CHILDLINE 1098 Service » 1098
Events » Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Workshop
Volunteers from Different Walks Of Life Unite for CSA
Awareness
Sneha Kupekar, Communication and Strategic Initiatives (CSI)
Department
Mumbai, January 15: The 1 st of the three workshops
for training volunteers in Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) awareness
saw participation from 28 enthusiastic volunteers, from diverse
walks of life. Students, teachers and parents attended the four
day workshop, while 13 resource persons took them through various
aspects of CSA.
The CSA awareness workshop was conducted at the Young Men's
Christian Association (YMCA) International House, Mumbai Central
from 12 th January to the 14 th January, culminating in a practical
training session on 15 th January in two schools.
The principal objectives of the workshop was to equip all volunteers
with an overview of CSA related issues ( knowledge) and to provide
them with skills training in communication to prepare them for
taking on the task of sensitising children in schools.
The workshop started with the traditional lighting of the lamp,
Vidya Apte from the Forum Against Child Sexual Exploitation (FACSE),
the two youngest volunteers, Anuja Mohare and Charmi Khimshia
and the oldest volunteer, Roshni Bharucha did the honours.
The first session on 'Child Protection and Child Rights (CPCR)'
was conducted by Nishit Kumar, Head- Communication and Strategic
Initiatives, CHILDLINE India Foundation (CIF). Starting with
a test on 'Rights in India'; Kumar took the participants through
the rights given to the Citizens of India by the Constitution,
and those specific to children, while introducing them to the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
This was followed by an interactive session where Vidya Apte
and Ketki Doshi, the two member team from FACSE gave the volunteers
a thorough grounding in CSA; covering forms of CSA. With an interactive
methodology of films and role plays, the volunteers were taken
through important issues such as 'why children don't tell', what
are the 'effects of sexual abuse on children' and identifying 'signs
and indicators in children through behavioural changes'. When
asked to sum up 'what can we do', a volunteer summed up, "We
should believe the child, listen to him/her and ask questions.
It's important to be sympathetic and supportive to the child."
Dr. Asha Bajpai, Faculty Member, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
(TISS) session on laws, proved to be an eye opener for the volunteers,
when the fact that there is no Law specific
to CSA available in India. Various laws that are currently used
to cover CSA cases were discussed in detail. For clarity on the
penalties awarded for cases of CSA, Dr. Bajpai used examples
of the Freddy Peats case in Goa , the Swiss couple's case and
the Prem Sagar case in Mumbai.
The last session on Day 1 was one that participants had been
waiting for. Volunteers initially had only a vague idea on the '1098
service and how it works'. The session to provide clarity on
the service was conducted by Kiran More, from the Committed Communities
Development Trust (CCDT). More took the participants through
the processes that are put in place once a call is received on
1098, and also helped them understand the partner network of
CHILDLINE consisting of collab and nodal partners.
Continuing on Day 2 with the tone set by Dr. Bajpai's law sessions,
Dr. Nilima Mehta, former Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee
(CWC) helped the volunteers gain a thorough understanding of
the workings of this statutory body set up under the Juvenile
Justice Act. Emphasising on the care, compassion and concern
approach that the CWC adopts, Dr. Mehta stressed on the importance
of the non negotiable principles of keeping the best interests
of the child in mind, creating a child friendly environment and
taking child centred decisions. She ended her session by asking
volunteers to always remember 3 steps to child protection i.e.
recognise, respond and rehabilitate.
Jaya Aiyappa, a counsellor and sex educator who conducted the 'Child
Psychology' session, while agreeing with Dr. Mehta's care and
compassion approach added, "It's crucial for parents and teachers
to always 'be there' for children, believe in them and use non
threatening mediums such as play therapy to help the child heal." Discussing
how the impact of CSA differs on the basis of the severity, identity,
duration and the age at which abuse takes place, Aiyappa also
helped volunteers understand a child's feelings of guilt, shame,
betrayal, powerlessness and helplessness.
