Stop asking them to address everyone as 'uncle', as this will make kids trusting and comfortable with complete strangers; Don't share your bed with your child or indulge in sexual activity when they are around, for s/he may mimic and find nothing wrong when someone tries to do the same with them – these are only two of the ten points that Early Childhood Association, India (ECA) has shared with city schools, owing to the recent number of molestation cases.
What are other points ECA has appealed to parents for?
Some other points suggest that parents should teach their children the difference between 'good touch' and 'bad touch'. They have also warned parents to not share their bed with their child and when indulging in sexual activity, to ensure their children are nowhere around. This is owing to the fact that many kids mimic adult behaviour and may then find nothing wrong in doing the same with others.
How to deal with seemingly uncomfortable questions?
If children ask about a kissing scene or a rape scene or a bedroom scene that they may have seen on television, movies, magazines or newspapers, talk to them about it and explain that that is what adults do to adults, not children to children, or especially not adults to children.
What should the schools do?
The ECA has appealed to schools to register the names of all their employees like watchmen, drivers, attendants and cleaning staff, with the local police.
Swati Popat Vats, ECA's president, said, "We have mailed all the ten points to city schools and parents. We want them to follow them to prevent children from becoming victims to cases of molestation and child sexual abuse."
The onus isn't on schools alone
Dr. Kamini Rege, Joint secretary of ECA and assistant professor, College of Home Science Nirmala Niketan, said, "We must recognize that it is extremely difficult for a child to translate knowledge into behaviour when the sexual touching is done by a powerful and important person in the child's life. Child abuse in general, and sexual abuse in particular, is such a complex problem that no one sector of society can tackle it single-handedly. Although schools have a key role to play in the fight against abuse, we should not forget that the problem must be confronted on many levels."
How can sexual abuse cases be curbed?
Jayant Jain, president of All India Federation of PTA, said, "It is fine if ECA has shared some awareness points with the schools and parents. I feel that the government should focus on bringing one statutory body that can give justice to the affected families in a month, which is how we can possibly curb these cases."
