Legal Authority In Kerala Asked To Update Terms Like 'Good Touch' And 'Bad Touch'
Update: 2022-07-26 15:01 IST
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In spite of the ongoing discussion on how to educate kids about "good touch" and "bad touch" in the aftermath of the worrisome increase in POCSO cases, a legal organisation claims that the terminology themselves are unclear and should be updated.
In a report presented before the High Court, the Kerala State Legal Service Authority (KeLSA) recommended replacing the terms "good touch" and "bad touch" with "secret touch," "safe touch," "unsafe touch," or "unwanted touch" because they appear to confuse youngsters due to their ambiguity. It stated that the phrase "Bad touch" is too vague and has to be clarified.
The High Court had urged the state government and Central Board of School Education (CBSE) to revise sex education in the state after seeing that children were engaging in sex without being aware of the severe penalties under the POCSO Act, which would later cause them to lose their futures.
According to Parvathi Menon A, counsel for KeLSA, the harmful perception of sex education that is pervasive in society, particularly among minors, is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.
By gathering material from questionable sources, they foster perverse conceptions about it and link the term "sex" to the act of sex alone. Sex education should cover a wide range of topics, such as biological principles.
Children should be made aware of the widespread horrors taking place in their environment, according to the KeLSA report. They ought to have the ability to stop such crimes and defend themselves. Children have been misinformed and misled, which has led to them misrepresenting and responding incorrectly to sincere acts of love from family members.
Only reasonable, well-rounded instruction provided by psychologists and teachers will be able to address this. It was noted that while educating kids about the dark and unpleasant aspects of society is important, they shouldn't become judgmental adults or acquire a dread of it.
Children should be made aware of the widespread horrors taking place in their environment, according to the KeLSA report. They ought to have the ability to stop such crimes and defend themselves.
They should be taught how to handle the biological changes taking place in their body as well as made scientifically aware of them. Meanwhile, the HC stated verbally on Monday that it should be required for theatres to show a brief video about the Pocso Act before movies, similar to the one on the anti-tobacco effort.
Children have been misinformed and misled, which has led to them misrepresenting and responding incorrectly to sincere acts of love from family members. Only reasonable, well-rounded instruction provided by psychologists and teachers will be able to address this.