an underestimate).
Three of the states to ban sex education include Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujurat – all of which have some of the highest numbers of people infected with HIV in India.
Apparently both politicians and teachers associations have claimed that sex education was obscene and undermined Indian culture.
Researchers and educators have questioned these views and have been discussing the impact of banning sex education in India at the 8th International conference on Asian youth and childhood.
It would be nice to say that such views are old fashioned or unusual. Or that it’s rare to see school sex education being banned. But sadly this is happening all over the world. Not just in India.
Parents often worry that sex education may encourage young people to experiment. Teachers frequently don’t know what to teach, or how to deliver appropriate sex education messages. In many countries schools are not compelled to deliver sex education and parents or school governors can request sex education does not take place. Religious schools can also impose a ban on the teaching of contraception, abortion or sex outside of marriage. Meanwhile politicians, afraid of public opinion and losing votes, often ignore or deliberately obstruct the delivery of sex education.
The problem with banning sex education is rather than reducing sexual activity, unplanned pregnancy or the spread of STIs it tends to achieve the opposite effect. If you don’t deliver sex education people don’t know about contraception so they can’t protect themselves from HIV and other STIs. They also can’t look after their health and fertility and control their family size and when they get pregnant.
If you don’t deliver sex education you can’t teach people how to say no to the things they don’t want to do or yes to the things they do wish to try. You can’t tackle issues around gender inequality, forced sex or peer pressure. In short you can’t give people the life skills to live in a modern world where sexual messages are everywhere.
Those most likely to be affected when you ban sex education are those who are living in poverty, young people and women. So when teachers, parents and politicians think they’re protecting society by banning sex education they are more often condemning their children to the risks of infections, coercive sex, unplanned pregnancy or an unhappy sexual relationship in future.
Sex education does not represent a betrayal of cultural values, it does not encourage promiscuity and it is not obscene. You can deliver sex education at age appropriate levels and teach people positive messages about sex, relationships and staying safe. But saying nothing won’t help anyone.
Luckily India has a number of help groups who are available to offer support and advice on sexual matters. One excellent organisation is TARSHI (Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Issues). Who may well be a vital service given India’s recent idiotic decisions on sex education.
If you are a teacher, parent or more enlightened politician perhaps you can put pressure on those in authority to revoke their decision to ban sex education. If you have any success please let me know.
Stories like this are so depressing, but fortunately not everyone in India is crushed by sex education bans. Which is why we get great public information films like this one….
Scary sex education issues in India
According to The Times of India, six states have banned sex education. This is at a time when the estimated prevalence of HIV in India is 5.7 million (and that’s probably an underestimate).
Three of the states to ban sex education include Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujurat – all of which have some of the highest numbers of people infected with HIV in India.
Apparently both politicians and teachers associations have claimed that sex education was obscene and undermined Indian culture.
Researchers and educators have questioned these views and have been discussing the impact of banning sex education in India at the 8th International conference on Asian youth and childhood.
It would be nice to say that such views are old fashioned or unusual. Or that it’s rare to see school sex education being banned. But sadly this is happening all over the world. Not just in India.
Parents often worry that sex education may encourage young people to experiment. Teachers frequently don’t know what to teach, or how to deliver appropriate sex education messages. In many countries schools are not compelled to deliver sex education and parents or school governors can request sex education does not take place. Religious schools can also impose a ban on the teaching of contraception, abortion or sex outside of marriage. Meanwhile politicians, afraid of public opinion and losing votes, often ignore or deliberately obstruct the delivery of sex education.
The problem with banning sex education is rather than reducing sexual activity, unplanned pregnancy or the spread of STIs it tends to achieve the opposite effect. If you don’t deliver sex education people don’t know about contraception so they can’t protect themselves from HIV and other STIs. They also can’t look after their health and fertility and control their family size and when they get pregnant.
If you don’t deliver sex education you can’t teach people how to say no to the things they don’t want to do or yes to the things they do wish to try. You can’t tackle issues around gender inequality, forced sex or peer pressure. In short you can’t give people the life skills to live in a modern world where sexual messages are everywhere.
Those most likely to be affected when you ban sex education are those who are living in poverty, young people and women. So when teachers, parents and politicians think they’re protecting society by banning sex education they are more often condemning their children to the risks of infections, coercive sex, unplanned pregnancy or an unhappy sexual relationship in future.
Sex education does not represent a betrayal of cultural values, it does not encourage promiscuity and it is not obscene. You can deliver sex education at age appropriate levels and teach people positive messages about sex, relationships and staying safe. But saying nothing won’t help anyone.
Luckily India has a number of help groups who are available to offer support and advice on sexual matters. One excellent organisation is TARSHI (Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Issues). Who may well be a vital service given India’s recent idiotic decisions on sex education.
If you are a teacher, parent or more enlightened politician perhaps you can put pressure on those in authority to revoke their decision to ban sex education. If you have any success please let me know.
Stories like this are so depressing, but fortunately not everyone in India is crushed by sex education bans. Which is why we get great public information films like this one….
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