The seed for the movement has been there in each of their minds; some had already been working individually in the area. But when the issue of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) was brought up on the television show Satyameva Jayate , the thought became stronger — the idea of protecting children.
Every child is vulnerable
What most parents do not realise is that every child is vulnerable and it can happen to anybody, they think “this won’t happen to my child.” That is why ten individuals from various backgrounds got together with a common interest of ‘preventing child sexual abuse in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.’ Thus was formed ‘Break the Silence’.
The spokesperson of the group Georgina Kumar says, “Our vision is that one day every single child will be safe in all ways. And our mission, as of now, is to use multi-disciplinary approach to prevent the cycle of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) through school-based services.”
The group which consists of teachers, counsellors and psychologists, also say that the mission would expand and enlarge as they go along their path linking up with other NGOs who are currently involved in working with children and parents. And the focus will be to, “Increase the public awareness about CSA. Encourage public participation in prevention of CSA. Utilise the existing infrastructure of schools/orphanages to prevent CSA” adds Georgina.
The members are already busy spreading awareness by “Talking about it to neighbours, schools and friends and family who have children. The fact that schools are open to the idea shows that they acknowledge the problem exists; in fact schools and teachers want it to be handled in the best possible way. Sometimes children are more comfortable speaking to an outsider. When some of us visited schools, a few children opened up to us but said, ‘Don’t tell this to our teachers’,” says Georgina.
The group which consists of Ashok Kumar, Bhanumathy, Georgina Kumar, Himani Gupta, Nalini Kidambi, Priya Pathak, Ramesh Kidambi, Roopa Pillai, Sucharita and Tinky Bhardwaj are all professionals who have been dealing with cases of abuse, suicide etc as counsellors.
‘Break the Silence’ aims…
To clear myth and present facts
To answer frequently asked questions
To help identify signs and symptoms of a child being abused sexually
Give guidelines to teachers and parents
Equip and encourage children to protect themselves
Movie Screening
To mark the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse, the film Doubt will be screened on Tuesday between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad programme hall, Road no.3, Banjara Hills.
