MidDay By Maleeva
RebelloPosted 09-Apr-2014
A mammoth
conference of different NGOs is to held in the city mid-month, bringing
together all those who work in the field of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), on new
ways to confront and combat a growing but still under-reported malaise.
A first of
its kind, Annual Stakeholder's Conference on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is set to
be held in Mumbai in the coming week. Actor Rahul Bose's NGO - The Foundation
that works with victims of child sexual abuse announced this two day conference
at a press conference.
The
Bollywood actor at a press conference at Mahalaxmi said, "CSA is
considered taboo in India. At this conference scheduled for April 16 and 17, 20
NGOs in the country that deal with child sexual abuse will unite. Coming
together to discuss and learn what each of them are doing will help the awareness
and prevention of this heinous crime."
Together for a cause:
(L-R) Rahul Bose, Suchismita Bose, Kalki Koechlin and Rahul Akerkar. Pic/Shadab
Khan
In India,
government statistics say that 53 per cent of children in India have faced or
face sexual abuse. Bollywood actor, Kalki Koechlin who lent her support to the
cause said, "Sexual abuse is something that has been brushed under the
carpet for a very long time in India. The 2012 passing of the Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO) (See box) is a step forward."
Talking
about how The Foundation works with child sexual abuse awareness in schools,
Suchismita Bose, director of the NGO said, "We work with awareness,
therapy and advocacy. We also conduct workshops for children, parents and
teachers. So far we have been able to speak to 53 schools in the city."
Reel Life: A scene
from the movie Monsoon Wedding. The film touched upon the problem of Child
Sexual Abuse (CSA)
Shedding
light on why he chose to throw his weight behind the cause of CSA, Rahul Bose
said, "I've had five relationships and the truth is that four of my
girlfriends have been victims of child sexual abuse. I was fortunate to not
have had any such incident in my life, but I've met many people who have sadly
had to live with the scar. Many of these women always felt it was their fault
and they were greatly depressed that their family members, especially their
mothers did not believe them when they spoke about the abuse."
For
Koechlin, the education system and the way it deals with education about body
parts and sexuality is to blame for lack of awareness. She said, "In
school, I remember learning about the sexual parts of the body in a class where
we all giggled. There is a need for social sex education. Complex topics about
sexuality and sex need to be discussed."
Wary: The Anchorage
Child Sexual Abuse case garnered huge media attention and created some
awareness
When
Koechlin was quizzed by the media about being sexually abused as a child she
said, "The reason you haven't heard about it is that I don't like to talk
about it. For me, it's not a one day headline; it's something that's a reality
I have lived with for a long time. Many of us have gone through it and most of the
people that I know, especially close friends of mine who are women, have gone
through some form of CSA. It's just so out there, so much of it that I think
it's not something that should be ignored."
The
conference on CSA which is set to be held in the city at the National Centre
for the Performing Arts (NCPA) later this month will see the lawyer Flavia
Agnes, gynaecologist Dr Duru Shah and child psychologist Dr Amit Sen among
others come together to speak about their understanding of the problem.
The trio
were part of the core group working on CSA, who had come together to help draft
the POSCO Act. Now two years later, and the Act is up for review, they hope to
make some more suggestions.
Animated: A still from
Komal, a film on CSA by Childline
Suchismita
Bose adds, "It took about five years for the bill to come about. I had a
great experience working with these people and so it was easy to get them all
together for this review. Everyone is gung-ho about sharing their experiences.
There is hardly any research when it comes to CSA. Hopefully, after this
conference, our findings will help get some fresh statistics."
With the
new government set to be formed along the same time as the findings of the
conference being chartered, the NGOs working towards tackling CSA are very
hopeful.
Rahul said,
"We had planned the conference much before the election dates were known.
But it is a good thing that they both will be happening around the same
time."
Stating
that CSA doesn't have the platform that AIDS, cancer and polio have when it
comes to awareness and visibility in the form of campaigns, NGOs associated
with the cause, are hopeful the conference will help maximise collective
strengths, minimise weaknesses and plug-in the gaps.
Suchismita
Bose, who is also one of the speakers at the conference, ends, "With a lot
of media awareness and the government taking huge steps to help CSA victims,
the ground level is much better. The current Act has some loopholes, which need
to be ironed out which, through this conference we will hope to do."
Reaching Out
Sudeesh TM
from Childline which is India's only helpline for children said, "We
worked closely in getting the POSCO bill passed and helped close the gaps when
it came to the problems the victim's faced. Like in the Anchorage case, which
is a big case law, the ground reality is that even today, many children are
being sexually assaulted by foreigners in India. Since 2011, we have been
working with awareness and safety rules for children in schools across
Mumbai."
With films
like Bunty aur Pinky and Komal, an animated film that educates children on body
parts as well as child sexual abuse, Sudeesh says, "We are reaching out to
kids suffering from various kinds of exploitation throughout the country. Child
sexual abuse is a part of daily life for many street children as well as
children from affluent families and we do our best to help the children deal
with the case."
On the child
sexual abuse conference, Pooja Taparia, Founder and Chief Executive of Arpan,
an NGO that deals with child sexual abuse said, "We are really excited
about meeting other people who deal with child sexual abuse. The work we do is
connected to personal safety where we go to schools and teach children,
teachers and parents. We will be presenting our work at this conference and it
is a great opportunity to learn and share our experiences."
Talking
about April as the month of child sexual abuse, Taparia added, "Every day
is child sexual abuse day for us as we meet and counsel victims as well as
spread awareness on the issue. We are contributing to the child sexual abuse
blog that has been created especially to observe this month."
Majlis
which will also be presenting their work at the conference later this month
deals with the legal aspect of child sexual abuse. Audrey D'mello, Programme
Director at Majlis said, "We run victim support programmes and work with
the state on the socio-legal front. The conference on child sexual abuse will
be a great chance to see the work that is being done in other parts of India.
Here in Mumbai, the identification parade, questions asked by the defence, etc
are very uncomfortable and cause questions to be raised on the dignity of
victims, this is where we step in. When it comes to child sexual abuse, it has
to be a question and answer format that we ensure is followed as part of
protocol."
A police
awareness programme that they conducted recently helped the police force better
understand child sexual abuse. D'mello said, "From September 2013 to
February 2014, we have had an awareness programme for 670 policemen in Mumbai.
Very often, the police fail to understand the nitty gritty of POSCO and so this
awareness was a start. On the field, if any child sexual abuse case is dealt
with in an insensitive manner, we can now contact the higher ups and ensure
that the child gets respect. The legal system is very scary and family support
is missing for many victims of child sexual abuse, we try to help them deal
with the problem as well as look for effective legal solutions."
