Students8217; hangout 8212; Red-light areas

According to CSWs, you can spot them miles away. College students apparently come in large groups, walking down the bylanes with misplaced confidence. The school children, some of them sporting their school uniform, usually come with one or two friends and hesitantly make their way into the areas. 8220;Our workers and the CSWs often come across school and college going students in the red-light areas, some of them even in their uniforms,8221; says Dr Shilpa Merchant, Population Services International8217;s PSI National HIV/AIDS coordinator. 8220;And the frightening thing is that these youngsters think they are invincible and know everything when they walk into these places.8221;

Organisations working in the red-light district of Mumbai have recorded a significant increase in the number of school and college children visiting these areas. Youth with high risk behaviour are on the rise and agencies are still figuring out how to reach out to this group.

Explaining the alarming trend, Dr Mahindra C Watsa, a consultant with the Family Planning Association of India FPAI says: 8220;The reasons an increasing number of youth are exploring the bylanes of a red-light area are very important. Curiosity is the primary reason. With parents and schools not willing to talk about it, the youth decides to find out on its own. Also there is something for them to boast about later.8221;

In a 1994 FPAI study, 4,709 8220;urban educated youth8221; openly talked about sex. And what they said, according to Watsa is an indication of what they think and feel about a subject parents and teachers are still embarrassed to talk about even today.

The analysis indicates that respondents receive information about sex for the first time at an average age of 13 years. The report further states: 8220;There is a lack of source of getting correct information among Indian youth on factors that disturb them. The peer group is very strong, particularly among males and also shows that the youth feel a lack of confidence and trust in senior members.8221;

Watsa says that though the survey was done way back in 1994, it still holds true and the only difference is that the numbers have gone up. In 1994, the average age for a first sexual experience was 16 years in case of males and 17 for women. Today, according to him the average age has dropped to 14 and 15.

The PSI helpline on HIV/AIDS on an average gets two call from teenagers or 20-somethings a day, wondering whether their brief sexual encounter could lead to bigger things. Recently there was a young man who called the facility asking whether 8220;sex on the beaches of Goa with an unknown person meant he had contracted AIDS8221;. Dr Merchants says: 8220;The boy was very tense and we had to explain that there is a three month window period after which he should get himself tested. Our callers between 14 and 21 years have unbelievable fears and they are not getting the right answers from the right people.8221;