Child Safety

A girls hostel building run by one of the private educational institutions. Picture for representation purpose only. The killing of a girl student in her college hostel room in Whitefield has sent shockwaves in the civil society. Apprehension over the safety of girl students in schools and colleges, has now expanded to hostels too. Mahesh, who was appointed as the attender of Pragathi PU College two years ago, was also serving as the attender of the hostel after the college hours. He was allegedly allowed inside the hostel at any time and on the fateful night he entered the room…

In India, thousands of men and women are affected by sexual violence every year. In 2014, a report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund revealed that 77 percent of young girls between 15 and 19 years of age were affected by rape, forced sexual intercourse, and physical abuse by partners. In Bengaluru alone, there has been an alarming increase in the number of cases of child sexual assault.  DURGA (Dare to Understand behaviour, Respond appropriately and Guard ourselves Ably) is a unique citizen’s initiative to help young women and girls harness important life skills to deter crime. By creating…

On the occasion of ‘World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse’, Inventure Academy cordially invites you to a unique event, ‘Our Safety, Our Voice’ - By The Children, For the Children, Of The Children.   Bengaluru is awash with policies and guidelines issued by different stakeholders on how schools can be made safe for children. However, students’ views have largely not been taken into consideration.  What makes this initiative a truly unique one is that the children, probably for the first time, are being given an opportunity to voice their feelings and concerns about this unnerving situation. Also, another very important differentiator is that this initiative has recognised the fact that…

Child sexual abuse. When one such incident came to light in July this year, in a popular Bangalore school, Bangalore simmered with anger. Quickly safety rules were issued. But sadly, it was only the beginning of a slew of similar horrific incidents on a daily basis. We have never felt so vulnerable. What can we do as parents? How can we turn this anger in to a productive energy with a purpose and direction?  Maithreyi Nadapana, a volunteer with Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness, called for a protest cum way-forward meet for the Parents of Bangalore, in Freedom Park on November…

  Here is the story of a frog: A scientist decided to test the resilience of a frog. He placed the frog in cold water and gradually increased the temperature of the water. Surprisingly, the frog just lay there, completely oblivious to its changing surroundings—till it was boiled to death! A spate of incidents in Bangalore schools Bangalore witnessed a brutal rape of a two-year-old by a bus-driver a few months back. A furore arose; a few activists wrote about it and protested. And then Bangalore was once again riddled with shock in July 2014, when a 6-year-old was raped…

Pic: Wikimedia commons With more and more cases of sexual assault on children getting reported from schools, the State Government is under fire. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister K J George expressed their helplessness on Friday (October 31, 2014), and requested for the cooperation of the managements in private schools and the public in helping the government in reducing such incidents. K J George, Home Minister Home Minister K J George went on to say that sexual assault on students in private schools cannot be stopped by the government, as it was practically not possible for the police to…

Preschools are much-needed in today's situation, but the sector is unregulated, so does not have any norms. File pic. There has been a preschool boom in Bangalore. Each layout, especially the residential ones, has at least a dozen preschools. The reasons seem quite obvious. What was once a play home for toddlers has now evolved as a lucrative business. Playschools have upgraded to preschools, which is undoubtedly a welcoming development for parents. What is unfortunate is the way this progress has blatantly turned into a money-making opportunity. A few years earlier, preschool education was a choice. Today, preschools have become…

Namma Bengaluru Foundation CEO Sridhar Pabbisetty and Director of Child Rights Trust, Vasudeva Sharma speaking at the press conference. Pic courtesy: NBF Child safety and security is the need of the hour in Bengaluru, with the recent spate of unfortunate incidents of child abuse reported. Child-safe Bengaluru Initiative is working on preventive and corrective measures to protect child safety across various spaces that involves children. As a part of the Initiative, an interactive discussion on child safety and preventive action has been planned by Namma Bengaluru Foundation, on 6th September, 2014, with Child Psychiatrists, Child Rights Activists, Policy makers, Legislators,…

With most school managements in Bengaluru reluctant to adhere to some of the child safety guidelines issued by the Police Department, there is uncertainty in the air. While the Police Department is unsure about taking action against schools that do not comply with the rules after August 31, school managements have not decided on their course of action yet. Bangalore Police Commissioner M N Reddi is aware of the concerns raised by the private school associations. However he admitted that taking action against schools that don’t follow the norms is not easy. "We just cannot take action immediately, there are…

Angry parents protesting outside the school seeking justice. Pic: Nikita Malusare It is almost a month after the Bengaluru's Vibgyor rape case hit the headlines. There were four arrests so far, and the fourth arrested, the Chairman of the school Rustum Kerawalla has managed to get a bail. The police say that he was in Mumbai when the incident occurred, hence he was not aware of the issue. Now this is the question that haunts everyone: Will other staff in the school go scot-free, even after the reports of the kid allegedly being treated in school itself and teachers not…