Every child is vulnerable to abuse, be it physical, verbal, emotional or sexual.
And
Child Sexual Abuse is a
reality that is often not dealt with due to lack of
awareness. However, the facts regarding its
prevalence are very startling:
•
More than 53%
children report facing one or more forms of sexual abuse
•
50% of sexual
offenders were known to the victim or were in positions of
trust (family member, close relative, friend or neighbour).
•
Onset of abuse was from 5 years of age
•
Boys were
equally at risk as girls. Source: National Study on Child Abuse in April 2007,
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Click here to view
the detailed National Child Abuse Study 2007
Most children quietly suffer, and don’t talk about Child Sexual Abuse
which continues to affect them as adults too,
But WE need to talk about it, so that WE can PREVENT IT and
help heal it's ill effects.
These
figures imply that one in every two children have been
sexually abused in some form or the other. India has
over 440 million children. The ramifications are very
alarming!!!
The impact of child
sexual abuse stays with the child for a long time beyond the
immediate trauma. It continues to affect them even as they
continue to become adults at various levels; emotional,
social, sexual and psychological.
Thus, given the high
prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse and its long lasting
negative impact on the life of the individual it becomes
imperative that interventions are taken to prevent Child
Sexual Abuse and heal its ill effects in the lives of the
victims and survivors.
Arpan’s interventions
are
undertaken by:
PREVENTION -
Empowering adults & children with skills to
protect children from sexual abuse and
HEALING -
Enabling victims & survivors of abuse to heal
and live beyond the trauma of their abuse
