Indore: Last year, a 13 year old, 4th class girl went to the school in Kalyanpura area of Jhabua district with a bottle of poison to end her life as she was unable to bear the agony of alleged sexual harassment by a school teacher.
This was not a single case of harassment with in an institute, there are number of cases of harassment are occurring with children with several cases which go unreported as children are afraid to complain against authority.
Now, the state government has made it mandatory to place complaint boxes in all the organizations and schools where minor girls and boys are studying or living, The Times of India reported.
The order has been issued by Directorate, Women Empowerment Madhya Pradesh, under the ‘Protection of Children from Sexual Abuses act (POCSO) 2012.The state government has decided on placing the complaint box to ensure the safety and prevent the children from becoming victims of sexual abuse.
All the schools, sports institute, dormitories and child welfare organizations which are being operated under School Education Department, Tribal Welfare Department, Social Justice Department, Department of sports and WCD will have to install these complaint boxes in their premises before 15 May according to the officials of WCD.
On the first week of the month all the complaints which are dropped by the students in the boxes will be inquired by the district collector.
According to child line officer Vasim Iqbal, there are several children subjected to sexual abuses but are afraid to complain. “Only installing complaint boxes is not enough, it is also important to make the children aware about good and bad touches.”
Women empowerment officer Sanjay Bharadwaj said, “We are making sure that all the complaint boxes are installed before May 2016. All the concerning department of the district are issuing notices to schools and other institutes to implement the order as soon as possible.