In a disturbing case of prolonged exploitation, an 18-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly sexually abused by around 60 people over the past five years in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district. The case came to light when volunteers of Kudumbashree, a women’s self-help group, felt something was amiss during a routine home visit and conversed with the girl.
Learning about her ordeal, they swiftly alerted the district child welfare committee members, who informed the police. The initial police investigation indicated there were more than 60 accused, and out of them 52 have been arrested.
The accused are mostly the victim’s classmates, friends and neighbours. According to the police, the girl’s ordeal started at the tender age of 13. The perpetrators allegedly recorded and shared explicit photos and videos of the adolescent and coerced her into continued submission.
What is equally disturbing is that out of the 52 arrested, as many as 20 are underage; the police say most committed the crime before becoming adults. They will be in jail for months before they can make bail as the charges levelled are severe.
The National Commission for Women has demanded a time-bound investigation and offered medical and psychological support to the victim, who is now at a shelter home.
The incident is a shocking blow to the conscience of society and underlines a collective failure. That none of her family members, peers or schoolteachers could get an inkling of what the girl was going through tells a lot about us as a society.
That she could not find the courage or trust to confide in anyone—though not uncommon in cases of severe trauma at that age—also is telling. It’s a worry for the whole nation as there is no reason to believe such abuse could not happen elsewhere.
The case calls for the need for a more alert and responsive system in place. Making it mandatory to have proper counselling systems in all schools would be a good start. This has to be effectively monitored by the schools’ parent-teacher associations.
Regular medical camps and awareness programmes to enhance child safety can be part of this safety net. There has to be a serious collective effort from all quarters if we are to protect our future generations from getting wilted at a tender age.