Understanding Sexual Health among Underprivileged Tribal Men at Exploring Age in India

The present paper is part of a larger study conducted by first author for academic purpose among 414 male tribal youth of two Underprivileged Tribal Groups in the state of Orissa, India namely, Juang and Lodha. Findings reveal that sexually transmitted diseases are very much prevalent among the underprivileged tribal groups. Among the factors responsible for the problem, people’s sexual behaviour is the most crucial one. This is crucial in the sense that it is simply not a segregated or individual behaviour. It is mainly shaped by their age-old culture and tradition. For example, their early age marriage, prevalence of pre-marital and extra-marital relations, and above all their perception about the disease itself are socio-culturally moulded to a great extent. Besides these, non-scientific or traditional perceptions have been transformed along with the knowledge about sex by various means. Majority of youth who have STD symptoms do not have knowledge about it, while some have incorrect perceptions. Multiple sexual partners remain one of the major causes of STD among the tribal youth. External factors also have definite plays a definite role.