Exploring Sexuality Education in India 

Praney Anand is one of the many talented students graduating from the Sexuality Studies Department this spring. Since the fall of 2009 he has  worked as an education and training intern at the NSRC. He is also a research assistant at the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality (CRGS), working on Professor Colleen Hoff's Gay Dads study and Dr.Lynn Sorsoli's study on Ethics and the IRB. Originally from Delhi, Praney sat down with us to talk about his graduate research on sex education in India.

NSRC: How did you become interested in researching this topic?

Praney Anand: My own sex education in school (or I should say lack of it) made me curious about my topic. Talking about sexuality is still taboo in India. I remember my teacher blushing and being very awkward while talking about penises and vaginas. Information was limited, often incorrect and biased. As I grew older, I left no chance to gather information on sex and sexuality unexplored and in a way took it upon myself to educate my peers. I remember explaining oral sex to one of my friends who thought it was another name for kissing.

In the last 5 years, the Indian government has made various attempts to enhance sexuality education in India. Currently, there's no research that explores students' experiences with sex education. 'Experts' have pulled out various arguments for and against sex education but students have no voice in this matter. In my research, I give them a chance to share their stories and experiences with school based sex education. Their voices will be an effective way to inform educators and policy makers about the need of the hour.

NSRC: What are some of the ways that the sex education issues you were looking at in India differ from sex education issues in the US?

PA: In India, the debate is a bit different from Abstinence vs Comprehensive. Religious leaders and advocates of 'traditional Indian morals' want no form of sex education for school children - not even abstinence. For them, kids don't want to, don't need to and shouldn't be talking about sex. When I say kids, I'm referring to adolescents and young adults. It's interesting that many young people get married at 18-19 and have babies in the following year, without learning about sex in school or at home. Hopefully, more research on adolescent sexuality will change the notion that sex happens only after marriage. That being said, there are organisations such as National AIDS Control Organisation, Naz Foundation and TARSHI that are doing excellent work in sexuality education, mostly in rural areas and with marginalized population such as sex workers, and men having sex with men but who don't identify as gay, such as truck drivers and hijras.

NSRC: Why did you decide to interview former students (as opposed to current students or teachers)?

PA: As I said, I wanted to explore students' experiences with sexuality education. Teachers, educators and parents have had enough room to talk about their views on this topic. Almost every other day there's a newspaper article about a bunch of teachers arguing for or against sex education. I believe students' voices will inform what exactly they want to and need to learn. For my research, I wanted individuals who'd had time to absorb their lessons on sex education at school. Therefore, I chose to interview individuals who would have most likely got more time and experience to reflect upon what they learnt about sex at school.

NSRC: What were some of your findings?

PA: Misinformation and lack of information were common themes across all participants. They also talked about how uncomfortable their teachers felt while talking about sex. Some participants shared their stories about feeling left out as the syllabus and their teachers didn't talk about topics like homosexuality, adoption and single-parenthood. Internet, magazines and friends were top sources of information. Inability to communicate and negotiate safety and pleasure with partners was also a concurrent theme.

NSRC: Based on your research, do you have any recommendations for changing sex education curriculum in India?

PA: Based on my research, one of my recommendations is to do more research in this field. Sex education should be factual and culturally sensitive. Part of empowering individuals to make decisions about their sexuality would be acknowledging that for some people, religion and culture are important aspects of their life.

NSRC: Now that you've completed this research, what are some new questions you have about sex education programs in India?

PA: I'm interested to find out ways to engage community, educators, parents and media in sex education efforts. My next step would be to present findings from this research to parents and educators, asking for their support to make sex education effective.

NSRC: What would you like to do with your career in the future?

PA: I see myself on the path of becoming a sex educator and a researcher. I firmly believe any advocacy or intervention program begins with exploring underlying phenomena of the situation through appropriate research - balancing both of them is where I want to be.