Kerala: Women's Collective takes out to the streets

Thiruvananthapuram: In order to send out the message against child abuse loud and clear, members of Women’s Collective, a group in Thiruvananthapuram that gather to respond to issues, feel the need to do something concrete. On Tuesday, they gathered at Rakthasakhi Mandapam. “It is not about a specific incident, but what we hear about daily,” says Geetha Nazeer, a member. They are expecting veteran writer Sugathakumari to make a speech, as we talk. 
Aleyamma Vijayan, a key member gave some scary statistics. There were 800 cases of child abuse from Kerala last year, she said and 68 per cent of them were incest, according to Child Rights Commission.

“Means they were abused by someone from within the family, or a relative. Even when we talk of outsiders, it could be people the child knows and trusts — like a local vendor or a librarian or a rickshaw driver who pretends to pet her on his lap. Children can’t recognise this,” she said. One evening protest may do little, but what they are looking for is a permanent solution. There should be public awareness and government level action. 

“The government can do a lot. According to the JJ (Juvenile Justice Act) there should be state level teams. There must be a court for POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases in every district, but we have only two — in Kochi and in Thiruvananthapuram. There must be coordination. We have different agencies working in tandem now — Child Rights Commission, Child Wel-fare Commission, Child Line.

Recently, a 17 year old girl from Nirbhaya whose abettor was her own mother was allowed to go with her drunken dad after he came with a court order, saying it is to take her to her elder sister’s wedding.  The girl said she will go on the wedding day, but she was forced to go, as the authorities said family came first,” Aleyamma says. It is these girls who suffer when their attackers roam free, Aleyamma said.  “They lose their freedom, they can’t study and they get no psychological support. It is a vicious circle.”