A large number of school and college students, members of the Confederation Indian Industry (CII), Young Indians and people from other walks of life participated in the Salem leg of the ‘Bharat Yatra’, a march to end sexual abuse and trafficking of children in the city on Friday.
The Bharat Yatra was an initiative of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation.
Rohini P. Bhajibhakare, District Collector, and Sanjay Kumar, Commissioner of Police, flagged off the rally from the Salem Collectorate, in the presence of S.S. Yuvaraj, chairman, CII salem district and S. Vikgnesh, chairm, Yi Salem chapter.
Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi kicked off his 36-day ‘Bharat Yatra’ against child trafficking and sexual abuse in Kanyakumari on September 11. The Salem leg of the rally was organised by the CII and Young Indians.
The participants placards and banners with slogans “stop child abuse.. together we can”, “stand up for children-no excuse for child abuse”, “prevent child abuse”, “don’t scare childhood”, “we need child friendly India” and marched via the fly over, Anna Park before reaching Mahatma Gandhi Stadium.
The students of Zee Thangam Mount Litera School and Royal Park School participated in the rally.
A press release of CII and Yi said that India is one of the few countries with progressive laws and extensive institutional mechanisms to address a diversity of issues related to the protection of children.
A nation-wide mobilisation of children, young people, men and women in the nook and corner to take a strong stand towards a cultural evolution is essential in laying the foundation for a society free from evils such as child sexual abuse and trafficking. There is an urgent need for a mass awareness movement for building a safe India for our children.
Through the Bharat Yatra efforts are on the anvil to build common consensus to end all kinds of violence against children, with a specific focus on child trafficking and child sexual abuse.
Through the Bharat Yatra on the theme “safe childhood- safe India”, Mr. Kailash Satyarthi has raised the discourse on the vexing issue of violence against children with local leaders, women’s groups, law enforcement personnel and most importantly with children.
The yatra is expected to cover 11,000 kms across 22 states and Union Territories across the country.
