Sexuality Education in India Yet Remains a Taboo—An Attempt to Dust-Off

Negligence is the rust of the soul that corrodes through all her best resolves.

—Owen Feltham

Historically, India boasts a rich heritage of liberated sexual perspective as evidenced in the historical works of literature and sculptures in ancient temples. However, today sex education is an abandoned subject in the major part of the country and schooling systems. There have been efforts in bits and pieces in some sections of society to bring it back to mainstream education and acceptance, yet it continues to be a taboo and an unresolved interpsychic conflict among different strata of Indian society. It is strange that people hide the genesis of life and the most pleasurable activity of human beings in this world. Let us try to understand this burning subject in all its dimensions.

A recent UNESCO global report ¹ provided a panoramic view of countries regarding their relative progress in the implementation of sex education. It is surprising to see that in the context of laws and policies, decentralization in implementation, curriculum development, implementation, and so on. India lags behind many other underdeveloped and small countries, such as Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and Sudan to name a few. Interestingly, in majority of these countries, sex education begins at the primary level of schooling whereas in our country, concept of sexuality education is considered only from secondary school. We lack a uniform policy for conceptualization, planning, and implementation of comprehensive sex education. It is time to ponder upon what is holding us back?

In India, few initiatives were started at the government and nongovernmental organization levels. UNESCO in 2021 recorded one such success story regarding the implementation of sex education in India from the state of Jharkhand which implemented “Udaan,” a school-based adolescent education program. It started in 2009 and by 2019 over a million students were educated about health including sex education. ¹ This model could be considered as a prototype for public-private partnership for the conceptualization of a sex education program in India.

Unfortunately, such a program would only mean a drop in the ocean because the magnitude of necessity in the country is large. India is home to 444 million children and adolescents. ² Therefore, a collective introspection is our obligation. Let us investigate our shortcomings toward comprehensive sex education, a few of which are quoted here. First, neither government, civic societies, or institutions are broadening their perspective in response to global change. Moreover, states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka have banned sex education in their schools. They argue that sex education increases risky behavior in children and can destroy the educational atmosphere of the school. ³ In addition, several key educators like school teachers, influencers, and religious leaders believe that implementation of early sex education will lead to precocious sexual debut in children. These myths have been clearly busted with substantial scientific evidence. In contrast to the stakeholders’ view listed above, Indian youth appear to have a more pragmatic perspective. Eighty-eight percent of youth emphasized that sex education should start in primary school, 66% reported that teachers in primary and secondary level are not equipped with the knowledge and skill to impart sex education, and 90% of the youth spoke that parents and teachers should be provided factual training which will equip them with the skill to talk on this subject matter. ⁴

There are several reasons that call for an expedited revision of policies such as shared stakeholder-ship, public- private partnership, and systematic phase-wise implementation of formal sex education in schools. The first reason is that many parents feel uncomfortable or unprepared to discuss about sexuality with their children because nobody talked to them about it factually or openly. Other sources of information for children (friends, laypersons, magazines, online platforms, etc) are insufficient, misleading, and lack reality. Globally, fewer than 1 in 3 children agreed that their school taught proper sex education. In the Indian context, 71% of youth living in 17 states (aged 13-30 years) reported that they were neither taught about sexuality by teachers nor by their parents. ⁴

Internet penetration capacity of India is at par with first world countries and children are highly vulnerable to be exposed to a plethora of sexual content, especially pornography. In addition, children and youth are prone to abuse through dating applications, sexual game sites, and online bullying. Furthermore, they acquire misleading and unrealistic information about sexuality and interpersonal relationships. Their lack of adequate scientific knowledge renders them dysfunctional in problem-solving and decision-making skills leading to several interpersonal conflicts and intrapsychic distress among the youth at large. Sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies pose serious risks to health and well-being. Lack of information and interpersonal skills make them susceptible to harmful sexual exploitation. Lack of information about their right compels them to become less confident about themselves and be coerced by repeated physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in an intimate relationship.

The Government of India under the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Health and Family Welfare developed an adolescent education program in 2020 to address sexuality education for children and adolescents. Unfortunately, this initiative faced backlash from different segments of society even though the words “sex or sexuality” have not been mentioned anywhere in the entire guideline. Similarly, NCERT had to remove a teacher training manual on transgender education after being criticized at multiple strata in the Indian society. ⁵

We can walk through few action plans to resolve these problems. First, although decentralization of education systems gives freedom in the implementation of reforms in states, issues like sex education are kept out of the curriculum. Therefore, Government of India must have the authority to ensure the implementation of sex education in all the states and union territories.

Second, having sex education as a compulsory part of school curriculum can solve the problem of implementation to an extent. School teachers are burdened with other responsibilities apart from teaching such as administrative duties and extracurricular activities. Hence, sex education must be a part of the inclusive curriculum which in turn will increase the probability of its implementation.

Third, there is a crucial need for widespread public awareness campaign to remove the myths revolving around the undesired outcomes of sex education in the growth and development of children. There should be frequent mass media initiatives to spread such awareness.

In addition, information and skill training for teachers should become mandatory. For this “Udaan,” a school-based adolescent education program implemented in Government of Jharkhand can serve as an exemplary model of public-private partnership.

Furthermore, sex education should start at home. A conducive environment should be provided to children and parents should be comfortable in initiating conversations, asking questions, addressing the queries of children, and so on.

Finally, a culturally aligned inclusion of guidelines issued by UNESCO in 2018 should be considered for the implementation of effective comprehensive sex education.

In conclusion, the curriculum should equip our children and youth with knowledge and skills to improve decision-making, communication, and interpersonal skills in the context of sexual belief and practice. They should be taught their right to well-being as a partner in a romantic relationship, available legal options at times of crisis, about welfare agencies and their roles in safety and protection. In addition, this should include knowledge and skills to detect intimate partner violence and skills to tackle it. ⁶ We believe that the implementation of above will not only provide comprehensive sex education but can also reduce a certain number of acts of self-harm in this population and promote a holistic well-being in mental, social, and spiritual health.