About Child Safety Week (CSW)
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) remains one of India’s most under-addressed and devastating crimes — one that cuts across geography, class, and community. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB 2023), 196 cases are registered every day and 96.6% of offenders are known to the victim.
Against this grim backdrop, Arpan, India’s leading non-profit working to prevent Child Sexual Abuse, launched Child Safety Week (CSW) in 2019. Observed annually from 14–20 November, CSW is a nationwide collaborative movement that amplifies conversations, drives action, and mobilises communities to protect children from sexual abuse.
To know more about Child Sexual Abuse, click here.
November: From Awareness to Action
Child Safety Week is observed in November to coincide with key national and global days that celebrate and safeguard children’s rights:
14 November
Children’s Day (India)
18 November
World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence.
19 November
World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse
20 November
International Children’s Day
This shared month of reflection and action creates a unified moment to strengthen protection, amplify awareness, and renew our collective resolve to make every child’s safety non-negotiable.
Over the years, Child Safety Week has evolved from a week of awareness into a movement of accountability and everyday vigilance. It’s a reminder that our greatest deterrent against abuse lies in collective responsibility, visible action, and unwavering enforcement.
In 2024, Arpan’s campaign #ProtectedByPOCSO marked a turning point — it was the first time the campaign directly addressed offenders, delivering a stark message: “Child Sexual Abuse is a punishable offence – Stop Right Now or Get Caught.”
You can read about the previous campaigns here.
CSW 2025: Why #POCSOPakadLega
Now, in its 7th edition, Child Safety Week 2025 builds on that momentum with a sharper focus on deterrence and enforcement. This year’s theme, “POCSO Pakad Lega,” delivers an uncompromising message to every offender: If you sexually abuse a child, the law will catch you.
It serves as both a warning and a deterrent, turning the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act into a powerful instrument of protection — one that becomes real when adults, institutions, and communities act together. Each time an offender is reported, investigated, and brought before a special POCSO court, it will strengthen public belief that justice is not only possible but inevitable when society refuses to stay silent.
Through bold messaging, widespread visibility, and partnerships with schools, government bodies, civic bodies, and public transport agencies, #POCSOPakadLega aims to:
- Reinforce that Child Sexual Abuse is a punishable offence, and offenders will face the law.
- Strengthen deterrence, making the law visible and the consequences certain.
- Expand legal awareness, ensuring every adult knows their responsibility to protect and report.
- Mobilise adults and institutions to act — because when adults act, the law comes alive.
By placing deterrence at the forefront, #POCSOPakadLega aspires to transform silence into vigilance — and fear into accountability.
To know more about the POCSO Act, click here.
Celebrities as Advocates for Child Safety
Vidya Balan as the face of Child Safety Week 2025: To amplify the campaign’s reach and impact, renowned actor and Arpan’s Goodwill Ambassador Vidya Balan has lent her face and voice to the initiative, reinforcing the call to action against Child Sexual Abuse with her influential presence. Vidya first connected with the organisation during the making of Kahaani 2, where she portrayed a CSA survivor. Since then, she has been a passionate advocate for child protection and an active voice in Arpan’s mission. With a voice that cuts through that silence, she urges every adult to take responsibility, reminds offenders that the law will act, and lends the campaign unparalleled visibility.
Shweta Kawaatra, an actor, entrepreneur, and dedicated social advocate stands fiercely for every child’s right to safety and dignity.
Manav Gohil, a renowned Indian actor known for his diverse roles in television shows and films over the past two decades, also joins the campaign and appeals to every parent to stand for child safety.
Anup Soni, a popular actor best known for his role as the host of the television series Crime Patrol, also amplifies the campaign’s tone of deterrence and accountability through his presence.
Together, these voices unite to send out powerful messages of protection and accountability, ensuring that protection becomes a visible social norm.
Nationwide Multimedia Campaign: Making Child Safety Visible Everywhere
To ensure that the message of #POCSOPakadLega reaches every corner of Mumbai and other cities across India, Arpan is launching a comprehensive multimedia public awareness campaign during Child Safety Week 2025.
The campaign is amplified through a comprehensive multimedia strategy across OTT, digital, outdoor, public transportation, school networks, NGOs, and on-ground activations, with an expected reach of over 100 Million.
Digital & OTT Platforms
- A campaign film will be disseminated across major OTT platforms, including JioCinema, Zee5, and MX Player.
- The film will simultaneously run on YouTube, targeting relevant channels to reach the core audience segment.
- A social media and influencer outreach campaign will mobilise digital engagement and encourage public participation across India.
Large-scale city-wide Out-of-Home (OOH) media
- Visibility of the campaign through 10 billboards along Western Express Highway, including 1 with a media innovation, and 45 Digital signage, across high traffic clusters from Andheri to Bandra
- A fleet of 50 delivery bikes with digital screens showcasing campaign messages, navigating high-traffic areas in Thane.
