Awareness - Child Sexual Abuse

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE for middle school teachers   WHY SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED AT ALL? Because the child can express at school, in various ways, all that cannot be expressed at home. Because you are a witness to these expressions. Because you are an important part of the child's formative years. Because you are the person with whom the child spends the best part of waking hours. Because you are a trained and expert observer. Because you care for children enough to spend the best time of your life with them, for them.   WHAT EXACTLY IS CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE (CSA): Child Sexual Abuse is physical or mental violation of a child with sexual intent, usually by an older person who is in some position of trust/or power vis-à-vis the child.   CSA includes: An adult exposing his/her genitals to a child or persuading the child to do the same. An adult touching a child's genitals or making the child touch the adult's genitalia. An adult involving a child in pornography ( which includes exposing a child to pornographic material). An adult having oral, vaginal or anal intercourse with a child. Any verbal or other sexual suggestions made to a child by an adult. An adult persuading children to engage in sexual activity.   HOW CAN YOU RECOGNISE THE ABUSED CHILD? Children are scared to tell anyone that they have been abused. Often they do not have the language to describe what has happened. Therefore look for behavioral and physical changes such as: A deep sense of loneliness and isolation, depression, anxiety, withdrawal, bed-wetting, avoidance of particular individuals, difficulty in concentration, school performance suddenly going down, sudden use of sexual words, sexual exploitation / exploration of other children; irritation in the throat, anal and genital areas; bladder infection, sexually transmitted infections.   WHAT CAN YOU DO? Accept that child sexual abuse is real and that it exists. Create a school team on CSA. This team should decide on the boundaries of support to the child and family. All children and parents must know about the team, members, contact details, and boundaries of the team. NO parents can be allowed to be part of the team. If they so desire, they can form their own team, which works parallel to the school's team. Inform the relevant police station and hospital about this team and ensure support and goodwill, whenever required. Maintain a list of efficient lawyers, counsellors and social workers. Keep all contact details of short-stay homes for children handy. Keep goodwill with the management and executive of these short-stay homes. Prepare to be a part of unspeakable, shareable pain. Suspect child sexual abuse whenever you notice any of the above listed behaviours. Probe for the possibility and eliminate it by logical exclusion, to the extent possible by NOT asking the child, but delving into all known and possible information about the child through other sources. Provide a safe milieu for the child to express to you, all that cannot be expressed anywhere. Wait. Respond, ONLY, after the child's expression, by: - assuring the child that the expression is believed as fact, not fantasy. - sharing with the school team on CSA about the child's expression - contact the relevant parent and express support and concern - central messages should be: abuse must stop. you are not alone. we can do it together.   Be supportive in all the ways that the parent requires and is possible according to the school's team on CSA. - constantly redefine the boundaries of the school's team on CSA. Each incident of child sexual abuse will teach you, very painfully that, PREVENTION of child sexual abuse is the best that we can do for our children. Work relentlessly on prevention. Make sure, in all ways possible that the child is confident is recognising early warning signals, saying NO effectively, reporting even a suspicion about imminent sexual abuse to you/ responsive adult. Every single child who grows into a sexually unabused adult is worth all the work that we do - we would have done the best for the future generations - knowing that, we can live better and die better.   We can have made the world a better place than we found it.