Declaring a war on child sexual abuse, Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Tuesday announced that he will be going on a ‘Bharat yatra’ to reawaken the “slumbering consciousness” of the nation.
11,000-km-trip
Starting at Kanyakumari on September 11, the rally will cross 22 States covering 11,000 km and culminate in Delhi on October 16.
Mr. Satyarthi said that rally participants would meet citizens along the way and request them to speak up if an incident of abuse occurs, and take a vow that they will not allow sexual abuse or trafficking to occur on their watch.
Adding that the justice system takes many years to bring perpetrators to book, Mr. Satyarthi said the rally would also target the police and members of the judiciary to sensitise them about handling such cases and respecting laws that are in place.
Prior to the announcement, Mr. Satyarthi sat down with 10 parents whose children were either trafficked or sexually abused.
The parents shared their experience and many of them said that even though many years had passed, they had still not got justice.
A common opinion was that the perpetrators should be hung-to-death.
The kin of Gudiya, who was gangraped and murdered in Shimla last month, shared their story with the audience and pledged their support to the rally to ensure that no other family has to go through what they did.
Mr. Satyarthi said that earlier yatras undertaken by him had led to stricter national and international laws against child labour, and a constitutional amendment making education a fundamental right. He hoped that this yatra against child sexual abuse would also make an impact.
Published - August 23, 2017 01:37 am IST
