Midnight Musings

Sitting here, trying to sum up the year that has been, and envision the future of the organization, I pause. I cannot think of five years from now. The world and how we navigate its realities are changing even as I write this. What is real, what can be real is our ability to respond to this changing reality.

How can we cease and desist from blaming the Other? How can we continue to build the fabric of resilience that shields hope from despair? How can we reach out to the conviction within our Youth to participate in building a compassionate, resilient, inclusive generation, capable of rising above divisiveness, anger and fear? These are some of the questions that keep me awake.

We are inundated with statistics. Before the COVID 19, statistics of child sexual abuse had frightening numbers like 1 in 2 as survivors of child sexual abuse, which brought home the fact that between you and me, one of us has lived through an experience of sexual violence. Research has established that its long-lasting impact can be equated to that of surviving violence in a high conflict zone. The fact that 90 percent of cases occur in trusted and familiar circles, made us look around at familiar faces and question if they were aware whether their children were safe at home. If only 50 percent cases are reported, then it is critical to question what happens with the rest of the 50 percent. Do they get obliterated under the shroud of denial, or fudged behind the conspiracy of silence? Are they strangulated by shame associated with use of language to describe sexual abuse, or stigmatized into an ostracized black hole? The problem is that the experience of sexual violence is understood as a moral issue, and not as a violation of a constitutional right.

Today, with COVID 19, lock down, social distancing, fear of community transmission with rising cases of infections and death toll, uncertainty and conflicts are escalating. In 11 days, with 92000 SOS calls by Childline, and 95% spike in demand for child pornography, we can no longer ignore the crisis of child sexual abuse.

If penetrating the family unit was difficult earlier, in this situation it is next to impossible to de-escalate the situation through an external intervention. While the battle to flatten the curve of COVID 19 transmission is at its peak, all of us are in lock down. Including the social worker, the legal support, the govt worker.

We know, that for each shout out for help, there is one that is enduring the abuse silently.

In today’s environment we cannot reach out to both through the previously implemented conventional methods.

In response to this situation, the young and the experienced team at Sakshi have converted our initiative of The Rakshin Project into immersive online modules.

Rakshin, a preventer, committed to stop child sexual abuse, and make home a safe space.

Simple, sticky and effective messaging, tools and mechanisms for skill and capacity building, and audio-visual material for information convey our five-point action line.  Recognize, Identify, Address, Deescalate, and Report child sexual abuse.

The Rakshin Project, with the support of Directorate of NSS, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, GOI, is reaching out to the Youth and their families through daily sessions, where we talk with them about their agency to prevent the community transmission of COVID 19 and Child Sexual Abuse. This is supported with an ongoing conversation through sustained engagement on social media platforms. The resolution mechanisms give access to counsellors, and lawyers for victims and survivors of CSA. The five levels of structured Rakshin Fellowships encourage ongoing learning and meaning making of our gendered reality.

The seriousness and intensity of questions emerging from the Youth attending the sessions, their subsequent interactions, their zeal to know more, and understand what they can do in such situations to prevent child sexual abuse, and deescalate conflicts is evidence that our Youth is ready to shoulder the responsibility of this new world order.

Yes. There is hope, for we are witnessing compassionate action from our Youth. The emerging world is demanding new solutions. Every day, each session with our youth is building our confidence that they are ready for it. One day at a time. One Rakshin at a time.

Their statement of purpose to prevent child sexual abuse as Rakshins is simple and powerful.

Na Karenge Na Karne Denge

Ho raha hai to rok ke rahenge

Hua hai to bol ke rahenge