The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) is all set to launch a mobile app to teach schoolchildren how to counter the threat of sexual abuse.
The app will also create awareness among schoolchildren about the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO). The development comes at a time when the alleged sexual abuse of a kindergarten student of a renowned private school in South Kolkata has generated widespread outrage in the State and raised questions on the safety of schoolchildren.
Speaking to The Hindu, Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti, the chairperson of the WBCPCR, said that the app will comprise of a quiz regarding what a child should do when faced with the threat of sexual abuse.
“With the app, the school children will get to answer multiple choice questions regarding what to do, whom to lodge a complaint to if someone tries to sexually abuse them,” she said.
Ms. Chakraborti also said that the app is inspired by the online game of the United National High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called ‘Against All Odds’. The UNHCR game — which is for children of the age group of seven years and above — seeks to create awareness among refugee children on how to face persecution and the process to seek asylum. The app is expected to be launched within a couple of months.
