Padma Shri awardee Vidya Balan, one of the most respected actresses in India, essayed the role of Durga Rani Singh, a survivor of child sexual abuse, in the movie Kahaani 2. In the movie, she saved another child who was being sexually abused by her uncle. It was during her research for the movie that she came across Arpan’s work and decided to support the fight against child sexual abuse in real life too by joining us as our goodwill ambassador.
While talking about her association with us, Vidya had said “I first connected with Arpan during the filming of Kahaani 2 to understand the issue better and get into the skin of my role. I was amazed by the kind of work Arpan does on the issue especially working with children across age groups and their caregivers to prevent Child Sexual Abuse and heal survivors from the trauma of such an ordeal. As a society, it is critical that we look at how such a social evil can be prevented and how each of us can play a role in keeping children safe. Given the current scenario in our country, now more than ever there is a need for all us to step up and work towards preventing Child Sexual Abuse. If we ‘Know more about Child Sexual Abuse’ we can work towards an India with ‘NO more Child Sexual Abuse.’
“It is an honour for Arpan to have a celebrated actor like Vidya Balan as our Goodwill ambassador. Her sensitive portrayal of a victim of child sexual abuse who takes it upon herself to protect another child from the abuse has touched the hearts of many world over. With Vidya Balan as our goodwill ambassador, we hope to influence many more people to speak up for the prevention of child sexual abuse and to play an active role in creating a safe environment for our children who are the future of our nation.” – Ms Pooja Taparia, Founder and CEO of Arpan.
We look forward to creating mass awareness and amplifying conversations around the issue Child Sexual Abuse with Vidya Balan as our goodwill ambassador.