Explained: Kerala high court's order on sex education after a rise in teen pregnancies

Expressing its concern over the increasing number of child pregnancies, the Kerala High Court on Thursday said that easy availability of pornographic content online can mislead youngsters.

The court made this observation after Justice VG Arun allowed the medical termination of a 30-week pregnancy of a 13-year-old who was impregnated by her minor sibling, according to a report on PTI.

“It is time that authorities take a re-look at the sexual education being imparted in our schools,” said the court.

The plea in the court was filed by the girl’s mother who said that the pregnancy was noticed when the survivor was taken to the doctor’s office after she complained of abdominal pain and also after she missed her periods for more than two months.

Let’s take a closer look at what the court said and how porn can have damaging effects on youngsters.

What did the court say?

The court said that it took the decision to intervene in the case and authorise a medical termination of the pregnancy because the physical strain of carrying a pregnancy at such a young age can have detrimental effects on the child’s physical and mental health.

In this particular case, the girl was a rape survivor, a minor and incest was also involved.

After giving the order the court said, “Before parting with the case, I am compelled to express concern at the increasing number of child pregnancies, in which, at least some cases involve close relatives. In my opinion, it is time for the authorities to take a re-look at the sexual education being imparted in our schools. The easy availability of porn on the internet can mislead the juvenile minds of youngsters and give them wrong ideas. Educating our children about the safe use of the internet and social media is absolutely essential.”

It further said that the surgery will take place at a government hospital and the petitioner (the mother) has to file an undertaking to authorise the conduction of the surgery at her own risk.

How is porn detrimental for young minds?

According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), exposure to porn at a young age may result in poor mental health, sexism and objectification and can even promote sexual violence.

Apart from developing abusive and misogynistic behaviours, children may pass off such acts portrayed in porn as being normal and acceptable.

According to a 2019 survey commissioned by the British Board of Film Classification, 51 per cent of children aged between 11 to 13 had seen pornographic content online. The pandemic made these figures rise exponentially as children spent more time online, according to an Indian Express report.

Exposure to porn can also encourage children to engage in unsafe sexual practices.

Dr Sanjay Kumawat, consultant psychiatrist and sexologist at Mulund’s Fortis Hospital told Indian Express, “As the result (of viewing pornography), they may start unsafe sexual practices such as not using condoms and unsafe anal vaginal sex. Premature exposure also leads to permissive sexual attitudes (premarital sex, casual sex). Preoccupation or obsession with sexual thoughts also increases.”

Sex education in India

For a country like India which is the second most populous countries in the world, efforts to make sex education a part of school curriculum still remains bleak, according to an India Today report.

The kind of sex education that exists in India mainly covers topics like HIV/AIDS infection and teenage pregnancies. However, there is a lack of awareness with regard to homosexuality, practising safe sex and menstruation among women, as per a Feminist of India report.

According to a Times of India report, the National Council for Education, Research and Training (NCERT) had introduced sex education back in 2007. However,  Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa widely opposed NCERT’s proposal and removed sex education from school curriculum. Teachers and parents alike protested against its introduction as they considered it as a way of promoting condoms by multinational companies.

They also feared that it would 'feed the curiosity' of innocent students.

According to a report by The Hindu, India is obliged to provide free, compulsory and comprehensive education to adolescents as it was one of the signatories to the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development.

“In India, In India, private schools are free to choose whether to include sexuality education in their curriculum. Those schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) are required to have a component of sex education in their syllabi but such schools are a minority. Most schools do not have any form of sexuality education in their curriculum,” said a 2008 report published in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Neelu Grover, a safety and sexuality educator told The Hindu, “Both schools and parents find it difficult to accept and acknowledge that a teenager is a ‘sexual’ being. The concepts of friendship, romantic relationships, and sexual pleasure taught in a wholesome way are missing. Hence, the youth are learning (and they will, in this hyper sexualised world) about sexual pleasure in manipulative, harmful and unsafe ways.”

With inputs from agencies

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