WHY THE DEFENDERS BECOME OFFENDERS

Why the defenders become offenders?

                         JAG MOHAN THAKEN

The recent incident of rape of a 10 year minor girl of Tricity Chandigarh by her own two maternal   uncles ,resulting in delivery of a baby , has shocked every nook and corner of the society and raised a question tag on the family relations . It was a case of repeated heinous  rapes by the duo . In another recent  case of dreadful gang rape , a minor girl of only three years was made prey by the two friends of the father of the victim on October ,5 in Panipat of Haryana by luring the child  to give her a toffee . The position of the victim child is still not out of danger . But presently these reports are not  rare , such incidents have become the major chunk of the crime against women .Plan India, a nationally registered independent child rights organization , in its report  released on November 1 ,2017 by Justice Madan B. Lokur of Supreme Court of India ,has revealed a terrible figure . Report says that nearly a one third of all rape victims are girls under age of 18 and most of the girls who are victims and reported the cases under POCSO act, knew their offenders . The report states that  in Arunachal Pradesh , Bihar , Maharashtra , Manipur , Nagaland and Orissa  the 100%  offenders were found known to the victim girls under the reported POCSO act cases . The position in other states  has  also been reported alarming .

The NGO highlights that violence is a bitter truth and there is enough evidence to prove that women all over India are vulnerable to abuse and violence and are even not safe in their homes also . They are at risk of human trafficking , physical

and sexual abuse and neglect . Discrimination starts at   the wombs and persists throughout her life, so the remedy and precautions should also start at the lap level . The awareness among the parents and  the child  about the sex abusement and Good Touch –Bad Touch behavior can be the major precautionary measure to curb the offender’s bad intention .Georgia’s Forsyth County Schools , having a student strength over 46000 , are running the Good Touch –Bad Touch Program very smoothly . This is a body safety awareness program which teaches students in a very comfortable and age appropriate way to talk about a very sensitive issue  . Children should tell a trusted adult if they even feel a sexual abuse or confusing touch .

The Punjab and Haryana High court has also weighed the effects of sexual abuse .  While originally dealing with a rape case of a minor girl , a division bench of the honorable court  has enlarged the ambit of the case and included the issues on periodical medical check   up of the students and implementation of the Adolescent Education Program for students awareness   to prevent sexual and physical abuse  of the school going  children . The court,on November 11 ,2017 ,  has directed the Haryana government to complete its curriculum for different age group students in the next one month and ensure the imparting of sex education in schools from the session 2018-19 . The court has also expressed its expectations from Punjab and Chandigarh  UT .

In an atmosphere of all around  betrayal  , when the defenders become the offenders, then whom to believe? Whom to rely upon ? Now the society itself has to make surgery of its own rotten part .

           ===