At a time when the nation is reeling from the horrific Jisha rape-murder in Kerala and women safety is a theme more discussed than actually acted upon, there are a few who make a difference. This young woman is one of them. From being a victim of child abuse to starting a revolutionary campaign called ‘One Million Against Child Abuse’, Pranaadhika Sinha Devburman is a juggernaut. Driven by a need to help people defend themselves from abuse, in 2004, the feisty Kolkata-based activist founded an NGO called ‘Elaan’ which isn’t just raising awareness about child sexual abuse, but also organises self-defence training.
As a part of this current campaign, they have developed a curriculum involving personal safety, age-appropriate sex education, and most importantly self-defence classes. “From children in large cities like Kolkata to slum and tribal communities in Lucknow, we’ve worked everywhere. My main focus is the non-urban communities, though. They are the ones who are in dire need, which is made evident with Jisha’s rape case in Kerala. Being a tribal myself, I don’t discriminate,” she says. Last month being Child Abuse Prevention Month, The Stadel collaborated with their campaign and went on to become one of India’s first hotels to talk about Sexual Harassment at the Workplace, assuring all its employees of their rights under the Vishakha Committee Guidelines. “We worked day and night in April,” says Pranaadhika, sounding proud.
They train children on basic and intermediate level wrist locks, chokes, ground grappling techniques, etc, and provide Mentality Training to make the child mentally ready and willing to fight back. Apart from saving young children from abuse, they are also helping a lot of adult survivors to find renewed motivation for life and living. “In 83% of the child abuse cases in India, the abuser is a family member or a trusted close relative. So, many don’t speak up. In such cases, all you need to do is lend a compassionate, non-judgemental ear,” she explains patiently.
So what does she hope to achieve through this campaign? she says, “I don’t want anything but to shock the government with these numbers, pictures, signatures, and to show them that 1 million people care about this cause and that it’s time they take notice. That’s the basic outcome,” she continues, “We would like to get a response and get an intervention mechanism in place.” Pranaadhika is hoping the campaign will come to an end on May 30, 2018 with one million people on her side, fighting against child abuse.
But where did it all begin? Referring to Elaan as her ‘baby’, she explains how she got around to it, “Initially, I’d just go around visiting coffee shops, schools and bookstores to spread awareness. The basic aim was to get the conversation started,” says Pranaadhika. The movement kept gaining momentum over the years but it was only at the age of 16 that her work caught the media’s eye. Which is when her parents learned of her work. Instead of getting in the way, her dad, whom she lost to Cancer a few years ago, urged her to keep going. She recalls, “I am blessed with incredibly supportive parents. Till today, I talk to my mom as part of my healing process. Also, now I am treated like a little celebrity at home,” she says.
Unfortunately, that kind of support isn’t universal. Recently, when she shared one of her experiences online, her friend posted a comment that a lot of well-educated, urban Indians seem to be sharing, ‘Given the way Pranaadhika dresses, she shouldn’t be complaining about harassment’. “Clothes or the lack of it do not justify harassment,” she says assertively.
She feels that, in India, where subjects relating to sex and personal safety are not discussed, the prevalence of abuse increases. To break the silence, she posted a video explaining her experience of abuse, after which she has heard nearly 400 survivor stories. “I want more stories to create an impact,” says Pranaadhika.
As time passed, Pranaadhika realized that she wasn’t the only one who had been shamed into hiding being. There were many silenced voices and unsaid stories. With that, her campaign kick started on June 1, 2015, to educate 1 million people on sexual violence and to work on preventing it. “A law against child abuse will not help unless sex education is also implemented. If you don’t teach kids about the disease, how are you going to teach them about disease prevention? We can prevent the occurrence of abuse only by implementing safety education, like self-defense classes, mentality training, etc. And, that’s exactly what we are trying to do,” she asserts.
83
the percentage of child abuse cases in India, where the abuser is a family member or a trusted close relative, the reason why most victims don’t speak out
Pranaadhika believes that in such cases, what victims need the most is someone to lend a non-judgemental ear and be compassionate
What is the goal Of the Campaign?
Pranaadhika hopes to shock the government with the numbers, pictures, signatures, and show them that 1 million people care about this cause and that it’s time they take notice
Fighting Sexual Abuse
48k
approximate number of people who signed the petition to include sex education in CBSE/ISCE affiliated schools
465
the number of people who came out with their accounts of abuse after Pranaadhika’s video went viral
Abhik Mukherjee
Survivor Story
“I was in class three when I was sexually abused for the first time, and it continued until I was 21. During this phase of my life, I did certain things that I shouldn’t have. A major problem with male sexual abuse is that it is not socially accepted and people sometimes make extremely insensitive comments or pass over-simplified solutions to a much deeper issue. Some of my closest friends made fun of my abuse making me suffer even more.
Recently, things have changed though and I have found a lot of support. After watching Pranaadhika Sinha Devburman’s video where she talks about her Child Sexual Abuse, I shot my own survivor story. Her work in the field of Child Sexual Abuse has inspired me to speak about my experience. Had it not been for her I would have probably been a silent victim forever. She has always listened to me patiently no matter how nagging I have been. I will not use the terms proud and respect for her. All I want to say is thank you for being my role model .
As a psychotherapist, in the future, I plan to do a course in Drama Therapy and specialize in sexual abuse counseling so that I can help survivors of abuse in a novel and structured manner”
SHE’S GOT YOUR BACK
Kolkata-based activist Pranaadhika Sinha Devburman founded ‘Elaan’ in 2004 to raise awareness about child sexual abuse, and also train people in the art of self-defense
2 lakh
The number of people who are part of the campaign ‘One million against child abuse’ till date
‘One million against child abuse’ involves personal safety, age-appropriate sex education, and self-defence classes
The Women’s Self Defense Center
This self defense and martial arts training gym located in Mumbai is one of its kind in the country. Initiated, supported and endorsed by Aaditya Thackeray and Akshay Kumar, this program has been exceptionally good because of its study and use of pressure points in the human body. If used properly, relatively little or no strength is required to use these techniques, making them ideal for children, women and the elderly.
www.womenssdc.com
KravMaga
KravMaga, Chennai, founded by S Sreeram, has many different kinds of programmes apart from the regular classes for individuals. It conducts corporate workshops which specifically address the needs of corporate professionals, it has a programme called ProFIT3 which looks at a holistic approach, and includes stress management too. It even has a special training for police, prison wardens and security organizations.
http://www.kravmagatamilnadu.com
The Sanshinkan Karate School
The Sanshinkan Karate School located in New Delhi, regularly organizes open training camps and workshops for women, teaching the use of pressure points, nerve attacks, quadrant theory, etc that are generally used by smaller people against large aggressors. As Karate was initially created for self-defence and is never to be used for instigating violence, their primary aim is to pass the art on for that purpose
www.sanshinkan.org