Former Child Sexual Abuse Victim Wants To Help Survivors Through An Interactive Website

A sexual abuse survivor, who suffered the ordeal at the hands of her uncle for well over a decade, wants to start a website to both help victims heal, and also to form a supportive network for them.

Milaap

Sonal doesn¡¯t remember exactly when the abuse started, but she remembers being abused from a very early age and for well over a decade.

Since healing herself, she has seen many cases of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). She said a large government of India study done by Women and Child Ministry found that as many as 51% of children had been abused.

Youth ki Awaaz

She wants to change the status quo for children through a website, SABFree, that will create a support network for children and also help them heal.

Sonal also wants to create awareness among children about good touch and bad touch, which has proved to be a successful way to protect children from sexual abuse. Boys, she says, are affected just as much and need to be aware just the same as girls.

Kashmir Reader

SABFree, Sonal added, is aimed to be an interactive website and will also contain all information related to CSA as well as spread awareness among teachers, parents and child caregivers about CSA. The Women and Child Ministry study also found that an estimated 52% of the perpetrators of the crime were uncles and cousins and more than 90% of the molesters were known to the victims.

She said that one of the main reasons why so little is known about CSA is because of the shame and stigma attached. Another reason is that victims remain silent, rather than talking to their family about abuse.

Through this website, Sonal wants to end the silence and stigma attached to Child Sexual Abuse. Responses from survivors and victims will be used to analyse this complex problem to help and find ways to stop CSA.