Teenage sex is inevitable as we observe how societies beyond India behave,” says Dr Samir Parikh, psychiatrist and chief of the Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences at the Max Healthcare, New Delhi. “Indian teenagers find young people elsewhere indulging in sex. So, they too want to join the league,” Parikh explains.

“And it’s not just few young people. The entire generation is going through the change in mindset, but the society is in denial mode,” Parikh believes. 

“More and more young people, including teenagers, are experimenting with sex,” confirms Dr Shekhar Seshadri, professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru. He ascribes several reasons for the increase in teenage sex — inappropriate images in the media, and it’s not just pornography; there’s no culture of discourse within the families to discuss sex across the generations; the control of the family over children is low; peer pressure; and decreased age in puberty. “In case of girls, it can be as early as nine-and-half to 10 years of age.” But even after all of this, the “situation is not out of control as yet,” he assures.

“The approach in such situations,” says Dr Parikh, “must not be restrictive.” Teenagers “will not listen, if they are told to abstain from sex because it is ‘not right’ or it is ‘not moral’. They must be engaged into responsible decision-making process,” he explains. And according to Seshadri, that essentially means children must have the right to know about sex and sexuality, so that they can make informed choices. “You have to make them understand the harmful effect of sexual activities at an early age when the body is not fully prepared,” echoes Dr Parikh.

Dr Seshadri cites an example of his workshop on ‘life skills’ where curious teenagers are made to reflect upon issues like commitment, relationships, honouring women, health hazards and the like. “The ultimate idea should be to create a responsible framework,” he says.