Breaking taboos in Bangalore.

Many people in the UK think that children are learning about sex too early. Magazines, television and the Internet have made it a familiar topic for most young people before they even reach secondary school. But in Bangalore, India, it seems that children may be learning about it too late.

“Sex education does not happen in most of India,” says Karuna Sagili, from Viva’s Delhi office. “All matters of the body and sexuality and sex are seen as taboo. In one school in Bangalore the teachers have stuck some pages together in the biology textbooks, so that children would not look at the pictures often. It is photos of a man and a woman, and all the parts of the body.”
Karuna feels that this widespread reluctance to discuss, or even acknowledge, sexuality, is a major contributor to the country’s high rate of child sexual abuse. “Things like rape or child abuse are never discussed by anyone, so how can those problems be dealt with and people be helped?” Well, on the southern tip of the subcontinent, the Bangalore chapter of Viva’s ASHA forum is helping to answer that question.

An India-wide project focused on bringing an end to child sexual abuse, ASHA, uses the city-wide networks as its local bases. “In Bangalore the team felt that we needed to begin simply – to affirm that sexuality is not bad, but is God-given,” shares Karuna. “Unless a child learns the value of their body, how can they ever realise what abuse is?” So, the ASHA team is going into local schools to talk with children about healthy expressions of sexuality.

The seminars have been held in several local schools and church-based education projects, and so far 348 girls and boys aged 10 to 16 have attended the sessions. One child wrote in her notes: “From now on I will not trust anyone who makes me uncomfortable”.

After the seminars are over, the team make sure that they carefully follow up with the schools. The ASHA team go back into the schools on a weekly basis following the sessions, and as different needs arise they can bring relevant network contacts with them, such as doctors or trauma counsellors. “Just talking about the issues, and seeing children become more aware, is such an important step,” says Karuna. “Only once the taboo is broken can we see the way forward to making sure India’s children are always kept safe.”

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