The molestation case of a 14-year-old girl student in a school at Madkai has once again brought to light the dark secrets of sexual predators who have been protected behind the veil of social discomfort and stigma for the victims.
The incident occured in March this year when the accused, PE teacher Vishwas Prabhudesai, allegedly molested the girl during the final exams, after which the student informed a teacher. However, even after the summer vacation when the school reopened, the accused was still in the school. Mustering courage to confront the teacher, the victim this time informed the school headmaster on July 23. Even after a month when no action was taken, the girl stopped going to school and her sister followed suit. Both the girls have been out of school, while the accused continued to teach in the school.
The fact that the teacher has solid political clout is clearly visible from the lackadaisical attitude of the school management and the shocking delay by the police in filing an FIR, which has subsequently paved the way for the accused to abscond and file an anticipatory bail the very next day.
In January 2013, in a horrendous incident, a seven-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in the primary school toilet in Vasco, leading to an outcry about children’s safety at educational institutions. Due to a lack of security measures, the unknown accused was never traced.
In September 2016, the judgment by Goa Children’s Court, in a 2007 case, while sentencing Santosh Bhagat to three years rigorous imprisonment for sexually abusing young girl students at a government primary school in Bicholim, raised serious concerns over the manner in which the Education Department conducts departmental inquiries, especially into allegations of sexual abuse against government teachers.
A common thread in all the cases is the insensitivity of the teachers, the head of the institution, the management and the police to the silent suffering of the victim. The first reaction is disbelief that something of this can happen within their campus. Whether it is out of naivety or an attempt to hush up, is a matter of every individual in the position to respond to their conscience. That is the question of the moral compass that every individual has to point at self before directing at others in search of answers.
The next is the fear of the law of the land, and it is connected to the moral compass. When the people in authority fail to react in the manner in which they are expected, they bolster the courage of the predators to continue and new beasts emerge from humankind.
On July 20, 2020, the Directorate of Education (DoE) issued a circular reminding the schools that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, provides for every case of child sexual abuse to be mandatorily reported to the police or the Child Welfare Committee or Special Court, and not reporting the case would attract penal provisions against the individuals as well as the institution’s head.
Earlier this month, the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) launched a week-long programme on the prevention of child sexual abuse called Training of Trainers – Personal Safety Education (PSE) with SCERT (State Council of Educational Research and Training) and Arpan. In all, 3,244 teachers in the 12 talukas of the State were imparted training in the first phase. A teacher from the government school in Madkai for sure must have been a part of the training programme.
While training can be imparted, at the core of protecting every child under one’s guardianship is a sense of responsibility and accountability. In the present case too, the headmaster and the school management should be booked under the POCSO Act, and the DoE should institute an impartial inquiry and take the legal course free from the political influence. The government ought to appoint a permanent counsellor in every school. There is no more room for excuses, because every student undergoing trauma needs to have a confidante to whom he or she can go and confide.
Lastly, more than ever, our education curriculum needs to be more inclusive to impart knowledge on molestation, sexual abuse and violence. The government has to do everything in its capacity to ensure a more secure and protective surrounding for our children.
