Experts focus on sex education to curb HIV, AIDS in city

Chennai, Feb 16 (UNI) Experts at an International Conference here highlighted the importance of sex education to bring down the increasing rate of unintended pregnancies and prevent sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS.

Setting the tone for a healthy debate on the issue, Madras University Vice-Chancellor S Ramachandran, inaugurating the conference yesterday, spoke on the need for change in approach towards sex education in the country.

''Sex education as of today only covers human reproduction.

The original objective of sex education is to reduce the increasing incidents of unintended pregnancies, abortions, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS'', he added.

''But it does not teach the students to differentiate between right and wrong, proper and improper, beautiful and ugly, healthy and unhealthy, the beauty of relationships and responsible sexual reproductive behaviour,'', Prof Ramachandran observed.

Asia Oceanic Federation of Sexology Vice-President and a member of Indian Institute of Sexual Medicine T Kamaraj said families were breaking up at a rate faster than they were formed.

Observing that the root cause for many of the relationship problem and abnormal behaviour was sexual dissatisfaction, he said sex related problems were more prevalent among the IT and BPO sector employees due to intrusion of western culture, changing lifestyles, hurried and stressful work situations.

Dr Kamaraj said in this era of competition and stressful life, people in all walks of life suffering from neurosis, conflicts, frustration, which affects family relations and marital harmony, leading to increase in divorce rates.

''It has been found that sex has a major role in the discords erupting out of bedrooms. Sexuality, gender and reproduction are fundamental elements of human life and prominent in the organisation of human societies,'' he added.

The conference was an attempt by specialists to break the inhibition and ignorance among the people about sex related issues.

At an exclusive session for media, veteran journalists asked sexologists in the country to open up and help the media to spread the message about healthy sex life.

They also asked sexologists to help the media by simplifying technical jargons used in scientific publications to take the message to the target group without difficulty.

UNI GV KVV SV AS1305