Vexed and vulnerable

Even as child sex abuse is on the rise, schools refuse to take stock of the situation

When Smita Sharma, a teenage girl from New York, learned about her cousin’s suicide in Kolkata, her world fell apart. Her cousin was sexually assaulted at school. The brave girl raised her voice and brought this to the notice of the Principal and the teachers of the school. But instead of receiving help or even assurance of any, she was derided and ridiculed by the very people who were meant to protect her.

The girl lived in agony for four long years before she reached her breaking point and took the extreme step. Smita recently started a campaign in change.org to fight the rampant child sex abuse that has unfortunately claimed the lives and mental well being of many young children. She appealed to HRD Minister Smriti Irani to include a professional counselor in every school to deal with such cases.

Her initiative received massive support and prompted strong reactions from concerned parents, who rued that educational institutions no longer provide a safe environment for their children. “The issue is not new. Especially in the last couple of years, we have seen more than a dozen cases of sexual assault on children by school faculty or senior students.

The appointment of counselors and provision of regular mental and emotional help will enable the victimised children find peace”, says Saritha L, mother of a teenage child. Developed countries like the US and UK have mandatory elaborate systems in schools to provide counseling and help to child victims. But in India, barring some elite schools, no other institutions have a system in place to deal with sexual abuse.

While a rise in such incidents has put many schools on the defensive, some are against hiring a counselor to address this issue. “Most of the schools are concerned about all round development of a child. When students come up with such issues, we make sure that we make them feel better. I believe that a teacher who understands students can do a better job than a psychologist. Students open up to people whom they trust.

But I agree that teachers should be trained to deal with such cases”, says Anitha M, Vice Principal, Shastra International School. “It’s true that irrespective of gender, when a child complains about sexual assault to a teacher or a Principal, he or she is branded an attention seeker. Unless the mindset of the faculty changes, an additional person can hardly better the situation”, says Akhila Nair, a Class X student.

While the Central Education Committee mandates every school to have a full time psychologist on board, most schools have not put it into practice. They have instead found detours. “The majority of the schools in India trick parents and the government into believing that there is a psychologist on campus to take care of the children. But all they do is pay money to a certified psychologist just so the school can add their name in the faculty list.

However, they never come to counsel children. Unless the government takes steps against such practices, things won’t get better”, says Achuta Rao, Member of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. Until the government sits up to take notice of the issue, it is up to the parents and teachers to look after the well being of their children and keep abusers at bay.

By:Vaishnavi Girish