Child Sexual Abuse
Women constitute half power of the country so in order to make this country a fully powerful country, women empowerment is very necessary and is a prerequisite for a healthy and a vibrant society. Empowerment includes literacy and education for women, better health care, ownership of productive resources, their rights and responsibilities and improved standards of living. Economic independence, social empowerment and gender justice will result in eliminating all types of discrimination against women.
Sahyog Care considers child protection as the prevention of or responding to the incidence of abuse, exploitation, violence and neglect of children. This includes commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage. Protection also allows children to have access to their other rights of survival, development, growth and participation. Sahyog maintains that when child protection fails or is absent children have a risk of death, poor physical and mental health, educational problems, displacement, homelessness and poor parenting. Sahyog also did training's to train the teachers and parents on protection of children from any kind of violence.
Child Sexual Abuse or child molestation is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whether by asking or pressuring, or by other means), indecent exposure (of the genitals, female nipples, etc.), child grooming, or using a child to produce child pornography. There are 2 different types of child sexual abuse. These are called contact abuse and non-contact abuse.
Contact abuse involves touching activities where an abuser makes physical contact with a child, including penetration. It includes:
Non-contact abuse involves non-touching activities, such as grooming, exploitation, persuading children to perform sexual acts over the internet and flashing. It includes:
The sexual abuse of children is a fundamental violation of their rights. It is a universal and complex problem. It includes a range of abusers, different forms of abuse, and varies in the type and degree of impact on the victim. Since the First World Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of Children, in 1996, which served to focus attention on the issue, there has been a substantial increase in activities designed to counter a potential increase in the incidence of abuse, and its negative impact on children.Interventions have increased through specific targeted projects, and most significantly through an increased recognition that sexually abused and exploited children are frequently the same children who are facing a range of difficulties. They are the school going children, displaced and refugee children, street children, children in hazardous labor etc.
The outcomes of sexual abuse are very harmful for children; they are similar to those of depression or severe anxiety and nervousness. Mostly children face health trouble, as well as they don’t want to participate in any physical activities; victim is always hiding and avoiding a specific person for no reason. They withdraw themselves from normal and regular activities. This will be the reason for poor performance in school and class participation.
In light of the staggering statistics and the devastating effects of child sexual abuse, Sahyog care for you is taking the next step to address this issue. The CSA Awareness Program of Sahyog reaches out to children between the age groups of 7- 14 years. We aim to protect children by educating them and their teachers/parents on how to recognize and prevent child sexual abuse.
The outcomes of sexual abuse are very harmful for children; they are similar to those of depression or severe anxiety and nervousness. Mostly children face health trouble, as well as they don’t want to participate in any physical activities; victim is always hiding and avoiding a specific person for no reason. They withdraw themselves from normal and regular activities. This will be the reason for poor performance in school and class participation.
Specifically, we at Sahyog care for you:
Multi-disciplinary and integrated prevention programs
There has been an expansion of activity, particularly cross agency and multi-disciplinary work aimed at those considered to be particularly vulnerable or at risk of abuse through sexual exploitation. The aim of our organization is to ensure that volunteers working directly with vulnerable students, are fully aware of a range of critical issues, including sexual abuse and exploitation, and are equipped to promote both prevention and response actions as part of their overall range of interventions.
Promoting awareness through mobilization in related communities
In this segment Sahyog care for you strengthens school resources, including mobilizing other students within their own communities, as a strategy for prevention of abuse. The program includes material that develops and promotes the concept, and offer strategies and guidance for stimulating positive change.
Community Connections
Community workshops are conducted to educate and spread awareness about sexual abuse for community people mostly younger ones. For example: live performances such as plays or theater, puppet shows, rallies to illustrate parenting skills or reporting sexual abuse.
Building networks
The program needs networks to protect children, who have experienced sexual abuse. Links between organizations and service providers at either end of the CSA are essential, if children are to be successfully reintegrated without additional trauma. This would involve ensuring both sides of the chain have information about the child, their experiences and their home environment.
Public awareness and advocacy
Public awareness of sexual abuse is not immediately a part of a recovery strategy; it is though linked in terms of support networks, public awareness and a child’s self-esteem. The information needs to promote an approach that recognizes children as victims of abuse, who need help and support rather than stigma and criminalization. It needs to reflect childhood as a stage during which all young people below the age of 18 require consideration and protection.
Awareness sessions that will be conducted with students and teachers will create sensitivity and awareness about the issue of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) and enable them to protect their children from potential abuse:
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) victims experience short and long term negative outcomes that affect their daily functioning. They can also experience trauma. Trauma is any negative event which has long lasting effect on how one thinks, feels about oneself and how one behaves.
Immediate impact of child sexual abuse involves a range of emotions: shock, fear, sadness, anger, confusion, guilt and shame among others. They may experience sudden mood shifts or feel emotionally numb. Other short-term effects involve resorting to regressive behaviours such as a return to thumb-sucking or bed-wetting and engage in aggressive acting out, daydreaming or become suicidal. One of the indicators of sexual abuse is sexual acting out and inappropriate sexual knowledge and interest. Victims may withdraw from school and social activities, show a change in achievement patterns, problems with concentration and exhibit various learning and behavioural problems.
