Misha*, 12, works hard for making bangles. She creates 500 beaded bangles every day to support her family. This is their only source of income. Her mother, Anju*, is ill, and her father, Arhaan*, has been unemployed and trapped in a vicious cycle of alcoholism for many years. 

Misha is more mature than most children her age. Instead of playing hopscotch with her friends, she stays at home, tirelessly crafting beaded bangles while also caring for her younger sisters and her ailing mother. Her eyes no longer reflect the innocence and joy of a typical 12-year-old—an unfortunate change brought on by an incident no child or woman should ever have to endure. 

Three years back, on a summer afternoon, Misha went to buy a block of ice from her neighbours. There was no one home except their 17–year-old son. His family ran a business of selling ice in the community. When she went there, the boy was watching television. In a low voice, she asked him for the ice. He gave her 10 rupees and asked her to buy him something and come back. She silently obeyed, bought him what he wanted and returned to his place. When she went back to his house to give him the belongings, he locked the door and sexually abused and assaulted the eight-year-old child. Then, he sent her home with another 10-rupee note asking her not to tell anyone what happened. 

As defined by the World Health Organisation, “Child sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or that violates the laws or social taboos of society.”  

According to a study published by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, titled “Study on Child abuse: India 2007”, 53.22% children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi reported the highest percentage of sexual abuse among both boys and girls. As an unpleasant surprise, the study showed that 21.90% of the child respondents reported facing severe forms of sexual abuse and 50.76% other forms of sexual abuse.   

(https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/4978.pdf)

Little Misha ran back weeping and yelling out the boy’s name. She was even bleeding as she ran home. When she got home, her mother asked her what happened and then she told her everything that the boy did to her. 

Because she yelled and cried aloud on the streets while running home, people came out of their homes and gathered around the girl’s home. Meanwhile, the boy ran away from his house trying to escape. But people from the community ran after him, caught him and handed him over to the police. 

“The police wrote down the case, but no action was taken beyond the boy’s arrest for a few days” said Anju. 

Misha traumatised by the incident; she refused to step out of her home. Even when she would go for a bath, she would scream and yell out of the fear that was gripping her.  

When World Vision India’s (WV India) volunteers who were part of the Child Protection Unit (CPU) got to know about the incident, they immediately rushed to the girl’s home and spoke to her mother. 

“We were aware about ChildLine (a telephone helpline for children in distress). So, we went to Misha’s mother, informed her about it and assisted her to call ChildLine to seek their help. The team from ChildLine immediately came and investigated the incident. The boy is now under arrest in the juvenile jail,” says Mobina, WV India’s CPU member from the community. 

ChildLine got the child’s tests and treatment done and ensured that she received child counselling from a counsellor in the hospital.  

The CPU not only helped Misha get assistance from ChildLine but also empowered Misha’s mother Anju to meet with a lawyer and a counsellor to get compensation from the government, which Misha was entitled to. 

“Our volunteer Mobina constantly spoke to her during the initial days and explained to her how this was not her mistake and that she was not at fault. After that, we advised her family and we ourselves stopped talking to her about the incident to help her overcome her fears and the distasteful memories” shares Harun, the Community Development Facilitator from World Vision India. 

Despite India having the most number of child sexual abuse cases in the world, it has not been given due importance. Fuelled with the background of working with over 26 lakh children across the nation and the desire to provide an environment for children to grow and stand up for their rights, WV India launched the Campaign “It takes every Indian to End Child Sexual Abuse” on May 2017 at New Delhi. It is a part of World Vision’s global campaign to “End Violence Against Children”  

The five-year campaign which began in 2017 focusses on reaching 10 million children and 40 million adults with the message of ending child sexual abuse and exploitation. The campaign provides sensitisation and awareness programmes, in schools and in the communities we serve across India. It also equips children through education to protect themselves from abusive relationships and situations; it provides life skill education for all children especially girls to be assertive and learn to say no; and it establishes community-based child protection mechanisms to monitor vulnerable children and intervene when child protection incidents occur. 

You and I must protect our children, be their voices and speak out against any violence committed against them. WV India works to end sexual violence against children, but it will take every Indian to end child sexual abuse. 

To know more about the campaigns and contribute, please follow the below links: 

https://www.worldvision.in/ChildSponsorship/stories_details2.aspx?scode=319

https://www.worldvision.in/endabuse/index.aspx 

*Names changed to protect identity 

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