ELVINO ARAUJO
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VASCO: The sexual assault of the 7-year-old girl in a Vasco school has shamed the State, outraged the people and has invited sharp condemnation and protests from politicians and civil society. But in the midst of all this outcry and concern for the girl and her well-being, one would have imagined that the victim and her family would have had some counselling services in their house to cope with their traumatic experiences. Right? Wrong.
Believe it or not, not a single counsellor from either, the school, government, NGO, her religious community or the police force has visited the victim at her house to offer her counselling, since the heinous crime took place on January 14. On the contrary, the victim and her father have been asked to appear in the office of the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on January 30.
“While everyone is crying for justice for my girl, not a single NGO or counsellor has bothered to visit us and counsel my distraught child and our family. We are also left helpless and we do not know how to console our child, as we ourselves are trying to come to terms with this traumatic experience,” the father told Herald. “Besides the lady police officer who is posted at our house, we have no one to turn to, except for our neighbours, relatives and some well-wishers,” he added.
A ray of hope for the family came in the form of a letter from the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The relief soon turned to surprise and then disappointment for the father, as he was asked to appear along with his daughter before the commission, instead of the other way round. “In a letter dated January 18, the chairperson of the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has directed me to appear along with my daughter before the commission on January 30 at 11.30 am, in order to provide interim relief in terms of Section 15 (iii) of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005,” said the father.
The father then expressed his inability to travel to Panjim along with his daughter due to security reasons. “As far as the commission’s letter is concerned, I wrote back to the commission stating that since my child is a prime witness and since the culprit is still at large, I cannot travel with my daughter without any police protection,” the father added.
Stating that he has sought for police protection to enable them travel to and from the commission’s office, the father said he had forwarded copies of his request to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, the Crime Branch, DySP Mormugao and the police inspector of Mormugao.
Shortly after his letter, he received a telephone call from the office of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. “I received a phone call from the commission stating that the meeting has been postponed to February 1, but I am yet to receive a letter indicating the change in date,” the father said.
Sources told Herald that the Vasco school had two counsellors, comprising teachers trained in counselling, each for the primary and secondary sections.
One counsellor from the primary section retired around two years ago, while the second counsellor expired a few days before the sexual assault incident.
