The latest report of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS- 3, 2005-06) presents the grim picture for the state of Karnataka. The survey predicts that nearly 70 percent of women and 87 percent of men in Karnataka had never heard of HIV/AIDS.

The report released by Madan Gopal (Secretary of the Health Department) stated that most men and women supported the inclusion of HIV/AIDS in the school curriculum in Karnataka.

According to the survey, more than nine-tenths of men and almost three-fourths of women think that boys and girls should be taught about sex and sexual behaviour in school, but slightly less than half of women (44-49 per cent) feel that this was an appropriate topic for school curriculum.

The survey added, "Similarly, 82 per cent of men think that both boys and girls be taught in schools about condom use to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, compared with only 43-45 per cent of women.”

The report also indicated that, “Young women with no education are six times (43 per cent) more likely to have had a live birth or to have been pregnant than women with 10 or more years of schooling (7 per cent).”

Around 35 per cent of deliveries in the State still take place at home, and only one-fifth of these home deliveries were assisted by trained health personnel. Though the performance of the state with regard to maternal health care was better than the national average, it lagged behind the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa.

Referring to domestic violence, it stated that 20 per cent of married women reported that they had experienced spousal violence that was either physical or sexual. “Only 29 per cent of women who have ever experienced violence have sought help to end it,” the report said.