TAMILNADU

Public Hearing on Sexual Assault on Girl Students

U Vasuki

SEXUAL assault on girl students is rampant and instances where teachers are the perpetrators are on the increase. In the last one year, AIDWA has taken up almost 10 cases in Tamilnadu. Each case brings out the utmost cruelty and trauma faced by the young kids. In this background, a public hearing was organised in Virudhunagar on July 25. The jury consisted of T K Rangarajan, MP, Henry Tiphagne, special representative, NCPCR, Gerald, Psychologist, Vasuki, national secretary, AIDWA and Nirmala Rani, advocate.  In addition to that, the district educational officer, deputy superintendent of police and additional SP had also come. The victim children, studying from third standard to tenth standard were present but they were not exposed to the media or to the participants. Their parents, relatives or the representatives of organisations who have taken up the issue presented each case before the jury.  Totally eight cases from six districts were presented.

In many cases, the children were either scared or hesitant to inform the parents or anybody else, for that matter. The basic reason is that the perpetrators instilled fear in them threatening to fail them. In one case, the teacher threatened that he would inform the parents that the student had an illicit affair. On hearing the complaint, the parents would sometime stop the wards from sending to school. Basically, it is the fear of losing education which prevent the children from coming out with the truth. The attitude of education department and the police came in for heavy criticism and condemnation. The departmental enquiry is normally a farce. The officers from the department force the girls to give in writing that nothing happened or that the concerned teacher is a good person.

INSENSITIVE

ATTITUDE

In some of the cases, the total insensitive attitude of the police was brought to light. A 15-year old girl was repeatedly raped by the husband of the warden in a hostel in Virudhunagar district and she became pregnant. The girl does not look her age, she is so puny. The perpetrator is a big man, standing at 5 ½ feet. She somehow informed the neighbour but before the neighbour could get into some action, the girl was taken to a doctor and forced to undergo abortion. AIDWA got the information from the neighbour and rushed to the spot. The girl was brought back walking after abortion and she could not even walk properly. The whole scene shifted to the police station later and the woman inspector refused to let the girl write the complaint and kept snatching the paper from her hands. The police went an extra mile to rescue the doctor who did the abortion. The police kept on trying to convert the offence to IPC 354 instead of 376 and they wanted the contents in the complaint accordingly.  The inspector even went to the bathroom with the girl to coax her into it, in private. Due to our pressure, the doctor’s name was included in the FIR.  But, later we found that in the charge sheet, her name was left out. Despite the victim being a dalit, SC/ST (POA) act was not invoked like in many other cases. Now, the police and social welfare department had let her go along with the director of the institution to Cuddalore where their head office is located. She is the prime witness and how the administration could let her in the custody of the same institution where she can be easily intimidated is quite shocking.

The jury recommended that we should take it up with the collector to bring back the child from Cuddalore and the child welfare committees of both the districts should be put to use. Sec 4 of the SC/ST act should be invoked to take action against the police for negligence of duties. The hostel’s license has to be cancelled and the inmates should be provided with alternative accommodation. The bail given to the accused must be cancelled. We can also represent to Indian Medical Council against the doctor who did the abortion on a minor child. We must insist that Sec 23 of Juvenile Justice act be invoked in all these cases. The jury explained that if the SC/ST (POA) is invoked, then the victims will get Rs 1,20,000 as compensation; 50 per cent will be released soon after the FIR and the balance after the case is disposed.

In another horrible case, the warden of the hostel used to sexually harass the girl children and the boys were asked to do the humiliating work. For e.g., since there is no attached toilet in his room, he used to relieve himself in the room itself and the boys had to remove the excreta using paper. One girl was harassed so badly just three days after her puberty. All the girls complained that he used to hug them so tightly that they were almost choked and they had to beg for his mercy.  Every day he needed two girls to bathe him. Most of the acts done by the beasts in all these cases cannot be put in words.

In another case, the local councilor ‘convinced’ the parents not to lodge complaint against a male teacher because the children’s name will be spoilt. So, AIDWA lodged a complaint based on which the police made enquiries. Though the parents objected, the children exposed all acts of misdeeds and then the culprit was arrested. The jury recommended that a protocol must be made to make the head master of the school or the education department  take suo moto notice and lodge a complaint with the police, failing which action would be taken against them.

PSYCHOLOGICAL

TRAUMA

The psychologist warned that the victims of sexual assault may go into a shell or become sexual perverts or sexual offenders at a later stage. So, immediate and sustained counseling must be given. They must be cautioned about good touch and bad touch.  He also insisted that the parents need counseling so that they will create an atmosphere at home where the children can freely share their everyday school experience. He offered to bring his team anywhere to train the AIDWA activists on this issue so that they can train others. He suggested that the teacher selection has to be subject to a psycho analytical test. Problematic persons must be put under correctional training and then can be posted in schools.

In a case, the parent of a victim child attacked the culprit with an iron rod in anger and he has been booked under attempt to murder case. It was decided to give him legal help. His child has stopped education and it was decided to help admit the girl in some other school. The jury said that the district administration must come forward to put the girl in a good school. The parent who was out on bail after 31 days of remand was moved to tears hearing this.

A strange thing happened while dealing with a case. The culprit who was 70 years old, committed suicide while in remand. That created an uproar in the family and they held a press conference blaming the parents.  This prevented the parents of the victims to pursue the case. This also came up in the hearing. The jury said that despite the death of the accused, justice has to be given to the victims including compensation under SC/ST act. They also cautioned that the child welfare committees must be more pro-active and arrange medical and legal help. They also brought out a lacuna in the existing practice of hostels attached to private schools of not needing a license. It is enough if the school possesses license. It must be made compulsory that the hostels even if attached, must apply and get a separate license so that they will come under the scrutiny of social welfare departments.

Like National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, state level commissions should come into being. The NCPCR chairperson keeps writing to all chief ministers but only a very few states have set up state level commissions.  The protection of children from sexual assault act must come into force and rules have to be framed at the earliest. The teachers’ organisations must play a more effective role in preventing or opposing such offences.

The children are being exposed to all kinds of perversion as a social consequence of neo liberal policies. The totally helpless situation they are put in is agonising and is pathetic. The mechanisms which are already in place do not help them when they are in need. Victims are being victimised again and again. The public hearing showed that the interventions made by AIDWA, SFI, DYFI and CPI(M) and other democratic forces have brought the cases upto this level. This kind of public pressure is needed to implement existing rules and laws.

P Suganthi, AIDWA general secretary, Tamilnadu explained the background of the program and N Amirtham, president introduced the jury. Office bearers Jhansi Rani and Ponnuthai put forward the cases. AIDWA Virudhunagar district secretary Lakshmi welcomed the gathering while another office bearer Uma Maheswari proposed vote of thanks. The victims and their families went away with confidence and hope that they will get justice. Rest of the audience left with a heavy heart but with the resolve to play their role in rendering justice.