It is not an exaggeration to say that India is going through a Rape Epidemic. NCB reports that more than 32000 cases of rape were filed in the IPC in 2019, which is approximately more than 87 cases per day (National Crime Records Bureau, 2019, p. 3). However, this statistic doesn’t describe the extent of the issue as it also doesn’t include other forms of sexual abuse, molestation and harassment and according to a report, about 99% of sexual assault cases go unreported (Kundu, 2018).
The recent emergence of the #MeToo movement showed just how many women had experienced one or the other form of sexual abuse in their life. While many calls for stricter laws and punishments to deter abusers, it may not be adequate (Livemint, 2018). Many scholars claim the problem emerges from a “Rape Culture’ that both objectifies women and glamorizes male dominance teaching men to be dominant, sexually aggressive, and assertive (Dianne Herman, 1984; Kivel, 2012). For example, the idea that if a woman says “no,” she means “yes” and needs only to be persuaded or stalking is a way to show your love and win the heart of a woman is continuously implied in the media. Hence, The problem requires to be addressed from its root cause which is these cultural beliefs and attitudes around the offender, their family, peer group, other organizations and even the media that reinforce these ideas (Avaaz, 2013).
Avaaz, in their document ‘End India’ Rape Epidemic’ discuss how education can be a solution. They discuss the steps that can be taken in a mass educational program and cite past examples like the Bell Bajao Campaign, where education programs have had a change in cultural attitudes (Avaaz, 2013). Any such mass education program needs to start from the school level and perhaps with the introduction of a comprehensive sex education program.
India continues to have a myopic view of sex where any discussion of it is seen as taboo. Any sex education in school only seems to include information about birth processes. There is sometimes a medicalized discussion in biology textbooks of what sex is, the accompanying changes with puberty, the mention of STD’s and contraceptives and even then the whole concept is brushed over. It doesn’t acknowledge the human and emotional aspect of sex. Further, the syllabus needs to include information about sexualities, gender identities, intimacy, consent, sexual hygiene etcetera.
There is a need to have a comprehensive sex education program which is defined by UNESCO (2018) as “a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. It aims to equip children and young people with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will empower them to realize their health, well-being and dignity; develop respectful social and sexual relationships; consider how their choices affect their well-being and that of others; and understand and ensure the protection of their rights throughout their lives”.
Such a program can be helpful to address the confusion and curiosity that children have at that age in a safe environment with the correct information. Otherwise, they may try to understand it from the information available online, through sensationalist representations in the media or pornography which may not be accurate or healthy representations and can create a misrepresentation in their minds.
It is also essential for their health and safety as CSE programs should discuss family planning, risky sexual practices, STD’s etc. and help them understand what a ‘respectful sexual relationship’ looks like. It might be the key to deterring sexual crimes and abuse later in life as well as protecting them in and even after school (Berger, 2018).
Pandey (2019) questioned convicted rapists in a Delhi prison and found that they did not understand what consent meant or that it should be taken. She believed they had “a sense of entitlement and ownership over the victim”. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of consent and its importance which can perhaps be acknowledged by introducing the concept early in their life. Evidence shows us greater perceived sex education was associated with positive attitudes toward consent and intentions to obtain consent (Richmond and Peterson, 2019).
Consent can be defined as ”an agreement between participants to engage in sexual activity” (RAINN, 2017). However, according to many, consent also goes beyond just sex. It applies to any sexual activity as well as touching even in non-sexual contexts and sexting, sending nude pictures etcetera.
Any education about consent has to include multiple aspects like who can and cannot give consent, situations where consent is required and what it looks like. There is a lot of disagreement and confusion among people in terms of what constitutes consent and when it should be taken. One of the best examples in the idea of ‘No means Yes’ as stated above. An article by Bustle reports that students are often “surprised to realize that if a person has had too much to drink, they can’t give consent”(Stinson, 2019).
In a Canadian Survey by MacDougall, Craig, Goldsmith and Byers (2020), University students who received limited sexual consent education attributed their negative experiences like experiencing non-consensual sexual activities and detrimental effects on their romantic relationships to this limited education.
Consent education also has to begin at an early age when any such interventions are much effective (Widman et al., 2019). It should include reading body language and facial expressions, Discussing and respectfully communicating boundaries (Stinson, 2019). People also need to practice asking for, giving consent, and not giving consent as students report feeling awkward in asking for consent (Stinson, 2019). It also has to include the ethics of consent to understand why consent is necessary and to understand it in multiple contexts (Tatter, 2019).
In an early age, Sex education is more important than we realize. 47335 cases were reported under the POCSO Act in 2019, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (2019, p. 6). In preschool or kindergarten, children need to be taught to determine the difference between good touch and bad touch as they begin to interact with the world. Children at this age may lack an understanding of what might be happening to them. They also may not have picked up the skills to refuse or be fearful of reporting. By teaching them refusal skills and informing them in clear words when they should inform their parents or teachers, we may be able to prevent them from experiencing any sexual abuse.
The school is currently the ideal place to have these discussions as young minds may have nowhere else to learn it from. These ideas are rarely discussed at home. Instead, homes may be places where patriarchal structures are reinforced.
Despite all the evidence pointing to the importance of sex education, It continues to be opposed by many who claim that it is against the Indian culture or will somehow lead to more promiscuity or earlier sex activity among teenagers (Venkatraman, 2017). Many studies have found sex education doesn’t increase the likelihood of sexual activity. It instead increases knowledge about contraceptives (Avachat, Phalke & Phalke, 2011), delays first sexual activity, decreases the frequency of sex, decreases the number of sexual partners, and increases contraceptive use (Fonner, Armstrong, Kennedy, O’Reilly & Sweat, 2014; UNESCO, 2018).
However, the current NEP sadly doesn’t even mention sex education in the entire document. It mentions gender equality and gender sensitivity in different contexts. It also discusses sensitizing for transgender people but never mentions alternative sexualities, non-binary identities etcetera. Until our education policy doesn’t make a comprehensive sex education program compulsory, different schools may choose not to go into these ‘taboo’ topics or not have sex education at all.
Many NGOs instead have taken the task upon the, using creative ways and workshops to teach sex education to young kids. However, there needs to be a formalized structure in place for compulsory comprehensive sex education that is preventative, open and healthy in its discussion of sexuality, sexual development, consent, sexual risks etcetera. There also needs to be appropriate training of teachers who will impart this program.
References
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