User:Dhernandez7/Sex education in India

Short Description
On the global level, India has notably fallen behind numerous countries, including underdeveloped and significantly smaller countries such as Sudan and Congo, where sex education is first taught at the primary level.

Sex and pregnancy
Pre-marital sex is severely stigmatized in India. Then, it is not as surprising as it is concerning that child marriages and teen pregnancies remain a growing concern for the country, with 11.5% being married between the ages of 15 - 19 and 45% being married before the age of 24. Encouraged to reproduce directly after marriage and poor awareness and access to contraceptions, approximately one-third of these girls have a child before the age of 19.

HIV/AIDS and other STIs
Approximately 2.1 million people are said to be infected with HIV among India's estimated population of 1.3 billion. Though a huge burden to the lower-middle-income country, its prevalence has seen a decline from the epidemic's peak in the early 2000s and now ranks third among countries with the largest HIV epidemic. Among those infected, individuals belonging to stigmatized groups such as sex workers, men who have sex with other men, transexuals, truck drivers and drug users are seemingly most vulnerable. These groups are also reported to be vulnerable to four other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that are prevalent in India as well. Although their prevalence varies dramatically across the country, the following STIs have been a growing concern: syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis.

A high prevalence of risky sexual behaviors is found among India's youth in addition to poor awareness of sexually transmitted infections. These findings can explain why 31% of India's HIV cases are among individuals between the ages of 15 - 29 years old. Growing concerns over high prevalence rates of STIs among the youth only further emphasizes the current lack of and need for comprehensive sex education in India.

For adolescents
''Adolescents, both males and females, tend to not be informed about sexuality. This is often caused by lack of education in general (but sex education in particular) and conservative attitudes towards sex'' <(not my work). Those few schools who do provide sex education to its students, establish different curriculums for girls and boys and are taught separately. However, this curriculum is far from being comprehensive and of adequate quality. The use of the words "sex and sexuality" are often omitted in these teachings and topics are often restricted to menstrual hygiene and equivalent. The perpetuation of stigma surrounding sex and sex education in India is only further exacerbated by these schools, which often encourage girls to keep quiet about the topics in their sex education curriculum from their male peers and instructors because it is 'inappropriate'.

A lack of a comprehensive sex education may also contribute to the high prevalent issue of sexual violence in India. While values vary across states, it should be noted that in certain areas, approximately 89% of women experience physical or sexual violence at some point in their life. This finding reflects the contributions of the resistance in Indian society to openly discuss and educate individuals on topics such as consent, sexual violence, and healthy sexuality.

Role of Technology
The lack of access to quality sex education in India has left the youth responsible for educating themselves on the topic. With its continuous advancements and accessibility, technology has become an integral part in filling in those gaps and educating India's youth about sex. Studies show adolescents are gathering a majority of this information from social media, pornography, television and streaming platforms. However, its accessibility and wide range of information has also raised concerns. Specifically, their lack of knowledge of the topic makes India's youth vulnerable to misinformation about sex. Another concern that has risen is the role that pornography has in promoting misogynistic behavior and sexual violence.

Efficacy
However, despite continuing opposition, large scale interventions have seen success that demonstrate the possibilities of implementing sex education programs in India. In Jharkhand, India, a sex education program called Udaan has seen success not only as a curriculum, but at responding to resistance. Established in 2006 by the Government of Jharkhand, this program has not only been sustained over time, but has been extended to all government secondary and upper primary schools. The curriculum is designed to address adolescent's sexual and reproductive health needs and was a government response to the recognition and growing concerns over HIV and lack of school-based sex education. Its recognition by national and state governments as a model program is not only credited to the curriculum itself, but the program's success at responding to resistance and creating a supportive environment. Key features that have allowed such results is the programs's transparency and efforts in involving the community. In addition, the goverment-led implementation of the program, which involves careful monitoring and evaluation, has undeniably contributed to the program's sustainability and expansion over the years. Various agencies that have evaluated the impacts of the program record positive effects on the student's knowledge regarding topics covered in the curriculum and improvements in critical skills such as communication and decision-making.

Opposition
In 2020, the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Health and Family Welfare once again developed and attempted to implement an adolescent education program to address the need for school-based sex education. However, even with the complete omission of the words "sexuality or sex" in the program, this initiative was meet with resistance from various segments of public society.