Greetings everybody! For the past few weeks we have had an invigorating discussion on young people, sexuality and rights. It has been interesting reading everyone’s thoughts and comments on the issue. Given below is a summary of the strands of thoughts and discussions exchanged for Subtopic 2: Sexuality and Young People: Access to Information and Services. I would like to encourage everybody to write in their thoughts, views, and comments and use this space for generating more dialogue and debate as we reach the last few weeks of this discussion.

Sexuality and Young People: Access to Information and Services – A Summary

Spaces for young People to articulate about sexuality….

Most of the responses in the forum indicate that there are various messages on sexuality that reach out to people in general and young people in particular. As many of the participants to the forum have responded, technology and mass media has ‘changed the way in which people live, think and relate to one another’. Mass media including the television and the Internet constantly ‘bombard’ young people with all kinds of messages on sexuality. At the same time, as one participant expressed, mass media does help ‘fill up a lot of gaps to information on sexuality’ and helps break down taboos associated with sexuality. However, this seems highly inadequate, as the images portrayed through these channels could be limited, harmful and stereotypical with a lot of missing information.

In the prevailing circumstances young people remain ignorant and unaware about issues of sexuality and are often misinformed about their own bodies and issues of desire, pleasure and abuse etc. According to one of the participants, this stems from the very belief that all this information would be harmful to young people as this has a lot of ‘implications’ for them. The participant adds that it is ironic that more often than not these implications are talked about in the context of young girls for reasons such as fear of pregnancy etc.

One of the participants expressed that though there are physical spaces where one could access information on sexuality, what is lacking is an environment in which to discuss issues regarding sexuality openly and without being judged. Additionally, due to our conditioning and associated feelings of guilt, shame, suspicion or peer pressure, the awareness and access to these existing spaces is restricted. Therefore, though there are a few spaces where young people could access information, there are fewer spaces where young people could access accurate and non-judgmental information without any value-laden messages.

Sexuality Education to be included in the school curriculum for young people…

Most of the participants in the forum do agree on the importance of sexuality education for young people. This sexuality education should ideally contain information not just about the body and the bodily functions, but also talk about various gender roles and stereotypes, sexual preferences and identities etc. However, many participants feel that this would be inadequate if simultaneous spaces to talk about issues of sexuality are not created for parents, teachers and other significant adults in the lives of young people. In the absence of these spaces, young people often get mixed messages on sexuality and end up feeling more and more confused and mystified about themselves, their feelings and emotions. Teachers and parents need to feel more comfortable around these issues to be able to impart such education to young people and enable them to enjoy a sense of well-being. We also need to be careful about the selection and training of educators on sexuality so as not to get influenced by our own prejudices and/or the dominant notions of morality in the society.

We all know from the past discussions that young people are varied in themselves with a wide variety of needs. Not all young people go to schools to receive formal education and therefore we need to create ways and means to reach out to them as well. As one of the participants has shared, ‘it may also be a better idea to explore non-formal channels of education’ both for young people who have access to formal education and for those who don’t so that ‘young people have more of an opportunity to surface their actual realities and concerns’. According to another participant, sexuality education also needs to cater to the specific needs of various ‘marginalized groups’ such as that of dalits in India or disabled people who are often considered ‘de-sexed’ at the same time being sexually exploited. As expressed by another of the participants, ‘sufficient spaces for young people must be created to build their capacities in articulating and developing what sexualities means and enabling young people to gain control over their own sexualities’.

Age-appropriate Sexuality Education…? Most of the responses received stress that although sexuality education is important for young people, it should be made age-appropriate taking into consideration the variety of local definitions of young people across different cultures, contexts etc. The messages could then be more sensitive and accepting of different sexualities.

Whereas some people felt that sexuality education should begin from the age of 13, there were others who were not so comfortable to assign an age to when sexuality education should commence. A few felt that it was up to the lawmakers to decide what should ideally be the age for such education. There were others who were of the opinion that sexuality education should be included in the curriculum right from pre-school because sexual abuse happens to young people and children at a very early age. Again, whereas a few felt that sexuality education should be provided to young people before they became sexually active there were others who felt that it should be made available to young people as soon as ‘the gendering process starts in earnest’.

Many felt that there was a need to grade the levels of sexuality education. Some felt that a few common modules of general information related to sexuality should be developed for all. However, as one progressed, different modules should be developed for different groups keeping in mind the unique characteristics and needs of each group. One of the participants drew attention to the need for evolving a language to speak about sexuality education recognizing that language can be a great barrier to any kind of communication across South and Southeast Asia especially around issues of sexuality, which is a taboo subject.

Messages crafted while communicating about sexuality…

As it is, the category of young people is quite blurred with varying definitions in terms of age, development etc. The messages that reach out to young people often end up being ambiguous and add to the prevailing confusion on sex and sexuality. Most of the messages that reach young people are that of public health and safety around sexuality without an equal emphasis on pleasure and affirmative aspects of sexuality. As one of the participants tells us, ‘when it comes to sexuality there is also a constant reference to ‘Indian culture’ and an ‘othering’ of young people’. The notions of Indian culture are upheld while totally ignoring the needs of young people to receive information on aspects to sexuality in order to take informed decisions and participate in decision-making processes on issues related to them.

The messages that the media gives and the messages that we often receive at home could be contradictory. For example one of the participants has shared how her brother received mixed and contradictory messages from the media and his family. Whereas the media considered same sex relationships as okay, his mother felt otherwise. It is no wonder then that young people often grow up in an environment remaining confused and mystified about sexuality.

When it comes to crafting of messages related to sexuality, the primary concern is the amount of control that can be exerted in terms of deciding what constitutes education in the arena of sexuality. Additionally, who are the people involved in the process and what are the assumptions behind these messages? Is it advisable to have a State approved sexuality education curriculum? Would that help in the creating of a norm for young people or would that create additional obstacles in the process?

Messages that remain absent…

Discourses on sexuality are missing and the few spaces that exist which raise concerns around issues of sexuality concentrate on giving out fear based and stereotypical messages on sexuality. Messages of pleasure and positive and affirmative aspects of sexuality remain largely absent. What may also be necessary is that we raise questions and concerns on gender roles and stereotypes along with the discourses on sexuality. Unless the model of sexuality education is based on getting young people as partners and peers, it still means taking away control over their bodies away from them.

Hope all of you have been able to gain something valuable from these discussions. Looking forward to a lively discussion around these issues!

Thank you,

Arpita Das (Moderator)