Forty-four per cent of women get married by the age of 18, 53% of children in one survey reported sexual abuse, and 46% of calls coming into a helpline were from young people in the 15-24 age-group. These are figures quoted in an open letter urging sexuality education for young people.
The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality, hosted by Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues (TARSHI), has put up an open letter calling for the need for sexuality education in India.
TARSHI is a registered NGO based in New Delhi that works towards expanding sexual and reproductive choices in people’s lives.
The open letter addressed to the Government of India, political parties and citizens, points out that India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which upholds, among other things, the right of every child to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to education, the right to participation, and the right to protection from exploitation and abuse, including sexual exploitation and abuse.
‘Health comprises sexual health as well,’ the letter says. ‘According to the World Health
Organisation, the overall health of a person is not dependent on the absence of disease or infirmity alone and instead is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing. This includes sexual and reproductive health.’
The letter provides statistics to prove its case for sexuality education. According to the National Family Health Survey III, 44.5% of women in India still get married at the age of 18 (28.1% in urban areas and 52.5% in rural areas).
Sixteen per cent of the women interviewed within the ages of 15 and 19 were already mothers or pregnant at the time of the NFHS.
According to the HIV sentinel surveillance and HIV estimation, of the 2.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 2006, 3.8% were reported to be children (below15 years), with the percentage having increased over five years.
According to a study in 2007, commissioned by India’s Ministry of Women and Child
Development, out of a total of 12,447 children, 53.22% reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse, including severe forms. Among them, 52.94% were boys and 47.06% girls.
‘With statistics such as these, it is imperative that young people’s sexuality be acknowledged and addressed and they be provided with a supporting environment to talk about sexuality-related concerns. Above all, it is important that young people be empowered to make responsible decisions about their own lives,’ the letter says.
A large proportion of calls on TARSHI’S helpline are from young people. Between February 14, 1996, and October 10, 2007, 42.6% of calls were from people between the ages of 15 and 24.
‘Young callers are curious about sexuality and most times do not have access to accurate and reliable information about their own bodies, sexual and reproductive health issues and relationships,’ the letter adds.
It demands ‘the urgent revision of the AEP (adolescent education programme) curriculum on sexuality education for all children to be reflective of the “best interests of the child” rather than proscribing narrow notions of morality, culture and tradition. This would be the first step in creating a comprehensive sexuality education that is gender-sensitive, age-specific and free from negative value judgments which is essential to help young people lead lives free of fear, disease and violence; and to enjoy physical and mental health and wellbeing’.
The letter also demands more transparency in the process of developing a curriculum, and the participation of young people, professionals, parents, and other stakeholders in developing a comprehensive sexuality education curriculum for children. And to include sexuality education training in the curricula for trainee teachers and healthcare professionals including doctors and nurses.
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