Articles features
Banning porn won't work, sex education will: Experts
By
Nishant Arora New Delhi, Aug 4
Terming the government's
crackdown on 857 pornographic websites an "act in haste", the country's
top sex and behavioural experts have favoured making sex education
mandatory for young Indian teenagers so that crimes like rape or child
molestation can be efficiently curbed.
According to them, a
crackdown is not the solution as adults have a right to watch porn in
the privacy of their homes and that right should not be taken away.
"Banning
porn websites is not the solution at all. Educating the youth about
what sex and related behaviours are must be on the agenda of the present
government,†Dr Prakash Kothari, one of India's leading sexologists
based in Mumbai, told IANS.
The ministry of communications and
information and technology, in its order of July 31 under section
79(3)(b) of the IT Act 2000, banned the 857 websites terming their
content "immoral and indecent".
The ban will only result in a boom for the pirated porn industry, experts say.
"One
doubts if this ban can be a fool-proof solution. It will probably
increase the sale of pirated porn DVDs. A ban of this kind might
actually increase sexual frustration and lead to other sexual and social
problems,†warned Dr Madhuri Singh, consulting psychiatrist at Nanavati
Super Speciality Hospital in Mumbai.
The experts, however, feel that when it comes to child pornography, prompt action is required.
"Throughout
the world, child porn is banned and generally stays off the internet.
Problem is that some adult websites have links that lead to child
pornography and those must be dealt sternly with,†noted Dr Samir
Parikh, director of mental health and behavioural sciences at Fortis
Hospital in New Delhi.
Objectification of women and child abuse
are growing in our society, says Dr Parikh, but there has to be a proper
mechanism to ensure that young adults do not get easy access to porn.
"With
the proliferation of technology, kids have easy access to porn and
related materials and this issue has to be brought to the fore,†he
contended.
Owing to the growth in the smartphone sector, online
porn viewing is going to see an explosion in the next five years, a
recent study said.
According to Britain-based digital market
research specialist firm Juniper Research, online porn watching will
grow by nearly 42 percent in the next five years.
The porn video hits will grow to 193 billion a year by 2020 from around 136 billion this year, it said.
Growth is taking place in the video chat and webcam content area in the global porn industry that is worth $97 billion.
Sexual literacy may be the need of the hour, feel others.
"In
the absence of proper sex education, ignorance prevails because porn is
a double-edged sword," said Dr Sudhakar Krishnamurti, director of
world-famous Andromeda Andrology Centre in Hyderabad.
"Responsibility
lies with all the stakeholders -- government, media houses, social
scientists, doctors, teachers -- to ensure that sex education becomes
the key to tackle rising cases of sexual abuse,†Dr Parikh stressed.
According
to Dr Sameer Malhotra, director of the department of mental health and
behavioural sciences at Max Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi,
“age-appropriate and sensitively handled sex education can help in
preventing risky behaviour and addressing myths" associated with sexual
issues.
"Sex education will actually limit porn viewing among
adults,†said Dr Manish Jain, senior consultant (psychiatrist) at BLK
Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi.
Parental guidance of age-appropriate surfing may also help.
"Adults
websites can be blocked on any computer and in any browser to prevent
adult-themed content from showing up in web searches and on specific
websites. Modify your computers with parental guidance,†Dr Jain
advised.
(Nishant Arora can be contacted at [email protected])