The Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Goa State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and Goa Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan organized the training of teachers on Personal Safety Education (PSE) for the prevention of Child Sexual Abuse in association with Mumbai-based NGO, Arpan, which is an award-winning and the largest NGO providing child sexual abuse prevention and intervention services to both children and adults. Over 785 teachers from 405 schools in 2 districts and 12 education blocks of Goa benefitted from this training.

The training empowered teachers with the knowledge of child and child rights, types of Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse, statistics, short-term and long-term consequences of Child Sexual Abuse, the POCSO Act and its underlying provisions. It has also helped them to acquire skills and techniques that need to be demonstrated while handling various types of disclosures and cases of Child Sexual Abuse. This initiative has enabled teachers to further conduct sessions with children within their respective setups and contribute toward creating a safe environment for children.

Arpan’s resource persons, Rehea Quadros, Suvidha Gaikwad, Anushka Bhat and Melissa Alva facilitated the training session and ensured the smooth implementation of the programme. The programme, as jointly coordinated with the support from the Director of the Goa State Council of Educational Research and Training, Nagaraj G. Honnekeri, the respective authorities of Goa Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the Block Resource Centre Heads of each district.

“Personal Safety Education (PSE) is important and it strengthens the ability of those morally, socially and professionally responsible for the protection of children”, said Peter F. Borges, Chairperson, Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

Source : Goa Chronicle