Schoolgirls in Karur reveal instances of abuse in survey

Karur: Instances of sexual harassment, psychological problems and child marriage plan have tumbled out at ‘Nimirndhu Nil Thunindhu Sol’, a first-of-its-kind initiative launched by the Karur district administration to find out instances of sexual abuse faced by school students.

Around 50 girl students shared their ordeal of having faced abuses, including sexual, through the questionnaires handed over to them. The district administration had launched the programme on November 26 with five teams of officers fanning across the 201 schools in the district. The teams issued a questionnaire seeking personal details of the students — name, class, school, address, parents’ mobile number — and information on sexual abuse faced by them or their friends at school or near their houses. It also asked them if they faced abuses through social media and mobile phones besides asking them if they need any counselling.

The teams collected questionnaires from 26,085 children of Classes IX to XII in 201 schools. After perusing the replies, collector Dr T Prabhushankar said the replies of 49 girls were found significant. Nine girls revealed that either they or their friends were subjected to sexual abuses. Four others insisted on bringing the perpetrators of child sexual abuses before the court of law. The scrutiny found that 19 girls were in need of psychological counselling to rid them of various issues weighing them down. Six girls revealed that they were being harassed by some people on their regular route to school. A girl raised apprehension over the likely child marriage awaiting her and appealed to save her from it.

A team comprising the collector, superintendent of police P Sundaravadivel, officials of the district child protection unit (DCPU), ChildLine helpline and other stakeholders had a meeting to discuss the next course of action on Thursday. “We discussed as to how to take it forward carefully to provide solution to the girl children who raised the issues. In some cases, the team needs to enquire further to get a clear picture,” the collector told TOI.

Beyond the complaints of sexual abuse and harassment, the children also raised social problems also. Two girls appealed to the district administration to sort out the lack of basic amenities in their area. A Class XI girl even expected the district administration to help her financially in pursuing plus-two. The questionnaire informed the girl students to send ‘Hi’ message to 8903331098 through WhatsApp if they need the help of the district administration.