HYDERABAD: At least 92 cases of child sexual abuse were reported to the police under the GHMC limits alone in the first three months of 2019, claimed child-rights group Balala Hakkula Sangham at a round table conference on child sexual abuse and the best practices for its prevention. These cases included some horrific ones like the murder of a 6-year-old child in Alwal, after she was raped on the day of Holi. Some of the victims were as young as two years old.
Noting that there needs to be a systemic approach to prevent these cases, experts present at the meet noted there was an urgent need to revamp sex education in schools. “Even to this date, children are only taught about their limbs, eyes, nose and torso. No LKG curriculum introduces them to their private parts or their actual name. They are not told why they must not be touched by anybody. Unless this is introduced, expecting a change will be futile,” said B Padmavathi, Chairperson of Child Welfare Committee, Rangareddy.
She shared a recent case in which a Class 6 girl was abused for two years by her father. On enquiring why she never informed anyone, she said her father had told her that all fathers do the same but they were not supposed to talk about it. “If basic sex education is not given to children, they can be easily forced into abuse and convinced to be quiet,” she added.
Psychologists present at the conference also stated that there was a need to ‘parent’ the parent on how to change the way families talk and react to sex and sexuality.
“As a society, we are sexually repressed. But it is necessary that the children know what is good touch and bad touch from how their parents interact. They must watch and learn how even spouses touch each other only with consent and not otherwise,” said Mrinalini, a psychiatrist. A similar opinion was shared by psychiatrist Samitha Sharma. “This has to start at home. They should learn to name these parts as they are so that it reduces such curiosity in children,” she said.
SHE Team mulls training school counsellors on child abuse
In the lines of Bala Mitra program in Cyberabad police limits, Hyderabad’s She Teams is also planning to start training the counsellors in private schools, in order to identify and possibly prevent child sexual abuse under Hyderabad city police limits. The suggestion was made by Shikha Goel, Additional Crimes and SIT, Hyderabad She Teams In-charge, at the round table conference on child sexual abuse and prevention. ‘Bala Mitra’ literally means ‘friends of children’ and ensure a teacher is made a nodal point of CSA complaints. She asked stakeholder departments like that of Women and Child Welfare, Police to create systems that ensure that children are safe right from when they leave their homes