As we march toward more comprehensive and progressive sexual education for teenagers, a major revolutionary step has been taken by the Madras High Court. As the world awaited for Avengers: Endgame on April 26, 2019, the Madras HC planned to put an end to a problematic act.
Keeping in mind an adolescent’s sexuality and the undue advantages taken of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act regarding consensual sex, the court recommended that POCSO be amended so that consensual sexual relations between a girl of 16 years and above, and a boy who is not more than five years elder to her, should not be considered a sexual assault under the Act.
This Act does not provide a definitive or distinctive difference between consensual sexual acts and sexual assaults between teenagers on the grounds that a minor cannot give consent to any such acts. Though, back in 2013, the Delhi Court stated that a physical relationship — which is not in the nature of an assault — and takes place with the minor girl’s consent and where the consent has not been obtained unlawfully, no offence can be said to have been committed.
This Act has been exploited by parents of teenagers blaming their kids’ partners on grounds of eloping. Due to no clear demarcation of consent, cases of minor rapes are usually delayed. After this statement, a clear demarcation between teenage consensual sex and assault is been hailed as revolutionary and a much-needed step.
Age Of Consent
Earlier, the age of consent was 18 which has now been lowered to 16. As a fellow teenager of the 21st century, this has left me on a diverged two-way thought process:
1. Are 16-year-olds mature enough to indulge in sexual relations? Can they understand the gravity of the probable consequences of sex? Can they deal with the repercussions of an unwanted pregnancy?
2. It is an extremely progressive step in terms of teenage sexuality and provides much-needed independence to adolescents.
Keeping in mind the recent trends of society, teenagers are having sex and it is time that society recognises this. For a minute, let us keep the ‘pious’ norms aside along with the severely problematic notions of virginity, and focus on the real problem at hand. Is there enough sex education to educate teenagers about contraceptives? Do they know about the functioning of their reproductive organs? The stigma around sex has kept such crucial topics away from ‘innocent’ kids in the fear of ‘polluting’ their minds. The internet is a teenager’s friend which provides a highly superficial and faulty image of true sexual activities thus, resulting in highly unrealistic expectations from sex.
In case of an unwanted pregnancy, will teenagers be ready to handle the responsibility? Will it lead to a rise in teenage marriages? Minor girls need parental consent for abortions. Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, abortion is permitted on liberal grounds until 20 weeks of pregnancy. Here, we are not dealing only with elite privileged women, we are dealing with rural, tribal, underprivileged and segregated women too; those who have to conceive not out of will, but out of obligations; women who do not enjoy sex for pleasure but have to simply comply with norms and produce an heir for the family.
11% of the world’s pregnancies happen in India. In a year 16 million women between ages 15 to 19 become pregnant! Around 27% of girls are married off before 18 and lead to untimely pregnancies. Will reducing the age of consent aggravate such an alarming situation? Do we have shelter houses or provisions for a potential increase in teenage pregnancies?
Not belittling the immensely progressive step taken by the court towards the liberation of teenage sexuality, but in a country which receives minimal education about sex and its consequences, will lowering the age not trigger off already raging hormones? Even though teenagers indulge in sex way before they turn 16, proper comprehensive sex education is the need of the hour and now, more than ever! A population of 1,35,04,38,098 shies away at the mere mention of something so basic and natural, essential for the continuation of humanity and of course, for pleasure.
Looking at the rather shocking statistics and the state of teenage sexual knowledge. Are we ready for such a monumental change?