K'pong activists report fall in crime against minors

SNS, 20 November 2018, Kalimpong: As Kalimpong district marked the Universal Child Rights Day to day, organisations working for the welfare of children said that crime against minors has seen a fall compared to last year in the district.

Bal Suraksha Abhiyan(BSA), an organisation working for children and the District Administration to day organised a silent procession with

girls of a school and later Rights Day amid a function in the Town Hall in Kalimpong.

"Minors are always prone to rapes and trafficking. A total of 69 sexual offences against minors have been reported and registered since 2012. In comparison to the cases related to minors last year it seems that such cases have somewhat decreased this year" a childrights activist said.

-This could be because of the awareness level that has seen arise, or it may be because of the amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which has now become stricter with death penalty to rapists," Vikash Pradhan, the principal Investigation officer and consultant of the BSA, said.

At the programme, Atanu Roy, the District and Sessions Judge of Kalimpong, talked about 'Protection of Children from Sexual Offense'.

The children of the BSA presented a powerful skit in three 'acts' concerning how the society cannot" speak" despite the fact that it 'sees' such offenses happening.

The first scene without a dialogue portrayed the evil of domestic violence, while the second scene was about a teacher sexually harassing a student, and the last one depicted drug abusers abusing a female rag- picker. A child representing herself as mute and deaf society, who was the story teller, kept running around, signaling for help.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Roy said, "The POCSO Act also makes it mandatory to report such offenses. It makes it the legal duty of a person aware of the offence to report the sexual abuse. In case he fails to do so, the person can be punished with six months' imprisonment or fine:'

Talking about Child Rights, a few female children of various schools highlighted their 'requirements.'

"The toilets for girls should be clean, as we bleed and it is not a thing to be ashamed of. Eve-teasing and offenses are rare in the place I live in. Of course the law gives me the right to raise my voice if anything happens. I will make a point to complain. Above everything else, I also feel that cleaner toilets in every school should be the right for every girl," a girl of class 11, Anju Tamang, of Indo Tibetan Higher Secondary School, said, even as her friends nodded their heads in agreement.