Kit for training kids against sexual abuse

KANPUR: Concerned over growing incidents of child abuse, a few students at Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) have developed a unique kit to make children aware of sexual misconduct and ways to deal with it.

The kit named ‘Umbrella’ has been developed by a team of five students-- Apoorva Agarwal, Mitali Bhasin, Sachin, Sneha Parahi Swayamsidh Panigrahi and professor Jhumki Sengupta.

The institute has also got patent rights of the kit that has informative material in English and is also available in Hindi version ‘Kaka’. Efforts are also afoot to translate it into other languages. Several states as well as National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has contacted the institute for obtaining the kit, said patent officer at Indian Patent Rights (IPR), Ravi Pandey.

The institute is considering providing the kit to schools free of cost. Several schools and non government organisations have come forward to popularise the kit, Pandey said.

He said the kit was available in three categories—for kids between 3 and 8 years old, 8 and 10 years and 11 and 13 years.

It has audio visual literature, playing cards, cartoons, fun games, videos and stories that aims at telling the children about ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ so that they could know the intention of the person and even inform their parents and teachers about it, said Pandey.

The kit would also guide the children as to how and in what manner could they oppose a person with wrong intentions. It would also guide the parents on how should they deal with children in making them aware against the sexual abuses, Pandey added.