Sarithaa had never been so embarrassed before. She had spilled a cup of tea all over her Bishnu Uncle’s essential documents. She was getting late to school and was rummaging through her folders when her pencil case slipped and fell on her Uncle’s table leading to the subsequent chaos.
Sarithaa was quite taken aback when Bishnu Uncle only smiled at her and told her not to get late to school. The usually hot-headed Bishnu was not even a bit agitated at what had ensued early in the morning.
Sarithaa picked up her bag and left for school.
Late in the afternoon, Sarithaa’s mother had called up the school to inform that she would not be able to pick her up from school. Sarithaa was a little sad, but the prospect of having the Golgappas from Jatin Kaku made her mouth water.
It was four o’clock, and her school had given over. She had her Golgappe along with her friends and went over to take a rickshaw. On reaching home, she found Bishnu Uncle still at his table looking melancholy and desolate. He called for her. Sarithaa couldn’t help but feel that she must have been the reason for his desolation. Those documents must have been substantially crucial to him. She went over to him. Bishnu pulled her onto his lap and placed his hand on her shoulder.
Sarithaa felt uncomfortable as soon as he touched her. The next moment his hands felt like those of a monster, rummaging through Sarithaa just like she was through her folders in the morning. Only this time, it was the body of a child and not an inanimate object.
Sarithaa had never felt so helpless in her entire life.
She was only 14 back then.
As I type this and as the reader reads this, a child is being abused in some parts of our country and various parts of the world. It can happen in multiple forms. 95% of the time, child abuse is carried on by the relatives of the child. That makes the Abuse hard to detect. Sexual Abuse is not the only form of Abuse.
Abuse can be emotional, mental, and or physical. There are several portals around the globe and the country where such cases can be reported. These helplines are connected to agencies that have expert counselors to help children with their trauma.
We need to act today to help eradicate child sexual abuse and harassment in the future.
