It was only after a ‘girls only’ class about good touch and bad touch that Sania (name changed), 9 year-old, realized she was a victim of sexual abuse. The thought of the ‘games’ her dear cousin played with her every time they were alone now sent shivers down her spine as the teacher enlightened them about the evil and abusive nature of such activities.
As the class came to a close, Sania wondered if she was the only one in class who could relate to the stories their teacher shared. Soon her questions were answered when many of her friends, as amazed as herself, shared similar experiences in class.
Knowing that there were others like her, made it a little easier to acknowledge that she was a victim, yet she could not muster enough courage to share her encounter with abuse. Her head felt heavy with shock.
A chain of thoughts crossed her mind. How could her cousin have evil intentions for her? Hasn’t everyone in the family been telling her that cousins are as good as real brothers? Should she confide in her mother about this? Would she scold her for being a part of it? What if she tells her father about it? Would he beat her up? All these questions made her dizzy.
The days that followed were full of guilt over the fact that she let someone exploit her in the name of games. Some days were full of anger towards her mother who had not equipped her with the knowledge of the bad side of the world.
She recalled her mother warning her against accepting candies from strangers on road but why didn’t she warn her against the beasts within the family. If only she had done that, before her teacher did, Sania wouldn’t have been in this miserable state today.
As days passed, she made peace with herself and decided to resist the evil advances of her cousin who happened to be a decade older than her. She succeeded in doing that but with a mind corrupted by fear, she decided to bury this part of life deep in her heart.
Today, she is a cautious individual who can sense a wrong intention by a mere look at the other person. If it were not for that class she attended, never would she have ceased to be an ignorant victim.
The story shared above is a gist of a conversation I had with a friend who suffered at the hands of her cousin when she was too naive to clearly understand the events and actions around her.
Exploitation at the hands of a relative is not new to society. A glimpse of it was shown in the movie “Highway” in which ‘Veera’, as a kid was molested by her uncle in exchange for chocolates. Well, a heap of imported chocolates is a treat to any kid especially when she hasn’t been told what it could cost her.
Despite being aware of such incidents, I was taken aback when I heard about this one. It’s Kashmir we are talking about. The idea of the vale and this kind of abuse is revolting considering the well-knit, sacred, family ties, and values we have inherited from our elders.
Alas! It is a reality that must not be ignored anymore. I do not suggest that one should be skeptical about the character of every member of the family but caution is a must. There are numerous such accounts from women across generations. That tells us about the scale of spread and prevalence of this sickness.
A mother is said to be a child’s first school. She can no more afford to shy away from discussing sexual abuse with her daughter. In our culture, we often witness the overprotective nature of male members of the family towards adult women. It disturbs the peace of my mind as they need to understand that these women are old enough to take care of themselves.
It’s the children who are entirely dependent on them that need to be nourished and raised in a protective and safe environment that their home and family is supposed to be. It’s high time parents and guardians acknowledge this ugly truth instead of hushing it down and looking past it.
I understand our inherent overly hospitable culture makes it difficult to do so but it is the most integral step in preserving the innocence of our children. Maintaining healthy bonds with friends and family is great but we need to draw boundaries wherever required, that too, unapologetically.
em.mehvish@gmail.com
Whether it is Islamic teaching, or naivety, or something else, The people of Jammu and Kashmir think they are exceptionally good people. Truth reveals that this is probably the worst place in the world to be a child victim of sexual abuse. Much of it is because of the stigma and much because Kashmiri pride refuses to believe that such things can happen in their society.
Pakistan: Seven-year-old saves sister from kidnapping bid in Lahore
A police officer caught the man and took him to a police station from Model Town
Falah Gulzar, Social Media Reporter, Gulf News
A girl in Pakistan’s city of Lahore was saved from a kidnapping bid because of her quick-thinking seven-year-old brother on September 29.
The incident occurred in the city’s Model Town area.
The children, Saddam and Meher-un-Nissa, had gone to get drinking water for their house when a man came and tried to kidnap the girl, according to local media reports. The girl’s age is unclear.
The boy started shouting and screaming, making enough noise to grab the attention of a nearby police officer, who rushed to help the children, local media reported.
The policeman managed to catch the man and took the culprit to the nearest police station.
The children’s father registered an attempted kidnapping case against him.
Recent cases of violence against women and girls have sparked outrage in the country. Recently, protests took place nationwide after a rape case of a woman waiting at a Lahore motorway came to light.
Power, poverty, and aid: The mix that fuelled sex abuse claims in Congo
‘If you're not getting reports, then something is going wrong.’
