What do you know most about the sexual education . Do you remember feeling confident in the knowledge these classes provided? How do your experiences with sexual education curriculum compare to the newly revised sexual education curriculum in india ?
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Answer:Adolescent sex education in India: Current perspectives
Shajahan Ismail, Ashika Shajahan,1 T. S. Sathyanarayana Rao,2 and Kevan Wylie3
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Sex education is defined as a broad program that aims to build a strong foundation for lifelong sexual health by acquiring information and attitudes, beliefs and values about one's identity, relationships, and intimacy. Sexual health is considered to be a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in relation to sexuality and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity as defined by the WHO.[1] Psychological and sociocultural influences in the delivery of this education can increase the likelihood of effectiveness. Primarily, during adolescence (10–19 years) its provision is a crucial preventative tool, as it is the opportune time when young people experience developmental changes in their physiology and behavior as they enter adulthood.[2] The complex emotional state in which youth find themselves in, stigma surrounding matters of a sexual nature in the Indian society and widespread gender inequality faced makes it increasingly challenging for adolescents to attain the knowledge they need. Through what is termed “family life education” (FLE), we can hope to teach the roles and responsibilities of males and females toward each other in all relationships in familial and social contexts, thus endowing the knowledge necessary to maintain sexual health as they navigate through the vulnerabilities of life.[2] However, the existence of strong stigma and controversy handicaps any existing adolescent health programs, with them being incomprehensive and failing to fully address the main health issues adolescents are vulnerable to. These include several negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes,[3] such as early and closely spaced pregnancy, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infection (STI), HIV/AIDS, and sexual violence, the rates of which are already increasing at a disturbing rate.
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NEED FOR SEXUAL EDUCATION FOR INDIAN ADOLESCENTS
The importance of delivery of sex education in a timely fashion to this significant demographic is emphasized by current statistics that show that almost one in every fifth person on the globe is an adolescent.[4] They comprise 18% (1.2 billion) of world's population in 2009, with 88% living in developing countries. India has the largest adolescent population (243 million with more than 50% of the adolescent population living in urban areas). These figures indicate the importance of specifically addressing the healthcare needs of this considerable demographic, particularly for the developing countries such as India.[5] Recent literature suggests that at this time they are highly likely to experiment and engage in the types of risky behaviors that have the potential to influence the quality of health and probability of survival in both short- and long-term over their lifetime. Therefore, meeting the needs of such a vulnerable group and overcoming existing shortcomings in the delivery of tailored primary preventative measures would significantly improve the survival and general health conditions, nutritional status, and sexual and reproductive health of the future Indian adult population.[6] This encompasses issues such as early pregnancy, unsafe abortions, STIs including HIV, and sexual abuse and violence.