Symptoms can extend far into adulthood and largely impact domains of relationships and sexuality. An adult survivor might find it difficult to form and sustain trusting relationships and may experience repeated or additional victimization in relationships along with confusion around sexual identity. A few adult survivors of child sexual abuse may become offenders themselves. Other long- term effects include depression, anxiety, eating disorders poor self-esteem, somatization, sleep disturbances. When symptoms are not properly treated, the impact can result in a lifetime of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety.
David Finkelhor is director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center and professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He has been conducting research on victims of child sexual abuse since 1976. Finkelhor, whose conceptualization of the traumagenic effects of sexual abuse is the most widely employed, divides impact into four general categories, each having varied psychological and behavioral effects.
Traumatic sexualization – Included in the psychological outcomes of traumatic sexualization are aversive feelings about sex, overvaluing sex, and sexual identity problems.
Stigmatization - Common psychological manifestations of stigmatization are feelings of guilt and responsibility for the abuse or the consequences of disclosure. These feelings are likely to be reflected in behaviors such as substance abuse, risk-taking acts, self-mutilation, suicidal gestures and acts.
Betrayal The most fundamental damage from sexual abuse is its undermining of trust in those people who are supposed to be protectors and nurturers and so victims experience extreme betrayal.
Powerlessness The psychological impact of the trauma of powerlessness includes both aperception of vulnerability and victimization. It can manifest as avoidant responses, such as dissociation and running away, sleep problems, elimination problems, and eating problems; andre-victimization.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) 2012 was formulated in order to effectively address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 received the President’s assent on 19th June, 2012 and was notified in the Gazette of India on 20th June, 2012.
The Act defines a child as any person below 18 years of age. It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
It deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority like a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor. The Act also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process. Thus, the police personnel receiving a report of sexual abuse of a child are given the responsibility of making urgent arrangements for the care and protection of the child, such as obtaining emergency medical treatment for the child and placing the child in a shelter home, and bringing the matter in front of the CWC, should the need arise.
The Act further makes provisions for avoiding the re-victimization of the child at the hands of the judicial system. It provides for special courts that conduct the trial in-camera and without revealing the identity of the child, in a manner that is as child-friendly as possible. Hence, the child may have a parent or other trusted person present at the time of testifying and can call for assistance from an interpreter, special educator, or other professional while giving evidence. Above all, the Act stipulates that a case of Child Sexual Abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offense is reported.
The Act also provides for mandatory reporting of sexual offenses. This casts a legal duty upon a person who has knowledge that a child has been sexually abused to report the offense; if he fails to do so, he may be punished with 6 months imprisonment and/ or a fine.
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT
Awareness Sessions
Awareness sessions are conducted for parents with an aim to create greater sensitivity and awareness about the issue of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) to enable them to protect children from potential abuse. Topics covered in the awareness sessions include, Conceptual clarity on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), Impact of CSA, Understanding grooming and the offender, Handling disclosure, Importance of Counseling and Parenting Tips on Keeping Children Safe. These sessions last from an hour to two hours.
Sahyog Care provides counselling services for parents whose child has gone through the abuse. It is very important for the parents to come for couselling as well as this helps them understand the process of counseling, the current state of the child and how they can play a role in helping the child overcome the situation. No personal details are ever shared within the organization or outside.
You can call us on for counseling support +91-9873216474
Awareness Sessions
Awareness sessions are conducted for teachers with an aim to create greater sensitivity and awareness about the issue of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) to enable them to protect children from potential abuse. Topics covered in the awareness sessions include, conceptual clarity on CSA, Impact of CSA, Understanding grooming and the offender, Handling disclosure, Importance of Counseling and General Guidelines on Keeping Children Safe. These sessions last from an hour to three hours.
Training For Teacher
Sahyog Care conducts 3-5 days training for teachers to undertake the Personal Safety Education Programme implementation at their school or organizational level. Skills are also developed to effectively handle children’s disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). Topics include Conceptual clarity on CSA, Impact of CSA, Understanding grooming and the offender, Teaching children Personal Safety Skills through lesson plans, Handling disclosure and Importance of Counseling. Training Manuals are provided to each teacher to enable them to easily implement the Personal Safety Education Program.
You can call us on for counseling support +91-9873216474
Training Teacher Program
Sahyog Care conducts 3-5 days training for teachers to undertake the Personal Safety Education Programme implementation at their school or organizational level. Skills are also developed to effectively handle children’s disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). Topics include Conceptual clarity on CSA, Impact of CSA, Understanding grooming and the offender, Teaching children Personal Safety Skills through lesson plans, Handling disclosure and Importance of Counseling. Training Manuals are provided to each teacher to enable them to easily implement the Personal Safety Education Program.
Awareness Sessions
Awareness sessions are conducted for parents and teachers with an aim to create greater sensitivity and awareness about the issue of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) to enable them to protect children from potential abuse. Topics covered in the awareness sessions include, conceptual clarity on CSA, Impact of CSA, Understanding grooming and the offender, Handling disclosure, Importance of Counseling and Parenting Tips and General Guidelines on Keeping Children Safe. These sessions last from an hour to three hours.
You can call us on for counseling support +91-9873216474