Child abuse in Bengaluru school

The Udaya Vani, a Kannada daily broadsheet carried The Sun-like headline today: 

IN 2013 THERE WERE 270 CASES OF RAPE OF CHILDREN!

This was in the wake of yet another case of child abuse that garnered the headlines in Bangalore: of the school staff abusing a girl child in the school premises.

Recently I was taken aback to hear what my daughter was reading out from her moral science book: 'we should always respect and obey our principal and teachers as what they say and do is always for our good'!

Sorry, I beg to differ.  There have been innumerable cases of the very same principal or teacher abusing a hapless child, usually in our government schools, or as we see in this case, even in the middle of the software capital of India.  

Actually why should we be surprised?  Why do we need sensationalist headlines to remind us that child abuse of all forms is rampant within our society.  Why do we need a film star to tell us that our children are being abused in schools, homes and orphanages?  

We are still totally ignorant or not bothered about this crime which can alter the very fabric of future society.

That the school - Vibgyor High School, no less - tried to hide the issue and even said that it was not responsible for what has happened would serve to show the attitude we have towards this most heinous of crimes: that one can totally wash one's hands of the issue by giving a trivial excuse. The school's in this case was that they had asked the parents to sign an agreement that the school would not be held responsible if anything untoward should happen to the child.  

Really?  Then who should be held responsible?

Consider this particular incident: it occurred within the school, the child was punished and sent to a dark room, two men - staff of the school - then assaulted the child in darkness, the school did not inform the police or parents - it was only when the child fell ill that the matter came to light. 

Isn't it known that young children when distressed react in a way which is different from others.  If the perpetrator threatens the child with consequences, would the child reveal anything to anybody?  Isn't it the case that child rapists and paedophiles congregate in areas where their victims can be easily targeted; like schools and orphanages?

Whose responsibility is it then to make sure, one - the matter comes to light and the child gets the attention that it deserves, and two - that this would never happen again?

Would the principal of the school say the same thing if a child of his family were to meet a similar fate?  Further,

• What background check has this school, or any school for that matter done on its staff?  
• What background check have you done on those you entrust your children with - ayahs, school bus drivers, domestic aides, helpers, and yes, relatives too - because in a huge number of cases, the culprit is well known to the family. 
• When was the last time you told your child what a 'bad touch' is?  Or how to report any incident of abuse to you?
• What special arrangement do we have in place - organisational or legislative - to make sure that 'the future of our country' are not abused?

With the child protection act, we are still not sure if any case of abuse should be mandatorily reported to police or not.  

Even families of victims hesitate to report cases as the 'family honour' would be affected by this.  For them the uncle's or family friend's honour is more important than the security of the child.

There should be absolutely no compromise on child safety and happiness.  Obviously a radical change is in order - hopefully one involving parents, NGOs, legislative agencies, educators, and the community as a whole.  

But the need of the hour is vigilance: raise awareness about this issue and constantly monitor for any signs of abuse.

In this case, one hopes the school loses its licence and the perpetrators are given their deserving punishment in time.

Image source: https://www.shoutoutuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/o-CHILD-ABUSE-facebook.jpg