CHENNAI: Globally, not more than 12- 24 per cent of children and young adults disclose abuse. What we need to understand and address are the barriers that are present for them to disclose abuse,” said Vidya Reddy of Tulir – Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse (CPHCSA), addressing a virtual audience as part of notfor- profit Prajnya’s webinar, ‘Keeping Children Safe’. The webinar, curated in the wake of several alarming incidents of child sexual abuse in schools, was moderated by Swarna Rajagopalan, founder of Prajnya, and also featured Geeta Ramaseshan, advocate, Madras High Court.
Vidya touched upon various aspects of child sexual abuse, answering frequently asked questions, educating the participants on the elementary approaches to addressing abuse and protecting children. “More often, systematic and repeated sexual abuse by someone usually known to the child makes the bulk of sexual violence cases. These include non-verbal, technology-based violence too. POCSO has strived and succeeded in covering it all,” she said, also adding how there are hardly conversations about rampant peer to peer abuses.
In 2006, a study conducted by Tulir estimated that the number of children who claimed to be shamed or asked to keep the incident a secret were sizably more than those who were offered help. “Children were shamed, asked to keep it a secret and were not believed. Then how can we expect children to disclose abuse? We have to introspect and ask ourselves how we contribute to non-disclosure. The ways children talk about abuse too vary and have to be given attention to. What a fiveyear- old says when talking about abuse might be graphic because they haven’t understood the notions of shame or embarrassment yet. While when teenagers/ ‘young people’ subtly disclose abuse, it’s met with scepticism. The problem is that people around don’t want to acknowledge the possibility of someone having a sexual interest in a child or finding them as a source of sexual gratification. The first step is to accept the possibility,” she explained.
One of the foremost steps, Vidya pointed, is to create a congenial space at home or school and make children comfortable. The need for a robust mechanism in schools, recruiting teachers not based merely on a CV or biodata but by asking them to fill a customised application, using value-based interviewing and training staff members on child protection, legislation and reporting mechanism, was also discussed.
“When a child discloses abuse, remain extremely calm. Children are very observant and if they sense discomfort on your face or demeanour, they will close the shutters. It is also important to keep the children informed about ongoing proceedings,” said Vidya.
Geeta walked the participants through legal measures, the nuances of the POCSO act and mandatory reporting. “Cases of child sexual abuse aren’t new and are not something that will stop immediately. But, it is something we need to proactively address. We have to come together and see how it can be prevented and how children can be protected,” said Geetha.