No Means No: Fight Against CSA

Fight against CSA!

CSA: Child Sex Abuse is an act of abusing a child physically, emotionally, mentally, or psychologically. Colloquially we call it good touch and bad touch.

In simple words, good touch is a good or pure way for people to show their love and care for each other. This means hugging, holding hands, etc, can be ways to express love and care. While on the other hand, bad touch is an uncomfortable offensive or improper way to touch. This makes one feel nervous and embarrassed.

Safe touch can make you feel happy, cared, and loved, these sometimes include touches that might hurt example getting an injection.

Although parents, schools, and Care Centres these days are comparatively much aware of these happenings and can educate their children to some extent regarding the same, still our country faces the maximum number of child abuse cases.

WHAT IS CSA?

Using a child for sexual provocation, child sexual abuse, or child molestation by an adult or older adolescence causing the child physical mental, emotional, or psychological disturbance and may sometimes lead to traumatic stress.

CSA is a wide variety act where the survivor is forced to have a sexual relationship which mostly occurs between an Adult and a Child.

Oral sex, voyeurism, or forceful act to make one watch pornography is also a form of abuse.

Cases reported annually: India has world’s largest number of CSA cases.

For every 155th minutes, a child below 16 years is molested in the country.
At any point in time, one in every ten children is abused sexually.
Annually at an average over 7200 children including infants are raped in the country.
Over 69% of India’s children are a victim of sexual physical mental or emotional abuse reported organization RAHI, Save children, and ministry of women.

TEACH YOUR CHILD TO SAY NO!

Children should be taught to say no whenever they feel like. Make your child comfortable with refusing whenever they want to. Make a child aware that the moment they feel uneasy with a touch they should shout as loud as they can and tempt the attention of those nearby.

It is important to educate children regarding good touch and bad touch. Be frank enough with your children so that they open up if any kind of miss happenings disturb them. Teach them to react in certain situations.

SIGNS THAT INDICATE THE MISS HAPPENINGS!

Children often don’t talk about such abuses they face. A feeling of discomfort or awkwardness must be prevented by the parents so that children feel comfortable enough to voice their feelings.

Sexual insult is a gradual process and not a single even. Paying close attention to children’s behavior sexual abuse can be prevented before it harms the child.

• Check if the child goes through such physical changes of trouble in urinating, pain in private parts feels shy from bathing ritual.

• Notice if your child fears facing specific people visiting particular places or performing certain activities.

• Child below age 10 main react with bed-wetting or thumb-sucking.

• Sudden loss of interest in food, dull uninterested, or sad appearance is a warning.

• Sudden aggressiveness in nature, sleep troubles on nightmare.

• Suicide thoughts or gestures.

• Alcohol or drug abuse.

• Overly mature behavior.

• Deterioration in academic performance.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO TEACH CHILDREN?

Any sort of abuse that child does not opens up about or is not treated causes severe cases of trauma and depression.

Trauma is depicted as an emotional state of extreme discomfort and stress resulting from mental images of an extraordinary claustrophobic experience that shatters once a sense of invulnerability to harm.

The factors associated with child sex abuse compound traumatic reactions and create more serious problems for survivors. An extended and intensified extreme process of traumatization is child sexual insult. Since this occurs in childhood these cause the most damaging impact. Such sexual abuse can go on in mind for a considerable period of time.

Although PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is the most common diagnosis associated with childhood sexual abuse. Process of traumatization main reports for a broad range of psychological social and behavioral problems that survivors experience.

Invasive recollections, flashbacks, and nightmares may be faced by the survivor where the traumatic event is re-experienced. Survivor gets stuck in time and continuously Re-exposed to the traumatic event through the daytime. The recollection that persistently interrupts ongoing thoughts actions or feelings. These are terrifying nightmares that awaken them and create sleep troubles for them. Severe stress, depression, anxiety, panic attacks are the results of such abuses.

HOW TO TALK?

Start educating your child when they are three or four years old since this is the age they start going to schools and expose themselves to the world. Use the right vocabulary that can be easily comprehended by anyone. Choose words that make it easy for the child to approach you in case they face any trouble. Use exact words and not related or short words.

Teach them that the parts covered by swimsuit while the bath, cannot be touched by any outsider. Explain to them the difference between good touch and bad touch.

Make your child aware of the private areas of the body. Make them learn the difference between private and usual areas of their body.

PARENTS ALERT!

Over 80% of child abuse happens in “a single-adult single-child” situation.

Avoid leaving your kid with a single adult for a longer period of time including tuition teachers’ housekeepers, relatives, neighbors.

• If a child shows interest in their genital’s or sexual intimacy, teach them. Avoid awkwardness as much as possible and try answering their questions as naturally as you can.

• Make sure you don’t allow young children in public transport alone.

• Young children communicate best through playing. In fact, most psychologists discovered sexual abuse by watching a child playing. Storytelling drawing and playing with dolls or such toys are ways to keep a check if your child is facing any kind of abuse. Aggressive or sexual content in the stories or paintings or genital pointing in dolls or toys a usual signs.

• Avoid touching. According to the Indian culture touching feet, hugging, and sitting in laps is a way to express respect and love. These are unnecessary traits that should be avoided. Respect can be conveyed by simple namaste and polite behavior.

DO NOT IGNORE!

If any sort of such signs is noticed in children, DO NOT AVOID IT!

• If you’re confused about the behavioral changes in your child consult a psychologist.

• Keep a check on patterns of behavior in your children.

• If a child opens up regarding any sort of Miss happenings around them never overhear or ignore or shut them. Take actions against the mentioned person no matter how close the relative is. Keep the child aside or warn the person in private.

• If a child scare meeting or facing a particular person, ask them gently and friendly for the reason. Watch their manner of interaction.

Get Legal Help

• Call childline 24-hour phone outreach service for children in need. The number is 1098.

• Get the crime registered under POCSO protection of children against the sexual offense.

POCSO is a comparatively new law (2012) that looks after sexual abusers as a broader term. It considers even a subtle act of such abuses.

CAPTA (The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act)

CAPTA is an act passed by the Federal government in 1974 and was reauthorized in 2010. It is the largest body of Legislature with regard to the fairs ethical and legal treatment of children. Its intentions to keep children free from all forms of abuse which include physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological. This law also states penalties for abuses reported.

The administration of children and families within the US Department of Health and human services maintain the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

As a result of increased sexual abuse on children, it is expected more laws will be enacted to designate additional reports.