“Didi, I saw in the park that a boy was walking behind a
girl, then he hit her behind her back, then he started walking beside her and
forcing himself on her. She was trying to shout for help, but he was constantly
threatening her. She didn’t stop and then people helped her. I know she had
suffered a lot before too” says a 12 years old participant.
The sixth and most
crucial workshop “Child sexual abuse” with participants from Govt. school
Dwarka was organized just after the session on ‘gender’. By this session, the
participants are getting comfortable with body changes, the attraction they
feel towards other sex, peer pressure, their own body and most importantly they
understand the gender stereotypes around both girls and boys hence this is the
right time to talk about abuse and violence that children face in form of child
sexual abuse.
The session began with
screening of the video “Komal” by Child line followed by detailed discussion on
child sexual abuse and hinting of POCSO act.
“Didi, I have seen something
like this in serials like Savdhaan India, crime petrol”
“Gumrah the one that
comes on Channel V also showed something like this”
We then invited the
participants to share any incident/ experience of child sexual abuse that might
have happened to them or they might have seen.
“I saw a woman being
molested by group of boys, she seemed scared”
“A boy was harassed and
molested by group of boys”
“Lot of such incidents
happen near and inside the park where lot of people come, I have seen a girl
being molested by a man”
It took a while for the
participants to share their stories, however one person opening up gave
strength to other and the chain followed. We could actually see few more faces
who wanted to share but something was stopping them, however they seemed relieved
hearing constantly that “it’s not your fault”, “you don’t deserve this” “We are
there with you”
One of the major objective
of the workshop on “Child sexual abuse” is to aware the participants about it, along
with this the other most crucial step is to build their capacity to challenge
CSA which involves engaging with “Safety action plan”. This is detailed
workbook filled with pictures, stories, safety rules- good touch, bad touch,
what to do when someone tries to touch inappropriately. It was really
interesting and motivating to see that they were actually saying things aloud
in synchronicity- each step was building in a way that they were ready to
challenge gender based violence, along with the awareness that if nobody can
touch them inappropriately, they too shouldn’t be engaging in touching or
violating other people’s space and body.
It was an intense and
overwhelming experience to be sitting in the circle sharing and hearing what
children of age 11-14 years old witness and experience around them in form of
violence.
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