How should sex-education be taught?

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Dimpy Handa
Open discussion of sexual practice and relationships among younger teenagers encourages sexual activity before they are ready, by adding to peer pressure, and devalues its own message because of the risk of classroom ridicule. It is better to discuss sexual responsibility in a one-to-one context, either with older siblings or parents, or perhaps via Internet youth portals.
 
Today, there are two different types of sex education classes. Depending on what your state or local school district mandates, your teen will either be learning the Comprehensive Sexuality Education or the Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Program. These programs represent two completely different schools of thought, but either way, it is imperative for you to know what your child is learning. You will need to do your best not to get caught up in the politics of the sex education classes as much as be the buffer or the fill-in person for your teenager.
 
The lesson that Indian leaders seem to take from sex education: Prevention is better than cure. But this may not be the best formula for a country with a high incidence of child marriages and teenage pregnancies.

Experts say that the case for sex education in India is quite different from in the West because it is 'legitimate' here for young people to have sex. According to the National Family Health Survey conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Macro International in 2005-06, 12% women aged between 15-19 years are mothers.

The survey said that one in six Indian women aged 15-19 starts to have children. Dr Sunil Mehra, director of the MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child, says, "Youth in India needs sex education more than in any other country since child marriage ensures that you not only have sex at a young age, you also have teenage pregnancy."
 
As we all understand knowledge is empowerment from ignorance. So sex education is also a part of knowledge transmission. Every child has a right to know about themselves and their safety. This can go a long way in controlling many problems like AIDS, sexual crimes, pre-marital unhealthy Sex relation and the like.
 
Now, however, the children of the sexual revolution are beginning to grapple with how to teach their own children about sex. Faced with evidence that their kids are suffering while they bicker, parents and educators are seeking some common ground about what works and what doesn't. It is becoming possible to discuss the need for responsibility and commitment without being cast as a religious fanatic and to accept the need for safe-sex instruction without being considered an amoral pragmatist.
 
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