Hazel Berret Wahlang
Documentation and Project Officer St. Joseph’s College, Jakhama
Child sexual abuse is a global reality that occurs across all social, economic and age groups and happens in homes, schools, other institutions and on the streets. In 2002, the World Health Organization estimated that globally at least 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 years had experienced forced sexual intercourse or other form of sexual violence involving physical contact. Is it not our duty to create a safe environment for our future generation to live in? Maltz (2002) states that, “Sexual Abuse occurs whenever one person dominates and exploits another by means of sexual activity or suggestion”. It was estimated that less than 50% of all sexual assaults on children are reported to the police but why the others are kept silence? Some of the possible reasons are: a) The child is ashamed or forced not to disclose what had happened b) They do not even know that what happened to him/her was wrong; c) They think it is his/her fault (fear of being accused of having provoked the abuse) and thus blame everything on themselves; and d) The family chose to keep quiet because they fear the stigma and shame that would attach later.
All children deserve a better childhood and child sexual abuse can take that away from them because it can hinder their normal social growth and can be a cause of many psychosocial problems. When the sexual abuse is done by an esteemed trusted adult it may be hard for the child to view the perpetrator in negative light, thus leaving them incapable of seeing what happened as not their faults. Childhood sexual abuse has been correlated with higher levels of depression, guilt, shame, self-blame, eating disorders, somatic concerns, anxiety, dissociative patterns, repression, denial, sexual problems, relationship problems, self- destructed behaviors and they experience more suicidal ideation than those who have not been abused. That is why child sexual abuse should not be taken lightly no matter what nature or severity the act might be.
So, what are we really doing, as adults in the society? Shouldn’t we do something to stop this disgusted behavior of those who treat our kids as sex objects or, should we just let it sink into the culture of silence where justice is overlooked and rights’ exploited. Yes we can see that the government had tried its best to intervene in this regard and even introduced “The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012” but even when awareness on different children’s rights are stressed, we are still puzzled about their implementation and how far will it cease this social problem and save our children.
The Government and few organizations alone will not solve the problem unless everyone join hands to fight against it and that includes our children. You may think it’s such an unreasonable plan involving our vulnerable kids in such a huge cause but one of the methods to win the fight is to “Empower the victims/vulnerable section we are fighting for”.
Let us not hide the truth from our children, let us tell them what the world truly is but that doesn’t mean that we will crush their Beautiful Bright Dreams they want to unfold later.
How to prevent and tell them? One way is to teach them that their body belongs to them and no one should take advantage of it and if they feel uncomfortable with the way someone treat their body they should not be afraid or feel embarrass to tell their parents or anyone they trust. The NSPCC (National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children) launch the PANTS Campaign in 2015 to reduce the percentage of child sexual abuse. This campaign helps the parents to talk to their children about sexual abuse without even using that word. All they need to do is to teach their children about the acronym of PANTS and this can help them stay safe. This is a simple way to teach our children that “their body belongs to them” and “they have the right to say no”. So what does PANTS stands for? P-Privates are Privates; A-Always remember your body belongs to you; N-No means no; T-Talk about your secrets that upsets you; S-speak up, someone can help! This is one of the solutions to prevent them from being a victim of child sexual abuse.
Many went through this tragic path of child sexual abuse and if you are one of the victims you should not be afraid or feel ashamed to speak out. Remember, if you do, you’ll be stepping on the road of healing process. Let’s take for example, Oprah Winfrey (American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist), she was raped repeatedly by her relative since the time she was only 9 years old, Teri Hather (American actress, writer, presenter and singer), was also sexually abused by her uncle since the time she was 5 years old but they spoke out, fought bravely and went on leading an inspiring and successful life.
So step up, fight, you are not alone! Challenge the world that causes many victims to hide away because you deserve to be happy so “Don’t settle a victim, be a Survivor”.
