Gynaecologist Calls for Normalizing Sex Education to Safeguard Youth

In a recent awareness event, gynaecologist and adolescent health expert Dr. Laxmi Shrikhande emphasized the critical importance of providing timely sex education to children. She shared eye-opening experiences from her career, highlighting the heartbreaking stories of teenage pregnancies that could have been avoided through simple, early awareness.

Dr. Shrikhande recounted one particularly shocking case where a 12-year-old girl was brought to her, with her parents believing she had a tumour, only to discover she was in full-term pregnancy. "She had to undergo a caesarean section, and the baby was handed over to an orphanage. If only she had known about good touch and bad touch, this tragedy could have been avoided," she said.

Urging parents to overcome their hesitation, Dr. Shrikhande stressed that children must be taught about good and bad touch before the age of 10. "Boys, too, are vulnerable to abuse," she added, warning that a lack of proper guidance drives children to learn from unreliable online sources.

The event also featured talks from other speakers, including Nirbhay Sancheti, the director of SMS Mining, who compared the challenges of mining to the refining process of life. "Ore is full of impurities, but after refining, it shines. Similarly, challenges shape us. Don't give up -- you are the ore being refined. Metals are valuable because they survive the fire and still shine," he said.