There was once a little girl who placed her trust on this big bad world, unconditionally, without a trace of doubt. For, never in her wildest dreams did she foresee that one day she’d have to pay a price, a price so dear that she'd be left scarred for life.
Cut to a room full of men and women, twenty to sixty years of age. A workshop is in progress. Everyone is asked to recall an incident, a moment in their childhood when they felt physically violated. Nine out of ten people in a sample size of two-hundred report in the affirmative. And yes you’ve read it right, it can happen to males as well.
Paedophilia is no longer a kinky headline in a daily, happening in far flung places. It’s very much a part of our social reality. In fact it always has been, only that it was never reported. Reports say, most cases of paedophilia never go addressed primarily because they never make their way out of family closets. Because of this, what could have been a minor infection, possibly set right by a single dose of antibiotic, has now become a full-blown case of incurable gangrene, so much so that screen narratives (Mira Nair’s “Monsoon Wedding”, Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Page 3”) and print accounts (Pinky Virani’s “Bitter Chocolate”) now deem fit to address, albeit in small measures, this social scourge.
Very few countries have addressed the problem of paedophilia publicly. One country that has taken bold and positive steps about it is the tiny warn-torn Sri Lanka (yes incredible, isn’t it?). Its Family Welfare Department has been regularly issuing posters for parents, teachers and older children to make them aware of this malaise. Children are encouraged to talk about it, confide in their parents and teachers if they are abused. Adults are counselled on how to exactly deal with a child who’s been traumatized by any such incident. Taking the cue from its neighbour, the Indian government is slowly breaking free from its shell. The recent visuals/adverts on Doordarshan usher a welcome and much-awaited change.
It is something that has happened to me. It is something that has happened to a lot of people I know. Your child (God forbid) can be the next victim. Get vigilant. Act now!
