The children kept begging with low screams,
But they continued to destroy their body and dreams,
Ruined childhood and messed up brain was less,
Seeing these cruel still free also killed their shattered self-esteem,
Design credits: Vanshika (Team Womenite)
Child sexual abuse is a major concern for our society and nation as well, yet, it is an undertalked issue in India. These cases are no less in number than others. According to a survey, a child is sexually abused every 15 minutes in India. The sad part is that in most of the cases, the abusers are parents, relatives or schoolmasters. As per the crime report issued by the Home Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, around 106,958 cases were reported under child sexual abuse in the year 2016. Also, many of such cases remain unreported, so the numbers can be much more.
The reasons for these crimes can vary from one case to the other. Some of the abusers were found to be victims of such abuse in their childhood. Some were also found to have mental problems due to which they had strong desires to have sexual interactions with children. Talking about the victims, children with disabilities or those who remain isolated are likely to get victimised in such crimes. Poverty can also lead to such crimes where the abusers seem to help the child, but instead, they take advantage of them.
It has been found that parents are reluctant to talk about any such incident happening with their children. Rather than fighting for justice, they remain silent just for the sake of this question, “What will the society think about us and our child?”
They just advice their children to forget and get over to whatever has happened.
But the truth is that our present and future society, both are at risk because of this social evil. Victims of child abuse are very prone to depression and other anxiety problems. The body may recover but the mental health starts declining if proper care is not taken. Such children need more care in their growing age. Taking appropriate actions against such cases is also necessary. Firstly, it puts the childhood of our future generations at risk by promoting such crimes. Also, saving such offenders can also set a bad example for the children and if things got worse, they can themselves attempt such crimes when they become adult.
Design credits: Vanshika (Team Womenite)
It is high time that we should break the beliefs of society and start punishing such criminals. We should set examples for the society that no one is spared by the law, a criminal is a criminal and his place is behind the bars. It is also required to pay attention to the upbringing of children who have been victims of these crimes, they need our love and support. We should give them justice so that their trust in the law remains firm.
Also, we need to prevent such cases from happening further. This can be done by providing children with the knowledge of good and bad touch and by talking to them freely about such problems. Don’t wait for a close one getting victimised before changing your mindset about these crimes. We have to get over the social beliefs and support such victims rather than criticising and making fun of them. Also, we should be cautious before trusting someone for the safety of our children. Ask them what they did when you were away from them so that they can tell you about any such happenings or threats. These are some of the ways by which we can slowly and gradually eradicate this evil from the society.
Content Credits : Divyam (Team Womenite)
