IAS Anu Kumari Leads Kerala’s First Comprehensive Sexuality Education Campaign for children’s safety and well-being

IAS Anu Kumari belongs to the 2018 batch Kerala cadre and is currently posted as district Collector of Thiruvananthapuram.Breaking societal taboos her vision for the district focuses on children’s safety and well-being by empowering young minds with comprehensive sexuality education.The initiative aims to provide age-appropriate knowledge needed to navigate today’s complex world and equip them with how to respond to inappropriate or unwarranted situations.“Many families and schools find it difficult to discuss sensitive topics like consent, gender identity, and sexual health with children.” She notes

To address this gap Project X was initiated, Kerala’s first comprehensive sexuality education campaign.The curriculum of the program covers a range of topics including healthy relationships, body image, personal boundary, sexual rights and responsibilities of children and an overview of the protection of children from sexual offences (POCSO) Act. It also includes interactive sessions to encourage active participation allowing students to ask questions and clarify their doubts.“Project X aims to fill this gap, offering students a safe space to learn, grow, and build a strong foundation of knowledge with emphasis on their safety.”

Under her leadership Project X is successfully running in its second phase and has expanded to 150 schools, with the goal of reaching 15,000–16,000 students by the end of the current academic year.Additionally,plans are underway to launch a toll-free CSE tele-counselling service, to provide further support to students in need “The response from the student community has been overwhelming, While it offered a safe environment to many of them to open up regarding their bad personal experiences; it also gave them confidence to deal with such situations appropriately without feeling guilty about it.” She remarked

Alongside this,Kumari is also addressing environmental sustainability through a Water Recharge Plan in Thiruvananthapuram titled "Reviving Groundwater, Securing Future: Sustainable Recharge for Thiruvananthapuram’s Water Resilience” .

The plan is panned out in three phases and aims at improving groundwater levels and ensuring sustainable water supply for the future. In Phase 1 priority will be given to three semi-critical areas-Parassala, Nedumangad, and Pothencode.Afterward the remaining semi-critical zones-Athiyannoor, Chirayinkeezhu, and Varkala-along with the safe areas, will be addressed. “The goal is to transform these six semi-critical block panchayats into safe zones, ultimately achieving 11 safe zones for effective long-term water management.”