‘ Nimirndhu Nil- Thunindhu Sol’ (Stand tall - speak bold), an initiative to create awareness among girl students on sexual abuse was launched in Karur. Collector T. Prabhushankar launched the initiative which was meant to create a safe space for girl students to discuss safety and report harassment.
He met students of Government Higher Secondary School, Ayyarmalai; Government Secondary School, Kazhugur; and Government High School, Thogaimalai, on Saturday and briefed them on the various available remedies if they feel the need to seek help.
He told the students the importance of self-awareness and good and bad touch. If any student needed to report incidents of sexual harassment, they must inform Childline - 1098. The students’ helpline- 14417 and the district administration's WhatsApp number 8903331098 are available. The information provided by the student would be kept confidential and immediate legal action would be taken against the complainant, he said asking the students to stand tall and speak boldly as they were not at fault.
He provided information on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and said that if found guilty, the accused would be severely punished. Further, he told the students about the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and that the parents of the child, the attendees of the wedding ceremony would be punished by law if a girl below 18 years of age is forced to marry.
