Child Sexual Abuse
- Sexual abuse is unwanted sexual activity, with perpetrators using force, making threats or taking advantage of victims not being able to give consent. Most victims and perpetrators know each other.
- Children are considered soft targets for sexual abuse because they may not realize that they are being abused.
- Commonly, abusers are persons well known to the child, and may even be living in the same locality.
- Abusers also bribe (use chocolates and toys) to lure children and take advantage of the child’s innocence,
- Sexually abused children show symptoms of genital injury, abdominal pain, frequent urinary infection and behavioural problems.
Approaches for Protection of an Abused Child
- Measures adopted for monitoring and assessment of an abused child who has undergone signs and symptoms of distress are:
- Child Helpline: The Child Helpline provides a social worker who can assist the child by providing food, shelter and protection.
- Counselling the child: Psychologists and social workers should provide guidance, counselling and continuous support to a victimized child.
- Family support: The victimized child should be supported by family members.
- They should be provided with proper care and attention to overcome their sufferings.
- Medical care: A child victim of sexual offences should receive medical care and treatment from health care professionals to overcome mental stress and depression.
- Legal Counsel: The family or the guardian of the child victim shall be entitled to free assistance of a legal counsel for such offence.
- Rehabilitation: Enrolling in schools and resuming their education is an important step toward rehabilitation of the child.
- It is essential that the child’s life is gradually returned to normal after the incidence of abuse.
- Community-based efforts: Conducting awareness campaigns on child abuse and its prevention.
Prevention of child sexual abuse
- The most important social policy proclaimed universally is the prevention of child abuse.
- Taking steps to prevent childhood sexual abuse is a parental and institutional responsibility.
- Instructions to be given by parents and teachers to the child are.
- Do not talk to any suspected person or strangers and to maintain a distance.
- Not to be alone with an unknown person.
- Be careful while travelling alone in public or private transport.
- Not to receive money, toys, gifts or chocolates from a known or unknown person to them without the knowledge of their parents.
- Not to allow a known or unknown person to touch them.
- It is the responsibility of every individual living in a society to ensure a safe and protected environment for our children to enable them to live with dignity and free from any form of violence.