Robert Flummerfelt
Independent journalist working for The New Humanitarian based in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Nellie Peyton
West Africa correspondent for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, based in Dakar, Senegal
An artist’s illustration based on a photo of a vehicle used during the Ebola outbreak in CongoAn artist’s illustration based on a photo of a vehicle used during the Ebola outbreak in Congo. More than 50 women accused men who said they were Ebola aid workers of sex exploitation and abuse. (Robert Flummerfelt/TNH)
BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo
Sex-for-jobs schemes were an open secret during the Democratic Republic of Congo’s recent Ebola outbreak, half a dozen senior UN officials and NGO workers told reporters from The New Humanitarian and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Strategies put in place to stop such abuses largely failed during the outbreak that swept through the country from 2018 to 2020, aid officials and workers, gender analysts, and researchers who examined the response told reporters in nearly a year of interviews. Reports commissioned by organisations and donors also cited abuse concerns.
Fifty-one women told reporters they had been sexually abused or exploited by men identifying themselves as aid workers in Beni, one of the outbreak’s epicentres. Not one said she knew of a hotline, email address, or person to contact to report the incidents. Most spoke with reporters during several weeks in July and August.
Only a handful of aid groups said they had received formal claims of abuse, and a local police official said his team had heard rumours, but women had not come forward. Most groups said they had practices in place to stop such abuses.
Of the aid workers and locals who told reporters they knew about accusations of abuse, few said they reported it. Some said they were hoping to strengthen policies and programmes that were being developed to prevent and report the abuse, rather than taking an adversarial approach as whistleblowers.
Aid sector experts blamed the failures on a male-dominated operation with little funding to combat sexual abuse; income and power inequalities that opened the door to abuses; and poor communication with local residents – mirroring problems they said they had seen in numerous other emergency responses.
The massive Ebola operation brought thousands of jobs to be filled by locals to the poverty-stricken region – from community outreach work to cleaners and other roles. With men holding most decision-making positions, the way was opened for exploitation of women eager for jobs paying well above standard, aid workers told reporters.
"We needed local workers," said one World Health Organization employee, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
"Knowing the poverty of the population, many consultants amused themselves by using sexual blackmail for hiring," said the WHO employee. Many local and international workers hired during the surge were employed on temporary contracts as consultants.
Some 30 women told reporters they were sexually abused or exploited by workers who identified themselves as being with the WHO, according to the joint investigation published earlier today. Most men accused of abuse were expatriates, the women said.
Other organisations named by women included UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Oxfam, World Vision, the UN’s IOM migration agency, and ALIMA.
Ahead of publication, the WHO pledged to probe the allegations brought to light by the investigation but wouldn’t say whether it had received complaints against staff or contractors during the Ebola response. ALIMA and World Vision also promised to investigate. And after being made aware of the allegations, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for them to be “investigated fully”.
Eighteen of the main organisations responding to the Ebola outbreak received no complaints, their representatives told The New Humanitarian and the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a recent survey. Six other groups said they had a total of 22 cases among them, six of which were substantiated.
Congo's health ministry, which led the response effort along with the WHO, said it had received no allegations of abuse. Similarly, Christine Besong, the UN victims’ advocate for Congo, said she was not aware of a single allegation in the context of the Ebola response.
"If you're not getting reports, then something is going wrong," suggested Jane Connors, a long-serving UN staffer who in 2017 became its first victims' advocate.
Few women who spoke with reporters believed they could get justice, especially, they said, as the sex-for-jobs practice was so widespread.
"I never considered denouncing or accusing him because everyone found this normal," said one 24-year-old, who was told she could only get a job if she had sex with a man who said he worked for the WHO. "I had no choice but to accept,” she added.
Greenock man who hoarded a horrifying stash of child sex abuse images
has been spared prison in Scotland
By Brian Hossack @greenocktele
A GREENOCK man who hoarded a horrifying stash of child sex abuse images has been spared prison - and instead ordered to never delete his internet browsing history.
Steven McArthur, 31, returned to court for sentencing after he was arrested over the horrific images, found at a property in Saltcoats.
McArthur, of Weir Street, pleaded guilty to taking or permitting to take, or making indecent photographs or pseudo photographs of children between September 2018 and August 2019 at an address in the seaside town's Boyd Orr Road.
He also admitted possessing indecent photographs on various occasions between September 2018 and August 29 last year.
McArthur had pled guilty to both offences.
Sheriff Alistair Watson told the court he was concerned about both the number of images found and the fact that some depicted the most serious category of abuse.
Defence solicitor Peter Murray said: “He has no record and nothing outstanding. He is now 31, single, and is a man with a good work record, although presently unemployed and receiving Universal Credit.”
