India needs to rethink its sex education strategy: From abstinence-only to harm-reduction

Authored By: Mehak Malik and Sameera Singh

Since a long time, sex education in India has been tangled in mystery, cultural furore and shame. As of 2014, India’s Health Education Minister was against sex education in schools, declaring sex education as vulgar and immoral, and recommending abstinence as the best strategy. A specific right-wing group also threatened teachers with physical violence if they ventured to educate their students about sex. In six years since then, the country has made a monumental leap, at least on paper. In 2020, the Human Resource Ministry along with NCERT (National Council for Education Research and Training) decided to revamp sex education in the classroom with a new curriculum that has been intentioned to teach students about sexual violence, good touch, bad touch, substance abuse and use of internet in the context of sexual health. In fact, the program was dubbed as “adolescent education” because the use of the word sex, even in the context of education, evokes revolting emotions from India’s political elite. 

Sex is something we, as humans, are exposed to at some point or another. Be it as a commonplace practice, or in the media. But it is an activity that comes with consequences if one is not aware of the risks. Comprehensive sex education not only helps one understand a biological process vital to the existence of life but also better equips us to deal with complex topics surrounding consent, gender identity, menstruation, sexuality in inter-personal interactions and behaviours. 

Sex education ranges on a spectrum – it can be taught as variations of abstinence-only, to harm reduction, to the exploration of one’s sexuality. One key thing to understand about abstinence is, while it may conform to our conservative culture where sex is equated with shame, it mystifies sex, causing curiosity and experimentation beforehand. Studies have also shown that those who receive sex education are less susceptible to contracting sexually transmitted diseases or committing sexual offences. 

A truly progressive and liberal society should leverage the educational setting to encourage exploration of one’s identity and orientation in a healthy and safe manner. We are very far away from this utopia today.

The most effective sex education that can be realistically imparted in Indian educational institutions is harm reduction. Harm reduction is the minimum standard any society, irrespective of cultural perceptions towards sex should follow, because sexual health is a basic human right. Harm reduction demystifies human sexuality and anatomy, making people liable for their actions so they can make informed decisions about their bodies. With a good education, individuals can learn when and where to seek help if we were to be exposed to harm.

Perhaps the best way to advocate for comprehensive sex education should be to highlight the positive impacts it can have. Studies across the world have shown that sex education reduces at-risk behaviour in adolescents and increases safe-sex practices, leading to lower unwanted pregnancies and STDs.

Harm reduction is not only limited to the physical repercussions of unsafe sex. Mental health is very closely tied to sexual health.

For this reason, consent, boundaries, the interplay of anxiety and depression with sexual health are important topics to address in an educational setting. 

Imparting sex education should be one of the normative responsibilities of being a parent.

As for dissemination, it is important that these conversations happen mandatorily in school, but also continue at home. Imparting sex education should be one of the normative responsibilities of being a parent – perhaps such curriculums could be called parental education where parents are taught why their child needs to know these things, how to have these conversations, and when to have these conversations. 

While our country still shies away from the topics of sexuality, having a formal and comprehensive education rooted in knowledge can help destigmatize notions harmful for our growth. We have taken steps in the right direction, and sex education is being mandated in some curriculums, but we need to continue to have these conversations to nurture a healthier and safer India. 

About the Authors: Mehak is the Founder and CEO of Uvi Health, a digital health platform for women delivering science-backed programs on reproductive and sexual health. Sameera is an undergraduate student majoring in Political Science at NYU, Abu Dhabi.