After protests, NMC had to withdraw the lesson on lesbianism and unnatural sex crimes in MBBS

The National Medical Commission (NMC) on Thursday withdrew and repealed the guidelines issued recently under the ‘Competency Based Medical Education Curriculum’ (CBME 2024) after facing severe criticism. The NMC had given this directive after re-introducing sodomy and homosexuality as unnatural sexual offences in the Forensic Medicine and Coxicology curriculum for medical students studying MBBS.

What was in the new MBBS guidelines?
Actually, NMC had made some changes in the syllabus of undergraduate medical students on 31 August 2024. These changes included teaching students about topics like homosexuality, sodomy and hymen. But after severe criticism, it has been withdrawn after 5 days.

Apart from sodomy and homosexuality, the NMC had included virginity, defloration, legitimacy, hymen and its types, its medico-legal significance in the new MBBS syllabus. In 2022, topics like these were eliminated as per the direction of the Madras High Court.

The revised syllabus under Forensic Medicine and Toxicology included “description of legal competencies including Indian Civil Code (BNSS), Indian Justice Code (BNS), Indian Evidence Act (BSA)”, besides “Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), civil and criminal cases, investigation (police investigation and magistrate’s inquiry), and cognizable and non-cognizable offences”.

What did NMC say?
NMC said, “It is notified that the Circular dated Even No. 31.08.2024 issuing guidelines under Competency Based Medical Education Curriculum (CBME) 2024 has been “withdrawn and cancelled” with immediate effect. The above guidelines will be revised and uploaded in due course.”

It talks about discussing sexual perversions, fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism, sadism, necrophagia, masochism, exhibitionism, frotteurism and necrophilia. However, a source said that the distinction between consensual sex between homosexual persons has been removed. Seven hours of training on disability has been eliminated in the revised curriculum.

In a circular issued by NMC, it is said that at the end of teaching-learning in Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, students should be able to understand the medico-legal framework of medical practice, code of conduct, medical ethics, professional misconduct and medical negligence, medico-legal investigation and documentation of various medico-legal cases and understand the new acts and laws related to medical profession including relevant court decisions.