Schools to keep complaint box for girls

Schools to keep complaint box for girls

Allow Boys Also To Report Sexual Abuse, Say Activists

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:05.09.2021

Following recommendations from the Madras high court, the school education department has directed all schools to keep complaint boxes to receive complaints about sexual offences from girl students. However, child rights activists say boys are also affected by such offences and should be allowed to drop complaints in those boxes.

"While confirming an order of a Mahila court sentencing a pastor to five years of rigorous imprisonment under the Pocso Act for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in 2019, the court opined that the female students were deterred from tendering complaints against teachers or school management regarding sexual offences considering future studies. The court recommended the state government to form a committee comprising of the district social welfare officer, secretary of the district legal services authority, a woman police officer not below the rank of superintendent of police, district educational officer, a woman psychiatrist and physician from government hospital," a letter from K Jeyalalitha, deputy secretary of the school education department, to the commissioner of school education said. It was forwarded to all the chief educational officers and district educational officers for taking action.

The court also directed to keep a complaint box regarding sexual offences in every educational institution and the key of the box should be kept under the control of the secretary, district legal services authority. "The box shall be inspected by the district legal services authority and district social welfare officer, once in a week and inquiry in the same, if prima-facie reveals any sexual offence, and forward it to the police station concerned," the letter further said.

"Apart from the above, it is suggested that the phone numbers of the jurisdictional all women police stations may also be displayed in the notice board of the educational institutions to create awareness and also seek police assistance, if required," it added.

It requested to take necessary action on the above directions of the high court of Madras and to form a committee to prevent sexual offences against girl students. The action taken report may be sent to the government at the earliest, the letter said.

Activists said the recommendations are not practical as it is not possible for district level officers to open the complaint boxes once a week in schools.

"We need a protection mechanism at schools. However, the complaint boxes should be gender neutral as boys are also equally affected. The boxes should be put up in a place where there are no CCTV cameras and accessible to children inside the school campus," said A Devaneyan, a child rights activist. He said children are facing different types of abuses including physical, emotional, sexual, neglect and online abuse. He said creating a child protection committee at school level will be a solution.

J Shyam Sundar, director of Institute of Social Education. said the complaint boxes may not encourage children to notify the sexual offence. "We need to empower the children to share their issues inside and outside the school freely at regular intervals. It will encourage children to share their issues rather than complaint boxes," he said.