The growing menace of Child Abuse and how can we put an end to it

How serious is the issue?

We are no stranger to shocking cases of child sexual abuse being reported across news channels and newspapers almost every other day.

Image Credit: Indian Express

As per the data compiled by NCRB (National Criminal Record Bureau), 8,800 cases of rapes on children were registered across the country under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) in 2015. In quite a few cases, the offenders themselves are minors in the age bracket of 12 to 18. In order to help the victims and to prevent children from becoming perpetrators of such a heinous crime, it is imperative to openly discuss the issue and explain the seriousness of the same to them. To quote a spokesperson for Mumbai Police in his interview to Mumbai Mirror, "It's a serious issue, especially the increasing rate of rape cases involving children below 12 years of age. We are conducting awareness drives in densely populated areas of the city and holding workshops in schools too." Such workshops are centered around comprehensive sexual education and awareness about what constitutes as sexual abuse are an integral part of gender sensitising programs. For the fight to be successful, this awareness and support drive needs to reach out to each and every child in every part of the country.

Why do most victims suffer silently?

An article on the Unicef website states, "According to a just-released 13-state National Study on Child Sexual Abuse commissioned by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and conducted by Prayas, UNICEF and Save The Children, abuse is a startling everyday reality for as many as half of the country’s children. The report states that more than 53% of children in India are subjected to sexual abuse, but most don’t report the assaults to anyone.”

But why is it that the majority of such cases go unreported? In a lot of situations, it is due to the fear of the assaulter that children don’t speak out. However, other major factors can be attributed to the stigma associated with it in society and the lack of awareness as to what sexual abuse and sexual harassment actually is.

Many a young women and men have come forward to narrate their horrifying tales and have also added that as a child, they had hardly realised what was actually happening to them. It is only at puberty, during adolescence or as an adult that that they realised what their neighbour/ relatives/ strangers had inflicted upon them! In certain cases, the abuse continued for years altogether without the victim realising what they are being subjected to!

The repercussions reach far and wide

As per studies conducted by experts and psychologists, it has been seen that victims of child abuse later go on to becoming sexual offenders themselves since they harbour a wrong notion about sexuality and are not counselled in the proper way. Clearly, the importance of curbing this evil for the sake of keeping our women safe cannot be stressed enough.

Tackling the issue nationwide, one school at a time through gender sensitisation initiatives

The first and foremost thing that is addressed as a part of such gender sensitisation programmes is the awareness about such issues and how to distinguish between a bad touch and a good touch. Only when a child realises they he or she is being abused can they speak up for themselves and put a stop to the same. Gender sensitisation also aims at eradicating the taboo about the subject thereby encouraging the victims to be vocal about the abuse.

The study published on UNICEF’s website also states “Even when the problem gets identified, lack of social awareness on the gravity of the issue and ways to deal with it makes it difficult to ensure any kind of support to the victimized child.”

This very lack of social awareness can be tackled through the gender sensitisation workshops. When such workshops are held in schools, they reach out to both, students and teachers alike. While students will be made more aware about the evil and encouraged to report the same, similarly teachers will also be trained to identify abused victims and thus help them. They will be encouraged to have a more open mind and be more empathetic to the same. Essentially, the programs work towards ensuring that the teachers are considered more approachable by the students so that they have someone to confide in about the abuse.

deal with. If you are as perturbed by the appallingly high numbers and the nature of the offenses as we are, then this is your chance to act against it. Together, let us carve a better society for our children!

Join Tata Tea’s initiative and sign the petition for making gender sensitisation programmes compulsory in school curriculum by clicking on this link by calling 7815966666 toll free.

Alarm Bajne Se Pehle Jaago Re!

Source:

HuffPost,Indian Express