Bhubaneswar : Children can express themselves freely in a fearless atmosphere and it is necessary to create such atmosphere for them to prevent child sexual abuse. It is also necessary to incorporate life skill education in the school curriculum and counselling in family level to increase awareness was said by the expert joined in the dissemination workshop on child sexual abuse and online safety.
The study was done in the Khordha district. People’s Cultural Centre (PECUC), a leading voluntary organisation of Odisha in collaboration with Adoptionscentrum organised this workshop on Child Sexual Abuse and Online Safety on virtual platform. More than 70 participants joined in this workshop. Dr. Minakhi Panda, Chairperson PECUC presided over the workshop and Ms. Anuradha Mohanty,
Executive Director of PECUC gave the welcome address and shared the purpose. She also gave a brief introduction about the study which was done lockdown period. Ms. Ruby Rout, Country Director of Adoptionscenturm presented the finding of the report. She said not only girls but boys are also sexually abused and the problem is the children can’t express it freely to parents and guardians.
The problem increased during the time of lockdown due to the increased involvement of children in the online. For this awareness is necessary and also essential to create a fear free environment for children. Joining as panellist Smt. Amita Pattnaik, Joint Director, OSEPA said that more children are studying through online. So the teachers should interact frequently with the children and they should bridge the gap and should try to raise their confidence so that the children can discuss their problem with them. Mr. Pritikant Panda, Program Manager, SCPS, Odisha discussed about the different facilities available in districts for the children.
He encouraged the children to be brave and to use internet safely by taking all the online safety measures. Smt. Madhumita Das, Consultant, W&CD Dept. Govt. of Odisha discussed about the POCSO act and also stressed importance on life skill education in School. She also said awareness begins from home and the parents should be conscious about it.
Mrs. Biswsewari Mohanty, Senior Advocate discussed in details about various legal aids and laws that are available for protection of children. Parents should build a healthy relationship with their children so that children can express themselves freely was stressed in this workshop.
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