Last Sunday, the city of Vizag celebrated Children’s Day along with the rest of India. It commemorates the birthday of the first Prime Minister of Independent India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. While we look at the future of our country and how it’s progressing, we should also address some of the grave issues that we are facing regularly. One of the biggest threats in our country, along with the world at large, is Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). This is what the Vizag Chapter, of CII – Young Indians (YI), has been addressing, by spreading awareness about Child Sexual Abuse and the measures to how to combat this evil.
This problem plagues lakhs of children in India. With time, it has also become difficult to identify sexual predators and keep our children safe from them. Such is the sensitivity of this issue that in many cases, the child isn’t even aware that he/she is being sexually abused. The need of the time is to educate children on what constitutes a ‘Safe Touch’ and what defines an ‘Unsafe Touch’.
Entitled Masoom Week, right from Children’s Day onwards, Young Indians have been organising various events to further this social cause against Child Sexual Abuse. It was kickstarted with a face to face interaction at the Vocal for Local Handicrafts at Welcomhotel Grand Bay in the city. Here YI Vizag members gave a presentation on signs of CSA to the attendees of the exhibition. In the following three days, the YI Vizag team visited KL Rao Nagar Society (Gajuwaka), Shanthi Ashramam, and Greendale School to interact with children and sensitise them about the concept of Safe Touch and Unsafe Touch.
Keeping with the momentum, YI Vizag, in the coming days, is going to share videos on its social media handles which will further enlighten people on the dangers of Child Sexual Abuse and the necessary steps that should be taken.
In a chat with Yo! Vizag, Supriya Surapaneni, a member of the Young Indians Vizag team, stated that a key element in protecting children from abuse is to keenly listen to them and believe what they are sharing with us. It can be difficult for children to explain how they were abused and hence, it is the adults’ responsibility to pick up on the clues and decode whether they have been abused.
It is also important for all children to learn how to react in emergency situations. When being forced into an uncomfortable situation, a child must be taught to start shouting loudly or run away if possible. Parents must also take up the duty to ensure that their children learn certain contact numbers, like their own or the Child Helpline number: 1098.
Supriya also talked about the need to educate children about the sensitive body parts which can only be touched by parents and no one else. Schools also should take certain steps to build a safer environment for their students. This can be done by regularly conducting interactions with students and hence setting up a platform where students can raise their grievances. YI Vizag also runs an initiative called ‘Train The Trainees’ where they explain to teachers, parents and caregivers how to listen to children’s grievances in a sincere manner.
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