CHENNAI: Several cases of child sexual abuse have been reported in the State of late, drawing attention to the importance of empowering children and teaching them personal safety rules. Dr Lois Engelbrecht, who helped set up Tulir-Centre for Prevention and Healing Child Sexual Abuse, is visiting Tamil Nadu to spread that message. Having worked in the field of child protection in Manila, Malaysia and now Ghana, Engelbrecht spent the last weekend returning to Krishnagiri where she grew up to train teachers of schools run by the Lutheran church there, on how to teach their students personal safety.An expert in adapting the message to different cultural contexts, she believes that the child cannot be empowered without empowering the parent. “Still whether or not parents are ready for the message, children need to be taught. The best way to do this is through telling stories with various scenarios and allowing them to arrive at the answers themselves,” she says. The message boils down to this, “no one can touch your private parts unless for medical or hygiene purposes.” Additionally, “it is not okay for you to touch someone else’s private parts.” The children need to also know that if something were to happen they can tell a trusted adult without getting into trouble.“In the Philippines child protection classes are mandated by law and children start attending them from the age of five. Each teacher is trained to teach the class and each school has a support team to liaison with a multidisciplinary team if a case of abuse were reported,” she explains.In India, children as they grow older also need to be taught about interacting with the opposite sex. “Problems like eve teasing arise as the boys have not been taught how to interact with the girls,” she points out. Meanwhile when a child has been or is being abused there are subtle signs that could tip off teachers and parents that something is wrong, she says. “For one, signs of sexualised behaviour in a child is often a response to abuse and would include wearing inappropriate outfits, suddenly telling adult jokes, or even teasing. Any evidence of a knowledge above their years could be a warning sign,” she says. Other signs include aggressive behaviour, being a loner, sudden drop in grades or any other change in behaviour. “An adult the child trusts should try speaking to him or her,” she says.Engelbrecht will also be holding a workshop from Feb 13 to 15 in Chennai on Using Traumagenic Dynamic Framework when treating pre and adolescent female victims. “Traumagenic dynamics look at the effect abuse may have on a person. Understanding this is key in treating victims,” Engelbrecht says.
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