Post decriminalisation of homosexuality in India, NMC deems lesbianism as sexual offence

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission has reintroduced 'sodomy and lesbianism' as unnatural sexual offences in the forensic medicine and toxicology curriculum for undergraduate medical students. The NMC's move has come under fire as the Supreme Court of India, in its 2018 landmark ruling, decriminalised homosexuality as an offence by striking down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

In 2018, the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality by upholding the rights of the LGBTQ community. With this order, India joined 17 Commonwealth nations that struck down laws decriminalising homosexuality.

NMC has also brought back topics such as the hymen and its type and its medico-legal importance besides defining virginity and defloration, legitimacy and its medico-legal importance. These subjects were done away with in 2022 in accordance with a Madras High Court directive. 

The revised curriculum under forensic medicine and toxicology also includes "Describe legal competencies including Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA)" besides "Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), Civil and Criminal Cases, Inquest (Police Inquest and Magistrate's Inquest), cognisable and Non-cognisable offences".

It talks about discussing sexual perversions, fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism, sadism, necrophagia, masochism, exhibitionism, frotteurism, and necrophilia. However, distinctions between consensual sex between queer individuals have been removed, a source said.

The amended curriculum has done away with the seven-hour training on disability. At the end of teaching-learning in forensic medicine and toxicology, the student should be able to understand the medico-legal framework of medical practice, codes of conduct, medical ethics, professional misconduct and medical negligence, conducting medico-legal examination and documentation of various medico-legal cases and understand latest Acts and laws related to medical professional including related court judgements, the NMC said in its document.

"It was time to have a relook at all aspects of the various components in the existing regulations and guidelines, and adapt them to the changing demography, socio-economic context, perceptions, values, advancements in medical education and expectations of stakeholders," the NMC said in its Competency-Based Medical Education Curriculum (CBME) Guidelines, 2024.

The result is an outcome-driven curriculum which conforms to global trends. Emphasis is laid on alignment and integration of subjects both horizontally and vertically while respecting the strengths and necessity of subject-based instruction and assessment, it said.

The undergraduate medical education programme is designed with the goal of creating an "Indian Medical Graduate" (IMG) possessing requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and responsiveness so that she or he may function appropriately and effectively as a physician of first contact of the community while being globally relevant.

"To achieve this, the following national and institutional goals for the learner of the Indian Medical Graduate training program are hereby prescribed. The first contact physician needs to be skilful to perform duties of primary care physician and have requisite skills for promotive, preventative, rehabilitative, palliative care and referral services," the document said. 
(With PTI inputs)