Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched ‘Paree Pain Katha Tiye’ (A word for the little angel), a State-wide awareness campaign against child sexual abuse.
UNICEF and the State police have joined hands for the campaign to create awareness on the importance and role of every member of society in preventing child sexual abuse, need for reporting and need for trauma care.
Fifteen vans modified as ‘Paree Express’ flagged off by Mr. Patnaik will cover all 30 districts during the campaign from May 28 to June 12.
In each district the campaign will be led by the Superintendent of Police and District Collector.
According to the State police, ‘Paree Express’ will move across each district following a carefully charted route that touches the most vulnerable pockets. “Each halt will be of 1 to 2 hours and will involve all key stakeholders, such as elected representatives, community members, influencers, youth, SHG groups and children,” said Director General of Police R.P. Sharma.
Dr. Sharma said specially-trained local cultural troupes would stage plays, films would be screened and dialogue with the community would be held.
After covering all districts of Odisha, the 15 ‘Paree Express’ vans will converge in Bhubaneswar on June 12. The awareness campaign was launched at a time when reports of child sexual abuse are being reported on a daily basis during the past few months.
Yumi Bae, UNICEF Chief, Odisha, said that child sexual abuse is a very complex issue and that the effort is to put out an emotional appeal for public awareness, as most of the perpetrators are known to the children belonging to their neighbourhood, families, relatives and communities.
