‘Kamatipura case should be eye opener for parents’

HYDERABAD:  He threatened to kill her family sparing none if she were to reveal their ‘secret’ to anyone. When the threats failed, he clicked objectionable photographs with her and threatened to make them viral and malign her family name. The ordeal continued and seemed to get worse in the very same house meant to protect her, leading to many questions as to why the parents could not identify the ongoing abuse early on. The Kamatipura gang rape case, experts suggest should be an eye opener for parents to take note of signs of sexual abuse in their children especially as some victims may appear to be normal and cheerful kids.

“Not all children will sit in the dark and sob when abused. Many of them are groomed to accept the ordeals as normal,” noted Dr Purnima Nagaraja, consultant mental health professional and therapist.
Most children fail to flag off such incidents because they are made to believe it is normal or natural to engage in such a relationship with the abuser. “They may either do it because the abuser gives them validation, which they crave for in their homes with loose family bonds. Others are groomed to upholding the ‘secret bond’ they share even with an abuser,” adds Purnima.

What follows is the victimised children turning loyal to the perpetrators for even the smallest of reasons. “In many cases we have seen that the children will not out their abuser due to a false sense of loyalty. In this case it was possibly the fear and threat of shame before parents and society that kept her from revealing it,” added B Padmavathi, chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee.

In the Kamatipura rape case, while relatives of the girl have suggested that she was brutalized by her tormentors, it remains unclear why the parents failed to take a note earlier. “The parents must observe their growing children and not put them in vulnerable situations. According to my personal interaction with the parents and children we learnt the victim often found herself alone with the accused due to circumstances that went untraced by the parents. One can’t be negligent with growing children,” added Achyuta Rao, chairperson of Balala Hakkula Sangham.

“Many will not report to their parents, fearing that there access to school and social life will be taken away. However ridiculous, but this is how Indian parenting is and such things need to change,” added Padmavathi.

4th accused held in gang rape case
Hyderabad: A day after three persons were arrested on charges of raping a minor girl in Kamatipura, the police detained the fourth accused Vijay Kumar on Monday. He would soon be produced before the court, police officials said. The move came after the family protested against the negligence of the police and demanded the arrest of Vijay Kumar, whom the police had made a witness. The case has been transferred to Central Crime Station.