THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Stressing the need to help cyber crime victims overcome their shock and grief, Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society’s state project director P E Usha says many sufferers have a tough time in overcoming the post-traumatic stress. Her organisation offers support to women victims of various abuses.
“Recently, we received a 14-year-old girl who was gangraped by some youths. The key accused in the case, a 28-year-old youth had befriended her over the mobile phone. He had sent group sex videos to the girl’s phone to convince her that such ‘sexual acts’ are normal,” she said.
The girl is yet to recover from the trauma and is undergoing counselling sessions at the Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society’s rescue home.
According to Fr P D Thomas, director of Childline, Thiruvananthapuram, society needs to address the issue of a huge digital divide between parents and children.
“Predators find it easy to establish a close bond with children through the internet or mobile phones as a majority of parents lacks proper awareness on their use or harm,” Fr Thomas said.
He said in nearly 80 per cent of the 498 sexual abuse cases registered in the district the accused used mobile phone or the internet to contact the victims.
He narrated a case that came before the Childline last week in which a 13-year-old girl was abused by an autorickshaw driver.
“The accused lured her into sex by sending pornographic videos to her. When the parents came to know about the incident, they tried to stop her from contacting him again. But she turned violent and even smashed the glasses of the family’s car,” he said.
The victim is now given counselling by Childline volunteers. Thomas felt society must wake up to address the issue before it is too late. “Parents must be educated on the misuse of mobile phones and social media. They should be empowered to keep a tab on the activities of their children,” Childline director said.
(concluded)
