Sexual abuse: Schools to hold awareness drives

PRECAUTION DCPCR maps police stations with most such cases

NEWDELHI: Schools falling under the jurisdiction of 17 city police stations with high number of cases of sexual abuse against children registered, have been asked to conduct awareness programmes in their campuses.

According to the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), the police stations were identified based on police data collected between 2016 and 2017, complaints it received and the cases reported in the media. The commission has deployed its members to inspect the schools located in those areas and submit a report on the safety and security measures taken by school authorities.

DCPCR mapped the 17 police stations with highest cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) act, to prevent sexual offences against children.the identified police stations are Aman Vihar, Narela, Ranhola, Vasant Vihar, Karawal Nagar, Nand Nagri, Nihal Vihar, Sultanpuri, Samaypur Badli, Kalyan Puri, Khajoori Khas, Shahabad Dairy, Mandawali, Anand Parbat, New Ashok Nagar, New Usmanpur, Alipur, Mangolpuri, Jafarabad and Begumpur. The commission has asked all the schools located in the vicinity of these stations to conduct more awareness programmes on “child sexual abuse” in their campuses.

Ramesh Negi, chairperson, DCPCR said the commission is focussing on schools in the identified areas to address large number of students at one time. “The commission members have started visiting schools located in these areas, especially municipal corporation schools, last week. They check lapses in infrastructure in the schools. For instance, in some schools there are no proper boundary walls that can prevent outsiders from easily jumping in. They are also checking availability of separate toilets for students, teaching and non-teaching staff members in the schools. Also, the presence of beat officers outside the schools is being looked into,” he said.

The commission members are also checking if the schools have done police verification of non teaching staff working at their campuses.

Ranjana Prasad, a commission member, said the are also encouraging schools to discuss the issues related to “child sexual abuse” with parents. “Most of the children coming to the municipal corporations run schools are from marginalised communities. Their parents are so busy making ends meet that they could not pay full attention to their kids. In this situation, it’s the responsibility of the schools to counsel both children and their parents,” she said.

Another commission member, Jyoti Duhan Rathe said that they are analysing the police data on POCSO cases of 2018 as well. “We are soon going to apprise the Directorate of Education (DOE) about these areas. We will urge them to issue an advisory to these schools for taking extra precautions to ensure safety of children against sexual abuse,” she said.

The commission last week issued an advisory to the DOE urging it to ask all city schools to spread awareness about “child sexual abuse” among students and staff members during the morning assemblies.

The advisory was sent following an analysis of complaints of child sexual abuse it had received in the last two years wherein the commission concluded that in as many as 11% cases , the school was either the place where the crime took place or the offender was someone from the school.

THE DELHI COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF CHILD RIGHTS HAS DEPLOYED ITS MEMBERS TO INSPECT SCHOOLS LOCATED IN THESE AREAS, SUBMIT REPORT