child sexual abuse

Priyatama Sharma, a librarian in Bhopal, grew up in a society where girls were considered a burden. She was sexually abused from the ages of 5 to 15. After leaving her family and starting to work, Priyatama realised the importance of education and earned a master's degree. She is speaking up to help people who endured abuse like her.

Engineer turned lawyer Prita is founder-president of the NGO Peace and Equality Cell (PEC), which works to prevent CSA by creating awareness and providing victims access to justice.

Founded in 2002, Shaheen in Old Hyderabad city is the brainchild of Jameela Nishat. They have provided legal, financial and emotional support to domestic violence survivors, enrolled students back into schools, provided vocational training to women and stopped child marriages.

Meet Anuja Amin, the founder of Circles of Safety, who quit her job in the Netherlands to promote conversations around child sexual abuse through school curriculums.

Bhimavva Chalwadi, a resident of Vasco, Goa, was forced into sex work at the age of 15 but has since worked for the rescue and rehabilitation of child sex workers, for which she won the CII Woman Exemplar Award in 2019.

With every child she empowers, a part of her does heal. Their strength and courage is what gives her the energy to strive everyday to ensure no child has to ever suffer in silence.

"We cannot change the world, but we can give others hope and help them build a bridge to a better life,” says former driver Subonenba Longkumer who lost his parents when he was 12. #Respect #RealLifeHero

When children experience trauma, particularly for an extended period, their body and nervous systems adapt to protect them. This could result in behaviours like heightened anger and irritability, distrusting or disobeying adults, or displaying increased sensitivity to everyday life events.

A short film by Mumbai-based filmmaker Aarti Bagdi, Udne Do sheds light on the prevalence of child sexual abuse through an eye-opening narrative set against the backdrop of a school.

Plugging a major hole in the visa application process, the move is aimed at stemming the in-flow of foreign nationals with a penchant for committing heinous crimes.