UNDERSTANDING & ADDRESSING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE- DO WE NEED A SOLUTION?

The media, the society is all abuzz these days with horrendous stories on child sexual abuse. The most recent being the abuse in Shelter Homes. While everyone, I am sure, felt a shiver down his/her spine as one read the news, describing in detail the trauma experienced by those girls, I am also highly disheartened that hardly anyone seems to be concerned about the “why” of this act. Oh! Yes! There are marches; there are opinions; there are outcries about how the offender deserves to be handled/punished. But nothing on how the girls deserve protection; nothing at all on why this horrific injustice to such young ones! Nothing at all on how this can be prevented? Sad… But the bitter truth!

If we are serious about overcoming any social problem, irrespective of its severity, it is important to understand the cause – the root cause. It is also extremely important to work on prevention, rather than on intervention. But presently, with this crime being so rampant, we need to work on prevention as well as intervention.

So, let us try to understand the “why.” Why are children abused? The different reasons may include:

a) Many abusers carry the burden of past childhood sexual abuse themselves. Many abusers have been abused as children; not provided with any intervention to heal the emotional trauma, and they simply apply to children what was applied to them. b) Many abusers develop an instinctive desire to experience a sexual relationship with children; many develop an urge/fantasy to experience abnormal sex with children. c) Many others simply believe this is the best way to understand sex. d) Still others, who do not have a healthy orientation towards sexual activity, believe in bizarre methods of gratification. e) The majority of the abusers, indulging in non-touch forms of abuse, are blissfully unaware that their acts are indeed punishable under the POCSO Act! f) There are always those individuals who may have severe personality disorders, leading them to become child sexual abusers.

Once we are aware of the common causes, it is essential that we set about preventing these causes.

It is extremely essential for us, as a country, to become more psychologically minded and facilitate the psychosocial intervention for every child sexual abuse victim. Treatment and rehabilitation of children who have experienced child sexual abuse is one sure way to reduce the number of adult abusers.

Acknowledging that many adults develop an innate desire to experience sex with children/minors and encouraging them to undergo psychotherapy is also another way to work towards preventing child sexual abuse.

Healthy sex education in the pre-adolescent period will prevent many young adolescents/adults from indulging in child sexual abuse.

We as a society need to develop a healthy attitude towards sex, sexuality, and sexual relationships, to be able to perceive it as a healthy physiological activity, at the same time, a spiritual union of two individuals. It is important that we work towards healthy attitudes.

While the percentage of abusers is quite low, it is disappointing that the percentage of passive bystanders is large. It is extremely essential that every bystander turns into an activist for this cause in his/her environment. It is time every adult takes this up as his/her life mission; it is time he/she does not hesitate to report sexual abuse occurring within families; it is time every adult spoke up to protect children from being abused. If only the adults in the lives of those girls in the Homes, where abuse has been reported, felt responsible and accountable, these crimes could have been prevented; those girls would have been saved from experiencing physical and psychological trauma.

Prevention, developing psychological mindedness, creating awareness, sex education – in simple words, transform ourselves as responsible adults.

Child sexual abuse is a social problem that needs interventions from various angles, and stricter laws are just one of them. We as a society ignore the psychosocial angle, which is a very important sphere of intervention. Psychological mindedness, psychosocial intervention for the abused as well as the abuser; a much more responsible and accountable society – are some of the keys to overcome this social malaise.