Time for silence over crime against children is up and what is needed is a “war” against rape, sexual abuse, and trafficking of children, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi has said.
Addressing an interaction organised by the Kerala State Commission for Child Rights in connection with his month-long Bharat Yatra here on Tuesday, Mr. Satyarthi said silence on the matter emboldened those committing the crimes.
Young people, especially, children, were change makers, he said, calling on them to join the “battle” against their exploitation. “If we resolve to do it, we can do it.”
Narrating his experience of meeting a minor girl victim, he said the traumatised girl was not speaking but he tried to bring out the “sound from her silence.”
“Every hour, two girls are abused; every hour eight children go missing... Can you imagine children without a childhood, freedom, joy... I refuse to accept this situation and I ask you to refuse it,” Mr. Satyarthi said.
He said his 11,000-km 22-State yatra was a social movement against such crimes. “India has no choice but to join the yatra. This is a war we have to win,” he said.
Terming the problem of abuse a moral epidemic, he said it was intolerable. “If we keep on hiding it, it will become much more difficult to address,” Mr. Satyarthi said.
Referring to another agitation that he started from Kanyakumari in 2001 demanding an amendment in the Constitution for making education a fundamental right, he said within six months of the culmination of the march, education was made a fundamental right, though it was another few years before the Right to Education Act was passed.
Sharing with the audience his ‘mantra’ of 3 ‘Ds,’ he called on them to dream big, discover the power of honesty and fearlessness, and do – act instead of sitting and waiting. “We are the change,” he said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who was the chief guest said he hoped the Bharat Yatra would be a turning point in putting an end to child abuse and other violations of rights of children.
Mr. Vijayan said it was a fact that child labour continued in some areas but what was more distressing was that child sexual abuse was increasing. It was time to create awareness of child sexual abuse, especially as the perpetrators were often those known to them. “Children should be taught early about good and bad touch. They should be prepared to interact with strangers and how to remain alert. They should be made familiar about hazards in public places,” he said.
He also stressed the need to make children aware that they could communicate with their parents about any problem that they had. Families, schools and neighbourhoods all had a role in preventing crimes against children, he said.
He also said reports in the social media defending paedophilia were not suited to a developing society.
“No society can flourish without fostering an environment that caters to the needs of children and lets them grow without fear,” the Chief Minister said.
Minister for Social Justice K.K. Shylaja, Chief Secretary K.M. Abraham, and Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Right chairperson Shobha Koshy spoke.