Medical Education, Textbooks Can’t Be Insulting To LGBTQA+ Community: NMC

The commission said some medical textbooks, especially those for Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, and Psychiatry subjects, contain “unscientific information” about virginity and “derogatory remarks against the LGBTQA+ community and homosexuals”.

In medical education, clinical history, symptoms, examination findings, etc. about gender or a similar issue cannot be taught in such a way that it becomes derogatory or insulting towards the LGBTQA+ (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer, and asexual) community, the National Medical Commission (NMC), the top body for medical education and training in the country, said.

The commission said some medical textbooks, especially those for Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, and Psychiatry subjects, contain “unscientific information” about virginity and “derogatory remarks against the LGBTQA+ community and homosexuals”. The commission has asked medical education institutions not to recommend such books to students.

“All the medical universities, colleges, institutions are requested that while teaching UG and PG students, whenever the issue of gender or similar kind arise, the mention of clinical history or complains or signs/symptoms, examination findings or history about nomenclature should not be taught in such a way that it becomes/perceived in any way derogatory, discriminatory or insulting to LGBTQA+ community,” the NMC said.

“Further, all the authors of medical textbooks are hereby instructed to amend the information about virginity, LGBTQA+ community and homosexuals, etc. in their textbooks according to the available scientific literature, guidelines issued by the government, and directions passed by the hon’ble courts,” it said.