User:Esteban1517/Sexuality in India

Sexual Health

Sexual dysfunctions in both males and females have been reported in significant numbers in recent years. A large percentage of both men and women experience sexual dysfunctions, some of which are culture bound. Many attribute the prevalence of sexual dysfunctions to ignorance around sexual health and generally conservative attitudes toward sex. Sexual education is also an area of concern for many researchers, as the basis for culture-bound sexual dysfunctions such as Dhat syndrome are rooted in erroneous ideas of human physiology, which would be refuted by improved and easily accessible sexual education.

Studies of sexual dysfunction in India focus proportionately more on male sexual dysfunction as opposed to that in females. Dhat syndrome, a culturally-bound psychosexual dysfunction in males has been an area of study for many psychosexual researchers in India, as they have continued to advocate for further research. Males who experience Dhat syndrome usually come from rural areas and families with very conservative attitudes around sex. Patients with Dhat syndrome typically experience other sexual dysfunctions such as erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, in addition to psychiatric disorders such as depressive neurosis and anxiety neurosis. Additionally, studies as recent as 2015 show one in five males in a rural, South Indian population suffered from one or more sexual disorders, with one in seven females sharing the same experience. Furthermore, prevalence of sexual dysfunction was anywhere from two to three times higher in illiterate men than literate men who participated in the study.

While research in regard to female sexual health may not be as heavily emphasized, literature on the topic denotes a greater presence of sexual dysfunction in women belonging to a higher socioeconomic class. However, similar research also points to a lack of education as another corollary to regressed sexual health in both men and women, but is accentuated further in studies on female sexual health. In terms of education, knowledge around abortion is a key area of development, as unsafe abortions account for 8-9% of maternal deaths per a bulletin from the India Office of Register General. Women's agency is also heavily considered in studies of female sexual health along with the sociocultural factors such as conservative attitudes toward sex and early marriage. Much like the men experiencing Dhat syndrome, most cases of female sexual dysfunction are concentrated in rural areas and reinforced by the same social factors discussed in males.