Do cases of sexual abuse of children send chills down your spine? Do you want to do your bit to prevent sexual abuse and safeguard innocent souls? Here are a few easy steps that you can initiate to ensure safe childhood.

Our Voix knows Child Sexual Abuse is preventable and has been working at the grass root level. We have conducted workshops for children, teacher, parents, youth on primary prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children. Let’s together prevent sexual violence against children by adopting a few steps such as:

1. Start the Talk:

Teach your children, younger brother and sister about safe and unsafe touch. Teach them the correct names of their body parts, private parts and their power to say “NO” to unwanted touches. It’s is important that your child know’s who can they trust when they are worried or upset. Make sure your child knows that it’s not their fault if somebody touches them inappropriately.

2. Play the “What if” Game:

In this game, you have to give situations to your child and ask for their response. The responses of the child will help you to correct the child’s response beforehand. Here are the few “What if” situations you can give to your child or cousins.

1. What if somebody touches your private parts, what will you do?
2. What if somebody wants to take you to a room alone?
3. What if a stranger touches you and asks you to keep it as a secret, what will you do?

3. Golden Minutes:

Spend at least 10 golden minutes with your child every day. It is the time when you can interact with your child and know about their daily routine. You can ask questions such as “ What games did they play after school? ” “Who is their best friend?” “What are things that make them worried them?”It will help to create a bond with your child and will provide an environment for the child to share and talk.

4. School Safety:

Ensure that your cousins or your child’s school undertake preventive measures for children safety such as the establishment of Child Abuse Monitoring Committee, Complaint Boxes, Children Right Clubs, Child Protection Policy, Background Checks of staff, workshops on safe and unsafe touch, etc. Ask the school if they adopt such preventive measures.

5. Warning Signs:

There are certain warning signs that one can observe if the child is going through any kind of abuse. In respect to physical signs, it would include rashes around the private parts, pain in private parts; behavior signs would include anxiety, eating disorder, etc. Moreover, Using sexual language which is not aged appropriate can be one of the warning signs. Identify these signs and take corrective action.

6. Safe Space:

You can reduce the risk of abuse by adopting a place-based approach. Keep an eye over the places where your child goes to. Avoid keeping children in isolation. Make sure outings are observable – if not by you, then by others.

7. Raise Your Voice:

If a child shares about abuse, neither blame or shame the child for the same. Raise your voice and report the matter to the authorities. It is crucial to add your voice to the voice of the child to make it heard.

• Megha Bhatia

Founder Our Voix