Parents Don’t Complain Despite Being Aware Of Children’s Trauma. Last week, a woman and her 13-year-old daughter knocked on the doors of Shaheen Resource Centre for Women, an NGO based in Sultanshahi area of Hyderabad's Old City. The teenager had been repeatedly tortured and raped by her step-father over the last year and had cigarette marks all over her body, including her private parts. Her mother was aware that her daughter was being sexually abused but had kept silent not knowing a way out.
It was during their home visits that members of Shaheen learnt about the girl’s plight and convinced the mother daughter duo to come to their office.
The duo has not returned to their house since then. Jameela Nishat, director, Shaheen, said that the girl is in a traumatized state and has become very aggressive. “State homes do not have counsellors but the girl is in dire need of counselling and personal care. We are scouting for a suitable rehabilitation centre for her,” she said, adding that she hears of a new instance of child sexual abuse once every three days in Old City, indicating a steep rise in such cases here.
Last month, another 13-year-old girl living with her grandmother in Talabkatta area was gang-raped in her house. According to Nishat, three men barged into the house in the dead of night and raped the girl after making her grandmother inhale some sedative. The girl is now living with her parents in Nizamabad.
A couple of months ago, a six-yearold girl was abducted, raped by a neighbor and dumped near the Sultanshahi chaman. She was hospitalised for three days and after her recovery, Nishat tried to admit her in an English medium school. However, the management refused saying their image was at stake. She was subsequently enrolled in a madrassa.
“Children, not only girls but boys too, are being sexually abused,” said Mohammed Turab, executive secretary, Cova, a network of NGOs operating from Old City. It is important for parents to teach children what appropriate sexual behavior is and when to say “no” if someone tries to touch them in a way that makes them uncomfortable, he added.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau data for 2012, 613 rapes were reported in Andhra Pradesh. But the reality is far from it. Generally, parents do not come forward to report rapes even if they come to know of it. The situation is worse in the Old City due to poor literacy levels and awareness. The apathetic attitude of the police in booking FIRs in such cases is the biggest hindrance, experts said.
Jameela Nishat said the drop-out rate of girls after they attain puberty increases drastically due to either lack of INNlets in schools or their improper maintenance. And with many women working as domestic helps leaving their girl children at home, their vulnerability to abuse shoots up manifold.
The effects of sexual abuse extend far beyond childhood, maintains Noor Jahan, who has been working on women empowerment for several decades in the Old City. “People are quick to say that revealing outfits are the main reasons of rape. In that case, what about these innocent children getting raped?” she questioned.
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