Child Safety Week 2024

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) 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. There is a lack of awareness around what constitutes CSA, and thus, sexual abuse of children often goes unnoticed and unidentified. Offenders often take advantage of this and continue to sexually abuse children as they think they are not being watched and can go scot-free.

It is this lacunae that Child Safety Week 2024 wants to bring to the forefront by starting India’s first-ever large-scale public campaign #ProtectedByPOCSO. This bold campaign reminds offenders that Child Sexual Abuse is a punishable offence and sends a clear warning to them – Stop Right Now or Get Caught. The campaign builds awareness on what constitutes Child Sexual Abuse and emphasises that India’s children are protected under the POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, 2012). It warns offenders about severe legal and social consequences they can face for sexually abusing children.

The campaign makes it loud and clear that Child Sexual Abuse is neither acceptable nor can be hidden. It sends out a stern message to the offenders that the entire community is watching them, and if they don’t stop abusing children, they will be caught and jailed. The community hereon will not be mere bystanders, but they are united in their fight to protect children from sexual abuse.

The sixth edition of CSW will run from 14 to 20 November 2024, significant dates that also connect to global observances for children:

14 November

Children’s Day in 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

You can also read about the impact of the previous CSW campaigns here.

Understanding the POCSO Act

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, enacted in India in 2012 and amended in 2019, is a gender-neutral law that safeguards children under the age of 18 from sexual abuse.

This Act penalises all types of sexual offences against children:

Penetrative Sexual Assault: Includes any penetrative sexual contact with the child
Non-Penetrative Sexual Assault: Includes any physical sexual contact with the child that does not involve penetration.
Sexual Harassment: Any non-contact sexual behaviour with the child.
Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material: Involves creating, distributing, or possessing sexual content involving children

The Act is child-centric, mandates Special Courts for quick trials, and imposes strict penalties for offenders, ranging from a minimum of 3 years to life imprisonment in prison or even death penalty in severe cases. Through Arpan’s Child Safety Week #ProtectedByPOCSO campaign, we aim to spread awareness about the POCSO Act and deter offenders. You can learn more about POCSO here.

What can you do?

As the adage goes, it takes a village to raise a child. At Arpan, we believe it is the collective responsibility of all adults to create a safe world for our children.

So, join us in these simple ways:

Follow the campaign on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Use #ProtectedByPOCSO, #StopRightNow, #ChildSafetyWeek2024 and #Arpan to spread the message about the campaign. You can also use this social media toolkit to spread the word.
Like and share the videos of our celebrity supporters — Vidya Balan, Tara Alisha Berry, Shweta Kawaatra, Divyaa Agarwal, and JD Majethia — using the hashtags mentioned above.
If you are in Mumbai, look out for and spread the word about the following:

- Billboards in Mumbai.
- Safety messages on Mumbai Metro trains on Lines 2A and 7, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) buses, Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) buses, Western Line train of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, and auto rickshaws across Mumbai.
- Physical installation of child’s school uniform with #ProtectedByPOCSO outside schools and other spaces.
- 30-second film in PVR theatres at Malad, Goregaon, Andheri, Juhu, and Bandra. You can also watch the film on the OTT platforms — Jio Cinema, MX Player and Zee5.

Click pictures of these and share them with your friends, family, and on social media to amplify the conversations on child safety.

There is more that you can do:
- If you belong to a school, college, or volunteer organisation you can do activities to create awareness about CSA, amplify the campaign and promote conversations around Personal Safety Education. If you want to understand more about CSA and Personal Safety Education to safeguard your students from sexual abuse – please refer to Arpan’s Caregivers Handbook and Understanding Child Sexual Abuse – FAQs. Please introduce your students to age appropriate Personal Safety resources for 4-7 years, E learn courses on PSE for 8-10 years and 11-13 years for them to know how to stay safe from sexual abuse.
- If you are a parent who wants to understand more about CSA and teach your child Personal Safety please refer to Arpan’s Caregivers Handbook. Please take your children through age appropriate Personal Safety resources for 4-7 years, E learn courses on PSE for 8-10 years and 11-13 years for them to know how to stay safe.
- If you know of anyone who is sexually abusing children, please stop them right away. Speak up and act right now. Read about the POCSO Act.
- If you or someone you know is sexually attracted towards children and is struggling with sexual thoughts involving children but have not acted on those yet, there is help available. Seeking help and addressing these thoughts takes courage and a commitment. Through effective therapeutic methods, self-help strategies, and access to resources, you can learn to manage and control these thoughts and stop yourself and others from offending. For help reach out to:

Don’t Offend India: A part of the collaborative initiative called Program for Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence, that provides confidential treatment for those sexually attracted to children. Don’t Offend India believes no person is guilty of their desires, yet responsible for their behaviour. Reach out anonymously to seek help at 1800-123-8905.
TroubledDesires.com: It offers free support services and self-diagnostic tools for people who are concerned about their sexual attraction to children. It is anonymous and free of cost.