Express your disgust at child abuse

Tulir is organising a rally against Child Sexual Abuse. Join us at Marina beach, 4:00 pm on 15th Nov.

Here is their post.

Join us at a Rally against Child Sexual Abuse

Nov 15, 2009

Gandhi statue to Labour staue, Marina Beach, Chennai

4.oo pm.

Sexual abuse of children is frightening, often unimaginable & an abhorrent crime. Deafening silence is the hallmark. While it's the moral obligation for adults to ensure children are protected, we remain silent. More often than not for plain selfish reasons. The discomfort caused if acknowledged, the denial that our children can be sexually abused, family reputation at stake, sheer naiveté. Then there’s the quietness of the children. Because of the manipulation, ignorance, fear.

A silenced vulnerable child & a silent non-protective environment-working to an abuser’s advantage. Since usually victims are their relatives, neighbors, students, friends etc.

While in India we are just beginning to acknowledge the existence of abuse, Tulir has the belief & audacity of hope that it won't be long that larger community realizes the prevalence, dynamics & subsequent impact. The sabotage of a child’s right to a childhood. The often less than optimally led lives as adults.

A a society’s integrity & worth is not based on whether cases of sexual abuse exist. Instead it's based on the acceptance of the possibilities & proactive steps taken to respond in a timely & appropriate way to ensure that its children may benefit from its caring & foresight to truly have the right to be safe all the time, everywhere. After all, there is no excuse for child sexual abuse!

I am elated

Tulir - a NGO - (with whom I have been associated with for more than a year now) just received a mail from a guy(gal) saying that he(she) saw my blog through the Microsoft Student partner (MSP) link and that he(she) was really touched by my previous post on Tulir.

Further he(she) wants to work with this team to help in eliminating child sexual abuse. It feels really good if one gets even a single person to help in a cause you believe in.

Here is an excerpt from the mail:
"...when i read a blog by a student from IIT -madras called ankit ashok who had mentioned about an NGO where he was working and thought it was something i found was a real social problem and have been wanting to do something about it, but did not know how to go about and realised that i could really do something about this problem if i was a part of your organisation."

Boy, I hope more people will get interested in eradicating this social evil.

social responsibility

One often wonders if one is contributing in making the world a better place to live in. Apart from pursuing one's personal goals, one also needs to think about the society. If I can make a difference in the life of someone, it will be an accomplishment.

On this line of thinking, I have tried to help NGOs in their endeavors.

The first one is "Tulir". Its a voluntary organization seeking to prevent child sexual abuse. It is an area of concern specially in India, for its usually brushed under the carpet here. I can understand if the parents don't feel too comfortable discussing these topics with their children. But it could be the life of your child at stake. At least they should be seen by the child as supportive and helpful and someone to look when they need guidance or help.

With the recent upsurges in cases of paedophilia in the country, it becomes all the more important for parents to be vigilant in terms of who their child meets. Of course there is no point stopping the child from meeting people. But what you probably need to ensure is that they are of the same age group, and that they have met before. First time meetings can be tricky. You might discover a totally different person from the person described on the Internet.

Internet is not the only place where children can be exposed to paedophiles, but it is the most potent and safe for the predator .That's because here they can hide their real self completely and don a completely different persona to attract kids. For example, they can change their age to teens , post pictures of some teen they found somewhere, mention interests that attract kids - whatever it takes, to fool the child.

But the fact remains that there can be genuine people like that and both could actually be good friends. The best way out of this situation is to educate the child as to what he/she should allow and what not. Knowing what is right and what is not will be of great help in protecting children. Another thing needed is the trust of the child that if he/she gets into some kind of trouble, his/her parents/teachers will be there to help them - no matter what.