AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF ANTI–SEX DETERMINATION LAWS ON SOCIAL AWARENESS: MEDIATING ROLE OF SOCIAL WORKERS IN NAGPUR MUNICIPAL EDUCATION SYSTEM

Abstract

Sex-selective practices and female foeticide in India has been a gnarled issue and has resulted in legal strategies or measures taken that can be described as tough like the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act (PCPNDT Act) to control sex identification and gender equity. Nonetheless, the issues that still lie are despite the actions, the successful social awareness and alteration of the conservative cultural prejudice particularly in the urban education. In this paper, the impact of anti sex determination laws on social awareness among the stakeholders of the Nagpur Municipal Education System and how the social workers mediate the impact of the knowledge dissemination and perception are investigated using empirical information. The mixedmethods approach remained helpful in getting primary data as with the assistance of structured questionnaires and semi-structured intercourse, teachers, administrators, and social workers of the school participated in the sample. The quantitative analysis is performed with assistance of the statistic tools and the evaluation of the direct influence of the legal frameworks on the awareness rates, the qualitative analysis will provide information about the approaches used by the social workers and their effectiveness in the process of reaching the communities. The findings indicate that there is a low influence of the legal intervention on the construction of social awareness but when it is complemented with active intervention of social workers in the form of workshops, counseling sessions, and community outreach the constructs of social awareness have significantly higher level. The study cites that the role of social workers is crucial since it is the social worker who has to mediate between the provisions of the law and the practical implementations in the society. The implications of the policies include the need to implement social work-based programs in a systematic system within the municipal education systems and concentrate on ongoing education of the personnel and the teachers to sensitize the students in the aspect of gender equity. It is in the broader discussion of law, social change, and interventions in the education field and argues that the success of the antisex determination laws relies on whether or not the activators of the social level can mediate the communities and schools, i.e. intervene with individuals only.