DON’T SHY AWAY FROM SEX EDUCATION

The large numbers of sexual offences against children recorded in the country brings forth the need of communicating about what needs to be done to better protect the children. Sex education in India is more restricted to sanitary napkins, a lesson on reproductive system in schools, a few medical terms and about pregnancy. The idea of sex education to reach out to the children in our society as they grow up still remains a taboo in our country. “In India, we get to know about sexual abuse of a child only if post-traumatic stress and behavioural changes are noticed, or the child is physically injured. Children fail to talk about it to their parents,” said senior psychologist Dr Vivian Kapil.

“In western countries, children are provided with sex education at the early age of six or less, whereas Indian parents and teachers are scared of talking about sex. We need to educate the child as soon as he/she is exposed to the outside world, but sex education remains a western concept for many,” he said. Sexual abuse in childhood haunts children all their life and can lead to serious consequences such as depression, anxiety, addiction and suicide, he warns.

Children in India are provided access to the television and the internet at an early age where they are exposed to nudity and violence. “The content children read or watch on Internet developing an anxiety about physical intimacy, sex, and physical changes, but parents and teachers, tending to link it to cultural and spiritual factors, hesitate to talk about it. This paves the way to miscommunication of information,” says psychologist Dr Prabhu Das.

He says that misinformation on sex not only leads to experimentation, but can push children into contemplating suicide due to guilt later. Hence, developing conversation on sexual behaviour by parents and teachers is important for healthy physical and mental growth of the children.