It is well known that most perpetrators of sexual violence are persons known to the victims. It is not ‘monsters’ or ‘animals’ enacting such violence but human beings we encounter everyday. This is the reason that when it comes to children, efforts to protect them must begin with and focus on familiar spaces such as the home and school. While parents must educate and empower their children to help safeguard them, schools - where children spend a significant part of their day and a decade of their lives - are vested with the responsibility to ensure their protection.
However, too often have schools failed to live up to their mandate. The most recent instance of this is the revelation, in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, that a man had allegedly sexually assaulted and harassed multiple girls while conducting NCC camps that were unauthorised. The man had attempted suicide before he was nabbed by police and died on Friday. That private schools were willing to send their students to attend camps without properly ascertaining if they were authorised or not is shocking and signals an abdication of responsibility. Once a complaint emerged, it appears the staff tried to cover it up although POCSO Act has a mandatory reporting clause.
Subsequently, the state government constituted a Special Task Force headed by a senior IPS officer to inquire into the case. In a welcome move, displaying understanding of the sensitivity of the issue, it also formed a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) of psychiatrists, child rights experts, and child welfare officials in order to examine the case and make recommendations to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.
However, this is not the first time such crimes have emerged in Tamil Nadu. In 2021, a series of cases of sexual violence against students were reported. The state government, which had just come to power then, issued an order guiding schools on student safety and protection from sexual violence, listing areas of compliance for all schools. Yet, activists have raised concerns that the guidance may no longer be centred - or included - in regular reviews of government schools. It is hoped that the recommendations to be made by the MDT are not similarly forgotten but rather mark the beginning of safer school environments run by conscientious managements.