Child abuse – a cause for concern!

Despite making amendments in Rape laws and constituting the Nirbhaya Act and POCSO Act, instances of rape, instead of taking a beating, have escalated. What is agonising is that, according to a recent report on Rape in India, there has been a shocking rise in rape cases of children!! Most stunning is the shameful fact that many children below the age of 6 years have been raped!!!

The disturbing fact is that instances of rape have not been limited to urban areas, but even the rural and remote areas of India are in the web of women abuse, molestation and rape!! The introspective part of the study is that, unlike our common belief, the culprits of rape are not people from outside, but they are shockingly the near and dear ones in our house! Some startling reports in the newspapers have revealed many girls being raped by their own fathers and brothers!!! Besides, our close relatives and neighbours also take advantage of. But the sad part is that when our children complain, we do not trust their word!! This encourages the culprits and the children to become victims of mental trauma. Besides our home, the little children are also not safe at school which is regarded as a Temple of Education and the teachers are equivalent to sacred pastors. But, alas, even the schools have turned into hell for kids. Newspaper reports of school kids being raped by the school bus conductors, school peons or by the Head of the school has tarnished the glorious image of a school! What came as a bolt from the blue was the newspaper report where the Mumbai police in June 2017 allegedly nabbed a 57-year-old Founder-Trustee of a prominent Andheri school and a Nursery teacher, both involved in the heinous rape of a three-year-old girl in the school premises!!

Devastated by a series of sexual harassment cases reported from schools the Mumbai Police launched a ‘Didi Cell’ in 2016 to enlighten school students regarding sex education. The ‘Didi Cell’ created awareness among young girls and boys about ‘good touch and bad touch’. Under the project ‘Police Didi’, designated female officers visited schools in plain clothes and interacted with children. These female officers spoke politely with children and tried to read their minds. They asked the children about their problems especially those about sexual harassment. Like the Didi Cell female officers, it is the duty of parents, particularly mothers to be close to their daughters and know their problems. Little kids need the warmth of parents, hence parents should be close to them. Remember, winning the trust of children is the cornerstone of a good relationship.

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