In a bid to reach out to 26 crore adolescents in India, the Health Ministry has decided to employ 1.65 lakh peer educators who will be called “Saathiya”. The resource kit prepared for these educators was unveiled yesterday (20 February) by Health Secretary C K Mishra. What’s surprising is that the kit addresses same-sex attraction with maturity, and also talks about contraception and gender-based violence in depth.

In addition, the resource material not only sensitises adolescents on gender roles and sexuality but also discusses the practice of safe sex. Mishra was quoted by The Indian Express as saying,