COIMBATORE: While fear of authority, misguided or otherwise, has kept many a parent from reporting cases of abuse, in this case, it has prevented the victims from receiving the care and counselling they need. Parents of the five elementary school girls, who were found to have been subjected to sexual harassment near Pollachi, were refusing to let police or child protection officials get to the children, fearing separation and losing custody.
P Shanthamani, an official of the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), has been regularly visiting the village near Pollachi with a band of counsellors officials. She is yet to lay eyes on them. Police too were having trouble getting permission for the medical checkup. It was a chance medical exam of the 10-year-old that had led to the discovery of the abuse. Apart from her, the other girls have not undergone a check up.
According to the parents’ comments to Childline District Coordinator S Uma Devi, they were not particularly concerned about the harassment the girls were subjected to as the boys were all relatives. “We pointed out that they girls would have to undergo the medical exam even if they wanted to prove the boys’ innocence. They denied the request. According to them, the girls would grow up to marry the boys anyway,” she adds.