Sex education has always been a grey area, and there’s no way for the world to unanimously agree upon how much is too much, and how soon is too soon. Every country is handling it differently. While New Zealand, under the empathic and powerful leadership of Jacinda Ardern, has already made sex-ed a part of the curriculum, even today, it is in a stage where it is changing. And the US, which has a high record of teen pregnancies, is currently wrapped up in a public frenzy about sex-ed.
While New Zealand recently announced that lessons on consent and pornographic content will remain optional, on the other side of the world, the newly-introduced sex-ed curriculum is being a cause of worry to many. New Jersey’s new sex-education curriculum is supposed to go into effect this fall and the state is diving right into it—with no shying away from topics such as gender, identity, consent and porn.
The curriculum is facing a lot of flak after a Republican lawmaker and conservative media shared the sample resources given to the teachers for teaching about these subjects. While some conservative members claimed this will sexualise children and make them susceptible to sexual assaults, studies have shown that sex education protects them from being taken advantage of and helps them be aware of what is bad touch.
The sex-ed curriculum is being called “outrageous” “cringe” by the conservative media and Republicans—and it’s not like this reaction was unforeseen. Expecting everyone to unanimously agree would be too farfetched of a dream. But what is important here is that we are talking about sex education and understanding that conversations around gender, consent and porn are just as important as information on reproduction. With the world waking up to the need for sex-ed, where does India stand?
Time stands still in India when it comes to sex-ed
When it comes to sex-ed imparted in schools in India, most millennials today will agree that it was either very scientific (and not explained in depth by teachers who themselves felt awkward while handling the subject) or was altogether skipped. In India, many schools do not have sex-ed and those which do, conduct the sessions usually to promote celibacy and curb teen pregnancy.
In fact, Indian schools still lack efficient sex-ed. We are still preaching abstinence, still talking about reproduction only and completely ignoring what consent means. Many women still don’t feel assertive about their bodily agency while many men still pretend female agency and sexual rights don’t even exist. Moreover, sex-ed being imparted solely from the lens of cisgenders is not even inclusive, is it?
With the conversation beginning to catch up, India’s attitude towards sexual wellbeing is rather divergent.
The progress India made in sex-ed
Over the years, many have felt that India will not be at par with the world when it comes to sex positivity or sexual education. This is not just because our schools lacked in efficient sex-ed but also because there is still very little progress on the top-down, policy level—be it nationally or regionally. For example, India’s health minister 2014 insisted that sex education be banned altogether. He called it crude and vulgar. Later, he said he doesn’t want to ban it completely but insisted that the curriculum teach “values” instead.
It was a difficult time, as teachers were being threatened to not go ahead with educating their pupils about sexual health and due to this, several states in India did end up banning the curriculum.
In 2013, after the nation was shaken by the Nirbhaya case, an NGO called the Avaaz Foundation filed a report studying India’s rape culture and emphasised the need for mass sex education.
However, in 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a new sex education program in which teachers were to educate students on reproductive health, prevention of HIV and gender equality. “Gender is socially constructed and thus can be changed over time. We are all equal and deserve to be treated equally,” the module said.
Mumbai-based UnTaboo has been giving sex-education workshops and talks to adolescents, with an aim to break the stigma around sexuality. Many other non-profits, as well as health experts, have taken to openly talking about sexual and reproductive health education for kids.
The media too has been stirring up a dialogue around the need for sex education, and how it has an impact on women’s rights, sexual crimes and positive gender identity. Research is being funded and carried out to statistically prove the same.
With the conversations around sex education, being had globally, how long until India joins the bandwagon of making lessons on consent and gender- and sex-positivity a part of the curriculum? Let’s hope it is sooner rather than later.
Also Read: Can We Please Normalise Seeking Verbal Consent?