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(Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of rape, child sexual abuse.)
A regular 'good touch, bad touch' class in a municipality school in Pune's Bund Garden area ended up bringing to light a heinous crime, wherein an 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped by four men in her family.
The shocking case was reported last week, on 19 March, when the Pune Police filed an FIR against her father, maternal grandfather (56), uncle (23), and her 14-year-old brother for raping her since 2017. Two days later, the minor accused was detained, while the grandfather and uncle were sent to police custody.
Originally from Bihar, the minor survivor's mother and father are both deaf and mute, and engaged in daily wage labour.
A separate team has been sent to Bihar to arrest the father.
It was another 11-year-old who had convinced the survivor to go speak to a school teacher, after a class on 'good touch, bad touch.' The session was being conducted across schools in Pune to acquaint young children with matters related to sexuality, including abuse.
"The mother was already in a state of shock when we summoned her. Prima facie, she did not know about anything. But we are also exploring whether the child was forced by any of the men, including her brother, to not tell the mother," the investigating officer added.
The family lives in a small one-room settlement in the city, and the cops suspect that the incidents of assault took place when the mother was out for work.
The accused have been booked under Sections 376 (punishment for rape), 375 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
A survey of over 45,000 children in the 12-18 age group, across 26 states in the country, revealed that one in every two children was a victim of child sexual abuse. Most of them never report it, and in most cases, the abuser is known to the child.
In 2017, the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) said that students must recognise the difference between 'good touch' and 'bad touch' and look to their books to know what they should do if they face abuse.
Anuja Gupta from the Rahi Foundation told the FIT earlier that the first step for the parents, even before they talk to the child about safe and unsafe touch, is to create an environment at home where conversations take place.
It's important that your child gets immediate medical attention, counselling, and support, so that they feel loved and supported even when they are going through the most intense, negative feelings, Gupta added.
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