If sexual assaults on women are rising in the country, who shall we blame now? After miniskirts, mobile phones and chowmein, it is the turn of “sex education” to take the rap. This time, the accusation is being hurled not by a politician, godman, khap leader or habitual loudmouth, but by one of India’s top cops.

Last week, at a public discussion about women’s safety, Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh argued that more the sex education, the greater the likelihood of a spurt in crimes against women. How so? Mr Singh pointed an accusing finger at America. “It has sex education as part of its curriculum, but students are simply being taught how to have intercourse. Countries with sex education in their curriculum only have an increased number of crimes against women,” he thundered. Predictably, there were howls of outrage. Mr Singh now says more than sex education, he favours moral education at all levels.
The hullabaloo is good — it gives us a chance to discuss a taboo topic and clear some mental cobwebs. Whatever be one’s personal views on sex, it cannot be equated with rape.
Mr Singh has a right to his opinion, but being a public servant he should divulge the data sources he uses to make his point. One of his earlier statements is a telling comment on the logic that guides him. “Most suicides,” according to Mr Singh, “are committed by those who have studied in the English medium.” Mumbai’s top cop said he has never heard of or seen a Sanskrit-medium educated person committing suicide. Did all the farmers who have committed suicide hail from the English-speaking world that Mr Singh clearly abhors?
Bewildering as
Mr Singh’s statements are, they are not new. Nor original. His views echo the mindset of that India which refuses to accept the reality of virulent male chauvinism underlying the rising graph of crimes against women in the country — a section of India which imagines that such crimes do not happen in “Bharat” or to “real Indians”, that this is a “Western” problem.
Despite all the protests, rapes and all other forms of assaults on women are continuing. According to the latest figures from the National Crime Records Bureau, 2,28,650 incidents of crime against women were reported during 2011, rising 7.1 per cent from 2,13,585 incidents in 2010.
To blame sex education for these horrific figures is to be in a state of extreme denial.
There is a vital need to bust myths. India has the largest adolescent population in the world, some 243 million in the 10-19 age group. Sex education for them continues to be a political hot potato. India is one of the countries most affected by HIV and AIDS and it’s the spread of the HIV virus, especially among the young, which boosted the case for sex education. But soon the backlash began, in 2007. Eleven state governments either banned or developed cold feet about having sex education in the school curriculum. Did this reduce sexual assaults on women, or new HIV cases? The facts point to the contrary. For example, in 2007, Madhya Pradesh turned its back on the centrally-sponsored Adolescence Education Programme (AEP), saying “sex education has no place in Indian culture”. The latest official statistics say the state has reported the highest number of rape cases (3,406), 14.1 per cent of India’s total. While the HIV and AIDS epidemic is stabilising in India as a whole, Madhya Pradesh is among those states which has shown a rise in new HIV infections — from 3,803 new HIV/AIDS cases in 2009-10 to 5,012 in 2011-12.
In 2009, a parliamentary committee headed by BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu reported on the matter again. After deliberating over the issue for almost one and a half years, nine sittings and visits to half a dozen states, the committee recommended axing sex education in schools. Why? “Sex education is against the ethos of our society. It would rather uproot the cultural values and beliefs which we have cherished since the vedic era,” the committee said. It felt that chapters like “Physical and Mental Development in Adolescents”, “HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases” and others related to these topics should be removed from the curriculum and included in the biology syllabus, but not before the 10+2 stage.
But, given the exposure that the young already have to different sources, dithering can be deadly. It is time to have a rational discussion. As a starting point, it needs to be said loud and clear that sex education does not lead to sexual assaults. The US’ National Campaign to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy examined 250 studies of sex education programmes and concluded that “the overwhelming weight of evidence shows that sex education that discusses contraception does not increase sexual activity”.
Dr Rajan Bhonsle, head of the department of sexual medicine at Mumbai’s K.E.M Hospital, says sex education raises hackles because there is a deep-rooted belief that “sex is sinful”.
“Sex education does not mean merely providing information on genital-centred sex; it implies transferring correct values, balanced attitudes and sound perceptions. It is important that we raise children to become adults who will use their sexuality in mature and responsible ways,” says Dr Bhonsle.
Despite all the brouhaha, many schools across India continue to impart sex education, though quietly and using a different nomenclature. Given the political sensitivities surrounding the topic, however, teachers are wary of being closely associated with it. But the Centre-sponsored Adolescence Education Programme (AEP) still exists.
At a time when women’s basic rights and their bodies are under attack, and a mishmash of cacophonous concerns mask a lack of clarity about the sort of life skills that our adolescent girls and boys need to stay safe, one needs to shout out loud for sensible and sensitive messaging for the young. This means supporting our young people to develop skills so that they make informed choices about their behaviour, including those related to sexuality, and feel confident about acting on these choices. Indeed, there is dazzling irony in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation announcing it will revive a sex education gallery for the young at a time when the city’s police commissioner is slamming sex education.

The writer focuses on development issues in India and emerging economies