In the backdrop of studies by several organisations suggesting that child sexual abuse was high and unchecked, Telangana Crime Investigation Department (CID) officials on Friday unveiled a campaign against child sexual abuse.
While DGP Anurag Sharma released a poster as part of the campaign at his office, nearly 300 police officers would begin awareness programmes in 3,000 schools of Hyderabad and Cyberabad commissionerates from Saturday. With the help of Woman and Child Welfare Department, the CID officials started a network of counsellors for each school.
Some of them are teachers of the same school or members of voluntary organisations. “Children facing sexual abuse can approach these counsellors. It is only a beginning to check the rampant child sexual abuse,” said CID IGP Charu Sinha. The 300 police officers participating in the campaign were from CID and Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissionerates. They would meet principals, teachers, managements of schools, children and explain how to identify a child sexually abused and systems to be introduced to check it. Every school would be persuaded to constitute a Child Abuse Monitoring Committee.
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A tool kit containing literature on prevention of child sexual abuse, how parents should respond in such situations and what role the teachers in schools can play in such situations would be given in the schools. To bring awareness on the issue, CID is planning to take out a massive rally from People’s Plaza on Necklace Road on November 19. Thousands of students from city schools, teachers, voluntary organisations, police officials, counsellors and Telangana brand ambassador Sania Mirza would participate.
At the end of the month, a programme of training for trainers on prevention of child sexual abuse would be held by the CID.