Leading corporates and society influencers around the world have come together to spread awareness on child sexual abuse during Child Safety Week 2020.
Initiated by Arpan, a non-government organisation in 2019, Child Safety Week has taken the shape of people-led movement to raise awareness and encourage collective action towards addressing the issue of child sexual abuse.
Child Safety Week was observed on November 14 - Children’s Day in India, November 19 - World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse, and November 20 - International Children’s Day.
The objective of Child Safety week 2020 was to break the taboo around conversations on child sexual abuse and make it mainstream through various digital media.
Child Safety Week 2020, saw 22 NGOs and individuals working on the issue of came together to amplify conversations and its prevention. Twelve webinars were conducted on the topic with panellist from around the world, besides campaign in social media.
Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Education Trust said conversations on child sexual abuse should be amplified and the steps take to stop the perpetrator and help survivors heal.
“The trauma can leave a deep and lifelong impact on the mental health of the sufferers. We must bring enough awareness to stop the perpetrators while supporting the victim to heal and help them rehabilitate. We have to help them look forward to their future,” she said.
Pooja Taparia, Founder & CEO, Arpan said child safety week this year saw good response with organisations from across the world; USA, UK, Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Ghana, China, Kenya and Vietnam joining in and lending their support. A total of 142 NGOs, corporates, individuals, schools, institutions and communities joined in as movement builders.
A campaign called #ItCanWeCan was launched with 7 videos in 3 languages on the facts of Child Sexual Abuse and how it can be prevented. This was widely circulated on social media and the response has been amazing, said Taparia.
Manjula Kalyanasundaram, Managing Director, SBI Foundation said every child deserves a safe and happy childhood and one key step in keeping children safe is to engage in conversations and empowering ourselves with the knowledge on how child sexual abuse can be prevented.
Anil Swarup, former secretary, Government of India and Amit Chandra, Chairperson, Bain Capital India Office also participated in the event and expressed their views on preventing child sexual abuse.