Other States - New Delhi   

Speak up or suffer

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI SEPT. 22. Participants at a youth panel on "non-consensual sexual experiences of young people in developing countries'' held here today felt that parents should encourage the culture of "speaking up'' in families if the increasing incidents of unwanted touch and sexual abuse among adolescents had to be tackled in right earnest. The panel was a part of a three-day consultative meeting being organised by the Population Council.

The participants included Saroj Rawat, Hemlata and Sudhir Kumar of Bal Panchayat which has been promoted by CASP-PLAN, Kunal Kishore of the Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses, Scherry Siganporia of Sahara, Upasana Das of the Angaja Foundation and Shachi Katri. While Saroj spoke about how girls are abused both physically and verbally in a community setting like Sangam Vihar in South Delhi, Sudhir said even boys were vulnerable.

Narrating an incident in which a girl had to face sexual assault but the incident was hushed up for protecting the family honour, Saroj argued that change must begin with the family. Scherry spoke of date-rape, a phenomenon which was rising in urban metropolises like Delhi. Since it occurs between a boy and girl who are already having a relationship, it actually is a breach of trust, she said and added that very often the girl realises the true motives of a boy only after she has been sexually assaulted.

Kunal Kishore, in his presentation, said even boys were quite vulnerable to sexual abuse and while abuse of girls was widely discussed, society was not paying attention to the vulnerability of boys. He spoke of the abuse of boys that occurs in hostel settings. Another participant, Shachi Katri, referred to the non-consensual sexual experience of young girls in hostel settings, public places and in work situations as well. While phenomena like "unwanted touch'' were quite common in public transport, sexual harassment at the work place was also rising.

Offering the counsellor's perspective was Upasana from the Angaja Foundation who referred to the "horror stories'' of young girls who have been victims of brutal rape and other forms of physical assault. While the panelists and even members of the audience felt that the media was also responsible for the rising incidence of non-consensual sexual experience, it was pointed out that Indian society needs to change and realise that sex was no more a taboo.

The three-day consultative meeting has brought researchers from developing countries together to present surveys, case-studies and other studies relating to the "non-consensual sexual experiences of youth in developing countries.'' Letting the young people speak about their experiences lent a touch of youth participation to the deliberations that otherwise is dominated by academic and research-oriented discussions.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Shivani murder case witness turns hostile
• Clean Delhi campaign begins today
• Bogus cry turns out to be bogus
• Speak up or suffer

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu