Young people in Mumbai came together to support Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Awareness Month in April. Statistics suggest almost 53% of children in India are victims of sexual abuse; however while rape is now discussed more in India, talking about CSA is still considered taboo.
Determined to highlight the issue of CSA The Rotaract Club of Mumbai Versova (RCMV) ran a workshop that focused particularly on prevention through recognising the signs of possible abuse in children.
Anisha Murarka, President of RCMV said, “The more people that get sound information on how to protect children from sexual harm the better. This Awareness raising workshop provided those attending with sound information and advice on how to protect children from sexual abuse.
It also helped to dispel some of the common myths around child sexual abuse. This was very important as we need to have knowledge about the issues and be able to understand the signs of harmful behaviours before we can begin to protect the vulnerable from them.”
To put the workshop together, RCMV worked with Arpan – a registered NGO based in Mumbai established in 2006. Last year Arpan reached out to over 16,600 children and adults directly. 1,200 children have also been helped through counselling to overcome negative outcomes of experiencing CSA.
To find out more about Arpan please visit their website: arpan.org.in
For more information about Rotaract please visit: www.rotary.org/en/rotaract