An important session for volunteers to understand the difficulties
they might face while talking to schools was Father Merwyn D'Souza,
Principal of St. Paul's High School session on 'addressing concerns
of schools'. Coming from a progressive school of thought, Father
Merwyn said, "It's my personal opinion that there could be a
committee to take care of any CSA cases that come up with parents
and teachers also on the board." A volunteer, Sharona Galsurkar
said, "It was a great session. However, I hope I come across
such progressive Principal's when I actually go out in the field."
Dr. Duru Shah, Chairman, Indian College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists,
started her session with throwing light on the 'Indicators of
CSA', which she grouped into Sure indicators, Probable indicators
and Near indicators. She presented two of the (FOGSI) slideshows
on 'Growing up' that discussed various aspects of the female
anatomy. In response to a volunteer's question about hysterectomy
for mentally challenged girls, Dr. Shah responded that, hysterectomy
is the last resort. There are various other solutions that we
can use, before using that extreme.
Complementing
Dr. Shah's session, Dr. Chhaya Prasad, Developmental and Behavioral
Pediatrician, Govt. regional institute for the mentally handicapped,
Chandigarh, took the participants through the gaps in the medical
system, where though the law says a child is anyone below the
age of 18 years, a child above 12 years is admitted to the
pediatric ward exposing the child to the possibility of abuse.
On being asked how to understand if there's a case of sexual
abuse or not, she replied, "Always look for cases where they may be a
High Index of Suspicion. For example, a child was brought to
me who was burnt only from waist down. This should immediately
make one suspicious because the only way this can happen is when
the child has been made to stand in boiling water." Dr. Prasad
also shared details of various tests that a doctor conducts
during the medical exam of the victim, such as Hepatitis B,
HIV/AIDS and other STDs.
Day 3 of the CSA awareness workshop started with arguably the
most action packed session, with Trupti Panchal, TISS Faculty
Member conducting the 'Dealing with CSA' session through the
use of cases studies. The six case studies Panchal used ranged
from exhibitionism to incestual rape. Through this exercise,
she tried to outline how our response to a CSA case changes when
strangers are involved and when someone known to us is involved.
Sheela
Sail, Deputy Commissioner of Police-Enforcement, Mumbai Police
was next and managed to put all the volunteers at ease immediately
by sharing her personal number. Making details like filing a
First Information Report (FIR), medical examinations and submission
of charge sheets seem interesting; Sail also took the volunteers
through the concurrent action the police force takes once an
FIR has been filed by persons familiar with the case.
Mrs. Lata Nair, Vice Chairperson of the Parent Teacher Association
United Forum (PTA United Forum) conducted the next important
session for the field, while throwing light on 'The logistics
of conducting a CSA session in schools.' Emphasising on a positive
attitude and negotiation skills, Nair said these are the qualities
that would help volunteers overcome any objections by parents
and school authorities
The
communication skills session conducted by Theatre Specialist,
Manjul Bharadwaj and the wrap up session conducted by Trishla
Jasani, Consultant Program Co-ordinator and Sneha Kupekar, Assistant
Program Co-ordinator helped volunteers overcome their anxieties
about the practical training session on 15 th January at the
Sir J. J Boys' and Girls' High school. Bharadwaj urged the volunteers
to keep in mind, a participatory approach, verbal and non- verbal
communication and appreciation of the audience. His method of
questioning all aspects and thoroughly involving all participants
was deeply appreciated by all volunteers.
The practical session allowed participants to get a feel of
what it's like to be in a classroom setting and conduct the story
telling exercise. It also allowed the co-ordinators an opportunity
to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the volunteers.
At the end of the day, the group re assembled at the CIF office
for discussion and an exchange of experiences. The four day workshop
resulted in the training of 28 volunteers as 'Certified Trainers
in CSA Awareness.'
For more information about the workshop click on the following
links
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