Chhattisgarh: Majority of POCSO victims drop out of school, reveals Child Welfare Committee report

The CWC has embarked on a counselling drive to put these children back in schools. So far, 96 children have been brought back to mainstream education.

Raipur:Majority of POCSO victims in Chattisgarh's capital Raipur were found discontinuing their studies, a study by the District Child Welfare Committee found. In most cases, the parents of the aggrieved have pulled their minor children out of schools due to the social prejudice that prevail post the incident.

According to the data, around 130 cases of sexual assault of minors were registered in the past two years and most of these children have dropped out of school. The alarming number of discontinuing studies prompted the Committee to undertake measures to realign the victims to the mainstream.

The CWC found the social stigma attached to the 'assault' besides the victims giving up on studies to self-isolate post the trauma and parents and family members advising against going to school, as major contributors. Armed with the findings, the Committee counseled victims and families.

It resulted in school re-enrollment of 96 dropouts. Along with the CWC, the local police have also launched certain initiatives to counsel minor victims of sexual abuse from time to time. A follow-up report is also prepared to continuously monitor the victims and their needs, a police official said.

Incidentally, the worst affected are the children of migrant workers. After the harrowing experience, such families migrate back to their natives, leading to dropout. In some cases, the victim alone is sent to a relative's place for anonymity while some are married off, the Committee's report said.

The Investigative Units on Crime Against Women's (IUCAW) Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Chanchal Tiwari said, "Apart from the police, the society also needs to come forward. In many cases, after an untoward incident, the relatives shift the minors to their villages. We are trying to protect the future of the children."

Child Welfare Committee in-charge District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Sanjay Nirala said, "In most of the cases the victims drop out of school. We are contacting the family members and asking them to send the minors back to school. We had 130 cases registered under POCSO, out of which 96 children are continuing their studies."