Sensitisation and Awareness
Total number of people sensitized:
1. Young Children: 3 (my near cousins, one girl and two boys)
2. Older Children: 2 (my elder brother and sister)
3. Adults: 4( my parents and my Uncle and Aunt)
Total= 9
My reach out plan was an upgraded version of my previous plan. Last time I tried to win their trust and start a conversation around Child abuse. This time with the help of ppts and videos, I gave them a clear picture about the extent and reach of child abuse.
Young Children: I played few short games with them. In this I asked them to identify their private areas. In the next game I asked them to tell me their five ‘favorite'(read: trusted) adult with whom they share everything. I made them promise to report any incident of abuse with them.
Observation: None of the children had any incident of abuse. They understood the activity and were attentive throughout.
Older Children: I played same games with them. Since both of the children had account on social media, I showed them the social media awareness ppts to make them aware of its vices. I focused mostly on social media awareness and importance of reporting incidents of abuse.
Observation: None of them had any incident of abuse. They weren’t very attentive and got distracted easily. They watched all the videos patiently but trailed off during conversations. They were friends with strangers on social media, whom on my behest agreed to unfriend them.
Adults: The women had some instances of catcalling and Eve teasing. I made them aware of child abuse and how common it is. I showed them posters, ppts and videos to make them aware. Apart from this, I asked them to take an interest in their Children’s life and notice behavioural changes. I showed an amalgamation of behavioural changes to them which could help them identity instances of abuse. I also made them aware about the various laws that safeguard children’s safety.
Observation: The adults were very attentive and patiently heard me.They even made it a point to go through all the KSF page to learn more.
My takeaways and learnings:
1. A first hand experience
2. Young children are quick to learn things
3. Older Children are too engrossed in their lives so the conversation had to be broken down in bits.
4. I only had the opportunity to reach out to the educated member of my family. They were very attentive and asked questions and helpline numbers of institutions dealing with child abuse.
5. Animated videos were really helpful in the case of young and older children. They watched the videos with deep interest.
Apart from this, I have circulated posters, videos and write-ups on all my whatsapp groups. I am constantly updating my social media platforms with new information on child abuse. I did not get to interact much with my friends since they are preparing for entrances or busy with other virtual internships. But I try to make myself accessible in case they need to interact.
