Do you know how many Indian children become sex slaves?

Slanting sheets of rain and thunder deepened the aura of gloom as we reached our destination near Bhopal after plodding through mud and slush for a few hundred metres. A small house displayed defiant dignity even as rainwater seeped in. The expression in the tormented eyes of the five-year-old Bindiya (name changed) would haunt even the hardened cynic. On a grim day in July 2017, she was raped by a monster masquerading as a human being. The anger and shock of the parents were palpable. So was uncomprehending fear. The police were yet to find out who the rapist was, leave alone arresting him.

Independence

We are celebrating 70 years of Independence. We must celebrate. But we must also think and take a long look at a mirror. Even as we count our achievements and triumphs since 1947, an entire generation of Indians is being held hostage by fear. Young girls in small towns are afraid of going to school since they might be way laid and gang raped. Parents in gated communities in teeming metros are terrified when their daughters, and even sons, don’t come back home on time.

The fear, it seems, has become all pervasive and it has made a mockery of freedom. Classrooms inside schools have been infected by fear as some teachers have turned predators. Parks and play grounds near our homes still ring with the laughter of children. But they too have become hunting grounds for perverts prowling for prey. Uncles, stepfathers, tuition masters, gym instructors, bus drivers, neighbours... it is difficult to find out who can suddenly become a child rapist.

One day, it is a poor tailor who turns out to be the beast; the other day, it is a highly educated IT professional. India is yearning and crying out for freedom from these predators. According to official National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, about 43 children are sexually abused every day in India. If that doesn’t shame us into collective action, nothing will.

Over the years, I have witnessed this slow and sinister slide into what can be called the "Republic of Fear". If freedom has to have any meaning 70 years after Independence, our children and their parents must get an India that is free of fear. Sexual violence against children is now threatening to be a rampaging epidemic.

It is easy to protest against myriad forms of tyranny and injustice that still plague India. But we suffer from a collective conspiracy of silence when it comes to sexual abuse of children. Narrow walls of social stigma cow down the victims and their parents. It is known that the actual number of child sexual abuse cases is far higher than officially recorded ones as parents prefer to keep quiet. But the time has come to raise our voices in loud protest.

Crisis

As with many ills that plague India, effective law enforcement, or the lack of it, is a major crisis. After decades of hard work and persistence by concerned citizens and activists, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) became a reality in 2012. But is it being implemented in a manner that can reassure parents and erase their fear? Sadly, no. Take just one example from Delhi. In April 2013, a young girl named Gudiya didn’t come back home. Her poor parents begged and pleaded with the police for help.

They were rebuffed and shooed away. A few days later, she was found barely alive, brutally raped and tortured and left to die inside a house in her neighbourhood. Two rapists were soon arrested and a trial began. Four years after the trial began, one of the accused successfully claimed to be a juvenile. Four years on, the trial still goes. Helped by some of us, Gudiya and her parents are struggling to build a new life. But she and her parents will remain in fear for the rest of their lives.

Abuse

Trafficking is an organised crime that is closely linked to the sexual abuse of minors. It is estimated that close to a hundred thousand children go missing every year. More than half are never rescued. Most become sex slaves. Almost always, it is poor children who become victims. There are disturbing reports coming out of West Bengal and Assam of brazen gangs of traffickers preying upon poor families devastated by the floods this year. For years, we have been struggling hard for an effective law against trafficking. We are yet to succeed.

As a society, we urgently need concrete action. Law enforcement agencies and officials must become more sensitive and display compassion. We need to devise ways to make them accountable. We need to overhaul and vastly improve post-trauma care and counselling for these children. We must impart sex education is all schools to make children aware of the danger posed by sexual perverts. But most

But most importantly, we as parents and family members need to become friends and confidantes of children to the point they lose the fear of speaking out when they are sexually violated. This freedom to speak out without fear is the most precious gift we can give our children as we celebrate 70 years of Independence. Let us make India safe for children to chase their dreams.

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)

Also read: Gautam Bhan on right to privacy and its links to Section 377