The children of Government High School in Perumbakkam await their favourite akka’s arrival. “Is Benita akka not coming today?,” asks a 6-year-old to the headmaster. He smiles, “Have patience, she is on her way.” Soon, they see Benita arriving with two bags.
Benita Maria S is the project officer of Thozhamai – Solidarity for Rights, an NGO in Semencherry, and a child rights advocate. The NGO has been conducting awareness sessions on various topics, including safe and unsafe touch, and the SRHR model (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights), for the past 11 years in private and government schools across Tamil Nadu.
At a time when child sexual abuse is being increasingly reported, parents and guardians work to protect children from harm without instilling fear. They adopt innovative methods to teach them; sometimes it’s a game, sometimes by reading books.
Aiding them in this conversation are schools and NGOs, who are working together to build a protective umbrella of awareness, education, and open dialogue, following the Tamil Nadu government’s order issued in June 2021. It mandated the formation of the Student Safeguarding Advisory Committee with principals, teachers, and a parent as its members. This initiative, taken by the school department, encourages schools to partner with NGOs to conduct sessions that help prevent sexual abuse in schools by teaching students about their rights.
In a session CE attended, 20 students, boys and girls aged 6 to 9 years, assembled in the playground. They were divided into two groups. Each member of Group I stood opposite a member of Group II holding basketballs. As one student stepped forward to offer the ball, the other had to express the distance at which they felt comfortable. “As one child approaches, the child receiving the ball practises saying ‘stop’, making the concept of setting personal boundaries tangible,” says Benita.
Another session was for students aged 10 to 15 years. Benita and her colleague Saranya showed the difference between safe and unsafe touch. “Apart from the touches we showed you, there can be others that can make you uncomfortable. If something feels wrong, speak up,” she says.
To deliver age-appropriate learning, members of Thozhamai discuss ideas every month. “We try to bring in fresh and child-friendly approaches, moving beyond lectures and pamphlets to creative, participatory learning that empowers children to understand their rights,” she notes.
These sessions are conducted once every two months, and students have gotten the courage to open up to teachers or parents. “My daughter comes home and shares what Benita ma’am teaches them. She has also started teaching her younger sister about safe and unsafe touch,” says the mother of an eight-year-old girl at the school. The headmaster now plans to conduct a session exclusively for parents post mid-term exams.
Reel talks
Meanwhile, Arunodhaya Centre for Street and Working Children uses storytelling, cartoon animations, demonstrations, emotion-based charts, and interactive activities to aid children. Leading this effort is Chellamal, counsellor of the NGO.
Last month, Chellamal screened a short film, Modhi Vilayadu Paapa, starring Sivakarthikeyan, for the students of a government school at Annai Sivagami Nagar. In the film, the actor talks to kids about safe and unsafe touch. He begins his dialogues by asking students to define ‘danger’. As the children shared various examples of what danger meant to them, he introduced the idea of unsafe touch, saying, “There are various ways to prevent ourselves from physical danger, especially when we do not feel safe around an unknown or even known person.”
The screening furthered the discussions with a child asking, “If my friend touches me inappropriately, is that friendly or dangerous?” Chellamal replied, “Even if someone is your friend, if they touch you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, confused, or scared, it is not okay. Even if he asks you to keep it a secret. A real friend will always respect your body.”
Likewise, Chellamal and her colleagues design interactive activities to make the sessions more interesting. The activities are supported by visual demonstrations and emotion-based charts, carefully crafted to ease students into these serious conversations.
One such chart displays various emotions — happiness, fear, anger, and sadness — in the form of emojis, encouraging children aged between five and eight years to relate these feelings to everyday experiences, such as winning a game, getting into a fight, or even being touched by an individual. Slowly, this leads them to recognise emotions linked to unsafe or uncomfortable situations.
Role of institutions
Schools also conduct regular sessions on body boundaries with counsellors’ help. Pavithra, centre head of Kidzee, Mogappair, says that while teaching children about the different body parts, they are also taught which ones no one can touch. They are also quizzed on the same.
While children are becoming more aware, Stegana Jency, director, Centre for Child Rights and Development, stresses the importance of helping each child identify a trusted individual who can lead them through the necessary steps to report an abuse. “That can be a guide or a teacher who will provide every answer to the child’s curious mind while holding their hands at every step,” she says.
As adults, the best response to a child’s questions is to answer them. When they understand their rights and feel supported, they speak up, seek help, and protect themselves.
Protection models taught to children by Chellamal
PANTS
P: Private parts are private
A: Always remember your body belongs to you
N: No means No
T: Talk about secrets that upset you
S: Speak up, someone can help
SMART
S: Sound
M: My body
A: Any other
R: Run
T: Tell
When students speak up
On July 5, TNIE reported that 21 girls from Classes 7 and 8 of a government school in Ooty had complained about their 51-year-old science teacher’s misconduct, after a police team from the Ooty rural sub-division conducted an awareness programme on personal safety. “More parents are now calling Child Helpline 1098 to report abuse. Survivors and their families are stepping forward to share their stories, empowering others to raise their voices too,” said a child rights activist.