Young Indians (Yi – Masoom) organises ‘Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Session for Girl Child’ at Thalassemia Sickle Cell Society (TSCS)

Hyderabad, May 1, 2023:  Pooja Lalwani from Young Indians (Yi), Masoom Team, conducted an interactive session on child sexual abuse with patients and parents at the Thalassemia Sickle Cell Society at Shivrampally. The session was attended by Dr. Suman Jain, CEO - TSCS, Dr. Saroja and our counsellor Mrs. Anita and others, aimed to educate children and parents about "Good Touch and Bad Touch" showing them with the examples to recognize and report if any instances of child sexual abuse.

The session was very well received by the parents, who appreciated the efforts and initiatives taken by Young Indians to educate the community on this sensitive issue. The interactive session was engaging and allowing children to understand the importance of reporting if any incidents of child sexual abuse.

Lalwani emphasized the need for children to understand the difference between good touch and bad touch, and to be aware of their own boundaries. Girl Child were given a clear understanding of what constitutes inappropriate behaviour, and they were encouraged to reach out to the Child helpline number 1098, if they encounter any such situations.

Pooja Lalwani talking during the awareness program said “We are so happy to be part of this awareness program at TSCS. Hope we have given enough examples to the children as well as the parents to differentiate between the bad touch and good touch. And we hope this will help girl children fight or report against it, whenever they come across one such incidents.”

Expressing his views on the awareness program, Dr. Chandrakant Agarwal, TSCS President said “We are so delighted to have Young Indian (Yi-Masoom) team here teaching our children and parents about Child Sexual Awareness. It will be so helpful for the Thalassemia patients and their parents also. We wish to have more of such enlightening programmes for our patients.”

Following the educational session, the children were treated to an entertaining magic show by Mr. Reddy, which they enjoyed thoroughly.

The session provided a safe space for children to learn about child sexual abuse and to understand the importance of reporting any incidents of abuse. The event was a small step towards creating a safer community for the children at TSCS and the society hopes to continue this initiative in the future.