On Tuesday morning, the residents of Badlapurkar protested against the school administration over the case of two girls, aged 4 years, who were sexually assaulted by a sweeper, Akshay Shinde, who was working on a contract basis at the school. They all gathered outside the school, demanding justice and strict action against the culprits.
ECA-APER issue an advisory
The Early Childhood Association (ECA) and the Association for Preparatory Education and Research (APER) released an advisory to schools in the wake of this unfortunate incident. The advice highlighted that child sexual abuse is a widespread problem that happens in families as well as in educational institutions that frequently goes unreported. In order to address this, the ECA-APER launched the #3forSafety campaign, which calls on educational institutions to impose required safety measures.
What is #3forSafety?
The #3forSafety initiative outlines three crucial steps to enhance child protection in schools. First, all school staff, regardless of gender, must undergo thorough police verification before employment. Second, both teaching and non-teaching staff should be trained in recognising Good Touch, Bad Touch (GTBT) and understanding the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Third, it is important to educate children about recognising inappropriate behaviour and encouraging kids to report it.
Swati Popat, president of ECA-APER, has called for widespread adoption of these safety measures. She emphasised that it is a myth that only men sexually abuse. And that is why many preschools don’t appoint male staff. But please note that women too sexually abuse, and keeping one gender out of employment is not the solution. Instead, she advocates for thorough background checks and training for all staff members. Popat also highlighted the importance of schools understanding the mandatory reporting and irrespective of the number of years the accused staff has been with you, let the law take its course.
She further mentioned that only female-trained police can talk to the victim, and the child victim does not have to go to the police station, the trained female police in plain clothes will come to victim's home.
The statement further added, “Understand why children are easy targets of sexual abuse: children are at an age where they thrive on touch, touching in the form of hugging and kissing is their way of showing and being shown love. And this is what the predators take advantage of.” Ensure that you don’t do the following:
a. Don’t ask children to kiss or hug an uncle or aunty.
b. Don’t make them sit on anyone’s lap like Santa!
c. Don’t refer to everyone as ‘uncle’ or ‘aunty’. The word uncle or aunty makes children feel safe, so if the delivery boy is an ‘uncle’ and the toilet moushi is an ‘aunty’ then the child will not know that they are not supposed to touch them or kiss and hug them.
The advisory serves as a powerful reminder to schools and parents alike about the importance of vigilance in protecting children from predators. By implementing these measures, schools can foster a safer environment, ensuring that children are safeguarded from harm.
