A sexual harassment awareness campaign at a Chennai school prompted two students to come forward with their six-month-long ordeal of having been sexually harassed by three youngsters. After the boys detailed their story to a teacher, the Chennai police detained the three accused on Tuesday for the alleged harassment.
According to news reports, during the school assembly on Monday morning, the principal read out a material on sexual harassment awareness to the students in which it was stated that just like girls, boys can be subjected to sexual harassment. The principal also stated at the assembly that both girls and boys must report such incidents to their parents or teachers.
After the assembly, two students aged 11 and 12 years old, approached their Mathematics teacher and told her that they had been sexually exploited by three youngsters since May. The teacher reported this to the principal, who then called the boys’ parents and explained the issue to them. According to a report in The Hindu, the youngsters who were abusing the boys used to show them pornographic content on their phones. They had also allegedly threatened to kill the boys’ parents if details of the harassment got out, which intimidated the victims and made them endure the trauma for months.
Childline volunteers were called to the school, and conducted an inquiry on Tuesday. After questioning, the parents filed a complaint with the Saidapet police who then detained the three youngsters. The police told The Hindu that an investigation is being conducted based on the complaint.
A booklet on released by the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, New Delhi for school children to generate awareness on child sexual abuse says that schools play an important role in creating awareness among children against sexual abuse. Schools can plan training programmes and arrange for lectures on what child sexual abuse is and ways to prevent it.
Source: The News Minute