Introduction: The Zero Period Survey

The survey conducted by The Zero Period is a need assessment performed to understand the reality of sexuality education in India.

Given the lack of a nationally implemented curriculum in India, this survey was primarily built with four focus areas:

1. Baseline scenario of sexuality education in India: Existing scope of sexuality education currently provided by different types of Indian schools

2. Experiences through self-discovery: Experiences of school graduates while they discovered their own gender, sex & sexuality as children

3. Harassment during school years: Specific experiences with harassment, bullying, stereotyping, etc. during their schooling years

4. Interdependence of various aspects of student-life: Correlation between sexuality education, mental health, and overall learning experience of a student

The aim of the survey was to lay evidence through capturing real-life experiences of school graduates, so that they can provide personal account of their experiences around these subjects during schooling years. The survey report attempts to make a cogent case for sexuality education in India; highlighting the various ways in which it can benefit a student’s overall schooling experience, by making them more equipped to handle daily-life experiences in a better, more informed manner. The following section presents the results of this survey. By summarizing the data received through the survey, we infer the extent to which schools have already made efforts to include some aspects of sexuality education in schools, as well as highlight various existing gaps in delivering a comprehensive SE curriculum: one which is consistent, scalable and includes both teachers and students.

The survey entailed an elaborate questionnaire- primarily targeting young audience which graduated from their schools less than seven years ago. This questionnaire was circulated through digital sources only. It was designed to include hard, and often intimate questions regarding its respondent’s experiences around these subjects during schooling years.