"No Papa No …" I read the heading in the Times of India almost 15 years ago when I was too young to even understand the difficult vocabulary of the news paper article. I still remember the article had a painted picture of sobbing girl and I began reading it … and with every line it became more and more difficult for me to understand the words like "Molestation", "Rape", "Sexual abuse", etc., which were beyond my limited knowledge about sex at the age of eleven. Before someone could catch me, I hid it in the most unreachable corner of my room)
Years later… at our tenth class farewell, "Amol"(name changed) my best friend was missing from the party. It kept me very uncomfortable throughout, knowing the fact that he was expecting to be the Mr. Evening as he was the cutest kid of the school. After the party was over, I requested Avinash to drop me at Amol's place. I was about to press the bell of "Gupta Residence" when I heard a sobbing noise. I followed the sound only to find Amol behind the car in his father's garage. He hugged me tight and cried. When I asked him to come out he told me he could not walk...(He was sexually abused by his tenant whom he was quite fond off)…I managed to bring him home somehow. He was scared that his father would beat him even more if he gets to know what happened as he blindly believed the 28 year old decent looking studious tenant rather than his own son. That night while Amol cried and slept. After sometime, I ransacked my room to find the same article which was beyond my understanding level some year back. I realized Amol was also a Victim of a Child Sexual Abuse.
"Child sexual abuse refers Non-consensual, forced physical sexual behavior such as rape or sexual assault when the victim is a minor".
The story never ended with Amol and in India it has become a never ending story. Rather, reality of most of the children. As per the last year’s survey by TOI "more than 53% of children in India are subjected to sexual abuse", and majority of the cases are not even reported.
In India typically, parents are very careful about the friends we roam around. Even Amols parents Mr. & Mrs. Gupta enquired every now and then if I use to booze or smoke and ensured that they met every guy Amol was friends with and kept checking the same old "Beta aap smoke to nahi karte na?" "Beta aap drink to nahi karte na?" They even kept and eye on Amol's elder sister Akansha who turned nineteen the same year if she is loitering around because they were worried she might bring home some unwanted shame. But did they check the growing fondness that Amol shared with the tenant? (He is a boy what will happen to him!) Did they ever keep an eye on Akansha when she was probably five and was left behind to play at a neighbor's house? (No because then they were not worried of pregnancy).
Another case just added to long pending cases, we read, we know and we try to hush the matters because we are ashamed of accepting the fact that such animals exist in this society.
And with due respect to animals, these people are worst than animals, because even animals don't degrade themselves to such category.
What would you say to a 6 months old girl child who was left in the orphanage by her mother , because she was being abused by her father and the lady found it the only way of saving the child from the her own husband?
But thankfully in this case the mother was intelligent and aware enough to accept the fact, which is mostly missing in majority of similar cases.
This is probably an everyday affair in our households where trustworthy people like a close relative, friend, tuition teacher, and servant are doing such a horrendous crime. But the lack of recognition, acceptance and inhibitions; just encourage them more and make the lives of innocent kids, pure hell.