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The National Medical Commission (NMC) has revised the forensic medical curriculum for undergraduate (UG) students. They brought back the sodomy and lesbians under the unnatural sexual offences category. The revised curriculum talks about hygiene, sexual perversion, fetishism and other topics that were introduced in the syllabus but were removed from the textbook in 2022 following the decision of the Madras High Court.
Sodomy is a legal term that refers to anal sexual contact or penetration between people or even sexual intercourse with animals. Sodomy also refers to forcible sex through anal or oral. This is also considered unnatural or immoral. Lesbianism defines a woman as sexually attracted to another woman. According to the media reports, the NMC has reintroduced lesbianism as a sexual offence by teaching the importance of hymen, the definition of virginity.
Hymen: is a piece of tissue covering the part of the vaginal opening.
The amended curriculum also reintroduced topics like hymen and its types like medico-legal importance and legitimacy. The new textbook also has topics like sexual perversions, fetishism, sadism, voyeurism, exhibitionism, transvestism and necrophilia. It also had a training of seven hours over disability according to NDTV. The commission said that Indian medical graduates have to know about the harmful attitude towards the communities and that is the reason they have reintroduced these topics into the book.
The commission also talks about the topics of changes in global demographics, perceptions, medical values, and socio-economic contests, based on the competency-based medical education curriculum (CBME), Guidelines 2024.
The revised syllabus also talks about the medical ethics, code of conduct and also integration of subjects. The document said that the first contact physician needs to be skilful in performing the duties of primary care and should have the preventative, rehabilitative and referral services.
The curriculum also read about sexual offences like bestiality, indecent assault and preparation of reports. Circullam added, “Describe and discuss adultery and unnatural sexual offences- sodomy, incest, lesbianism, buccal coitus, bestiality, indecent assault and preparation of the report, framing the opinion and preservation and despatch of trace evidence in such cases". The revised syllabus will also learnt about the Bharatiyaratiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) and the framework also involves rape, injury and the protection of children from sexual offences.
In 2022 the curriculum removed sodomy and lesbianism from unnatural sexual offences. Now in 2024 they modified the curriculum again by reintroducing the same with add-on perspectives.