- 1350 Digital screens across 260 residential societies, and Posters in 50+ societies showcasing the campaign messages
- Banners at 50 public gardens (43 in Thane and 7 in Mumbai), creating visibility of the campaign
Public Transport Branding
- Branding in Mumbai Metro Lines 2A and 7, covering six coaches with campaign messages to give wide visibility to the campaign. Standees are also installed at 5 Metro stations.
- Bus branding with the campaign message across major city transport networks for city-wide visibility:
- BEST (Mumbai): 500 buses with internal branding plying across the city, with an additional 10 externally branded, and 10 bus shelters carrying the campaign messaging.
- TMC and TMT (Thane Municipal Transport): 385 buses with internal branding, 10 externally branded buses, along with branding at 11 bus stands and 2 bus depots.
- NMMT (Navi Mumbai): Internal branding in 100 buses along with branding at 11 bus stands.
- 800 digital screens featuring the campaign across all Western Railway stations from Churchgate to Virar
- 30 Banners with the campaign messages across 6 Central Railway stations
Schools & NGO
Network Outreach
- Campaign activations and installations in 100 schools in Mumbai and other cities.
- Engaging 33 districts and 218 block officers across Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Goa, and Madhya Pradesh — reaching 2000+ government schools.
- Collaboration with 40+ NGOs, which will help scale the campaign across cities, namely Mumbai, Kanpur, Delhi, Lucknow, and Siliguri
- Over 80,000 teachers across India, who have already been trained by Arpan, are to be provided with toolkits to create awareness in their schools and communities.
Malls & On-Ground
Engagement
- Mall Activations at prime and high-traffic locations, such as Infiniti Malad, Nexus Seawoods, and Lakeshore Thane, aim to create interactive public engagement and encourage pledges for child safety.
- Selfie booths on 3 Metro stations to increase community engagement.
Health and Family Welfare
- Partnering with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the effective implementation of the campaign at a national level.
Join the Movement
Every citizen can help make this message impossible to ignore.
Here’s how you can join Child Safety Week 2025:
metro trains (Line 2A & 7), buses, Western and Central Railways, gardens
and school installations.
Instagram: @arpan_csa
Facebook: @arpan
LinkedIn: @ARPAN
Twitter/X: @arpan_csa
What You Can Do Next
Child protection begins with awareness — but it grows through action. Here’s how you can keep the message of #POCSOPakadLega alive beyond Child Safety Week:
Learn about CSA with free Arpan resources and the POCSO Act, and understand your legal and moral duty to report abuse
Talk to children about personal safety, boundaries, and consent with children in age-appropriate ways. Use Arpan’s free age-appropriate Personal Safety Education resources to teach your children to identify unsafe situations, refuse them and seek help.
Encourage schools to integrate Personal Safety Education (PSE) into their curriculum. Organise awareness drives in your community.
Contact us at 1800 267 2444.
Be empathetic, believe children when they speak up, and help them access trusted support networks and mental health services. If you know any child who has faced an unsafe situation and needs counselling help, connect with us at 1800 267 2444.
Collaborate with Arpan and play your part in child protection.
Change begins when we act — and continues when we don’t stop.
Together, let’s make every week a Child Safety Week.
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA): The Reality
Child Sexual Abuse is any sexual activity with a child by a person in power with the intention of sexual gratification and/or humiliation. It involves either explicit or implied force. CSA can happen either through contact sexual acts, which involve touching the child or through non-contact sexual behaviours.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB 2023), 71,641 cases of sexual crimes against children were reported — a sharp rise from 63,414 in 2022. In Maharashtra, sexual crimes against children increased by 13.5%, with 8,673 cases in 2023, compared to 7,641 in 2022. Even more distressing is the finding that 96.6% of offenders were known to the victim — a trend that has remained consistent over the past several years, underscoring that most abuse occurs within the child’s circle of trust — in our homes, schools, and communities.
*National Crime Records Bureau (2023)
Know the Law and Share it Ahead: The POCSO Act
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is among India’s strongest child-protection laws, designed to ensure that sexual crimes against children are treated with urgency and seriousness. It is a gender-neutral law ensuring robust protection for all children under 18:
- Penetrative Sexual Assault: Any form of penetrative sexual contact (E.g. penetrating Private Parts/ body parts like fingers or other objects in the child’s Private Parts and/or mouth)
- Non-Penetrative Sexual Assault: Physical sexual contact without penetration (E.g. Touching/fondling a child’s Private Parts or any other body parts with sexual intent).
- Sexual Harassment: Non-contact sexual behaviours (E.g. Showing Private Parts and/or asking the child to show their Private Parts, Online sexual abuse)
- Child Sexual Exploitative Material: Creation, sharing, or possession of child sexual abuse content
POCSO mandates speedy trials and tough penalties—ranging from three years to life imprisonment, or even death in severe cases.
If you come across any child who has faced CSA, you can visit the POCSO e-box (by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Govt. of India) and file your complaint.
To read more, click here