Lessons in stone: Sculptures in Khajuraho

Bhopal, May 7: In the land of Khajuraho, more and more boys and girls are having sex before they turn 18.

The good bit is that most of them are taking precautions against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD), the three-year study by the Madhya Pradesh State AIDS Control Society says.

The survey, conducted in 2,881 schools across 19 districts, shows that today’s teenagers are nearly four times as likely as their parents to have underage (below 18) sex.

The study deals exclusively with sex outside marriage in a state where child marriage is a huge social problem.

“A majority (of the school-going adolescents) said they were conscious of the threats posed by HIV/AIDS and STD, so they were taking precautions,” said Celina Singh, the society’s director.

“What is more significant is that several girls admitted to having taken the lead in opting for physical intimacy.”

The findings, she added, reveal that social mores are changing even in conservative states.

Several students admitted to watching pornography for pleasure. Over 30 per cent of the girls said their first sexual contact was with close relatives, such as maternal uncles and cousins.

A girl from Chattarpur district in Bundelkhand said her teacher initiated her and some of her friends into physical intimacy. “It was not love, and I knew it all along ? but still I liked it,” the girl reportedly said.

“There is little point in making a value judgement or blaming TV, films or the Internet,” Singh said. “Let us accept that our teenagers are turning adult faster and there is a pressing need to educate them about their responsibilities, about reproductive health and moral issues.”

Under the programme launched in 2003, two counsellors trained by the society were sent to each school. Over several sessions, the counsellors conducted a 16-hour course that included ice-breaking talks, freewheeling conversations, presentations on reproductive health, love and family, and feedback sessions.

Savita Thakur, deputy director of the society, said both boys and girls opened up a lot towards the end of the programme. “We encouraged them to candidly share their experiences and recorded them to formulate future policies.”

The society’s officials said such a study was important since AIDS was rising across the country.

“Youth in their early 20s are becoming the most susceptible,” Thakur said, adding that Madhya Pradesh had recorded 1,740 AIDS cases in the past decade.

Last week, the deaths of two members of a family from AIDS within 10 days of each other alarmed the state, which is considered a low-prevalence area for the disease.

Devraj, 30, a truck driver from Ashta town, some 60 km from Bhopal, died after discharge from the Ashta civil hospital. His sister-in-law, Devaki Bai, 28, died the day Devraj had been admitted to hospital.

Devraj’s elder brother Gajraj Singh, also a truck driver, had died of AIDS five years ago and a fourth family member, another of Devraj’s sisters-in-law, is battling the disease.

Society officials said that in the context of this family’s sufferings, the teenage trend for safe sex must be considered good news.