Addressing McArthur's crime, his lawyer said he struggled with a ‘compulsion’ to viewing the illegal images. He added: “He is ashamed of his conduct and recognises these are not victimless crimes. He recognises indulging in and viewing these brings misery to children.
“He has no previous convictions, he co-operated with police and made them aware of his intention to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity
Sheriff Watson told the pervert he had come close to a spell behind bars. He said: “This was a borderline decision. The number of images you had is concerning – and more concerning was that some were in the highest level."
The lawman added that ‘with some hesitation’, he would ‘step back’ from custody. He sentenced McArthur to a community payback order with supervision for three years and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register.
He was also given a conduct requirement to inform his supervisor of any arrests, changes to his address or plans to travel outside the UK. He must also report any phone numbers or electronic devices, inform of any serial numbers and passwords and not delete internet browsing history.
Sheriff Watson added: “Be in no doubt this is not the end of the road, only the next step. "If you fail, you will be back before me and you will be sent to prison.”
So, other than threatening him, what are you doing to help him succeed, Sheriff? Are you just going to let him battle his demons on his own?
Today's Indian horror stories:
Woman, 22, tortured to death by gang-rapists who dumped her bleeding on doorstep in India’s second horror murder in days
Magda Ibrahim
TWO men have been arrested on suspicion of the rape and murder of a 22-year-old woman in India.
This comes just two days after another Indian woman died after she was brutally gang raped two weeks ago.
Indian police say two men named Shahid and Sahil have been arrested for rape and murder of the 22-year-old
Indian police say two men named Shahid and Sahil have
been arrested for rape and murder of the 22-year-old.
Credit: BALRAMPUR POLICE TWITTER
The tragic young woman’s devastated family say her legs and ribs were broken as she was tortured during the attack, although officials have not confirmed the injuries.
The woman, who reports claim to be part of the lower-caste Dalit community, had been working at a private firm last Tuesday night.
However, the young woman didn’t return to her home in Balrampur that night.
The injured woman was finally brought home by rickshaw in early Wednesday morning in a “bad condition” with a drip still pierced into her arm.
Tragically, the young woman died on the way to the hospital.
Balrampur Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma said two youths named Shahid and Sahil have been arrested for rape and murder.
“We received a complaint in which the kin of the woman informed that she worked at a private firm and on Tuesday she did not return till late night,” he said.
VIOLENT PROTESTS ERUPT
“Later in the wee hours of Wednesday, the girl came on a rickshaw in a bad condition with [a] glucose drip attached to her arms. She was soon rushed to a hospital but died on the way.
“The family members have alleged that two youths raped the girl and took her to some doctor.
"When her condition deteriorated, instead of taking her to a hospital they brought her back to her home.”
DIED FROM SHOCK
The deputy inspector general of police, Rakesh Singh, said that “shock and haemorrhage” were the cause of death. “Whether she was sexually assaulted or not will be examined by medical experts,” he added.
India is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for women, with a rape occurring every 15 minutes, according to government figures from 2018.
But campaigners say the issue is far bigger than that, with sexual violence against women hugely under-reported, despite prison sentences for rapists now standing at 20 years.
Members of the Dalit community - formerly known as “untouchables” - are at the bottom of the strict Hindu caste hierarchy in India.
According to human rights organizations, Dalit women are particularly vulnerable to caste-based discrimination and sexual violence.
Last month, a 13-year-old Dalit girl was raped and killed in Uttar Pradesh.
In December last year, a 23-year-old Dalit woman in the same state died after being set ablaze by a gang of men as she made her way to court to press rape charges.
Search this blog for 'Dalit' only if you have the courage and are not PTSD vulnerable. The stories are among the worst you can imagine.
Protests sweep India after police allegedly cremate 19yo gang-rape victim’s body without family’s permission
..
Victim of last week caste-driven gang-rape and torture dies
A protest in New Delhi on Wednesday following the death of a rape victim. © REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
The family of a 19-year-old victim of an alleged gang rape (4th story on link) in India have accused local police of cremating the young woman’s body in the middle of the night without permission.
The woman died on Tuesday in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, two weeks after being tortured during a horrific gang rape in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. She suffered multiple fractures, paralysis and a deep laceration to her tongue.
The atrocious incident sparked a flurry of demonstrations with protesters outside the hospital reportedly chanting, “Hang the rapists.” There were scuffles between the assembled crowds and police in Delhi with several arrests made as the crowd burned effigies and demanded justice for the teenager and her family.
The woman’s remains were allegedly taken to her village in Hathras, about 200km from Delhi where she was cremated by policemen at 2:30am on Wednesday morning despite protests from her family and widespread public outrage at the case.
“We wanted the last rites to be performed according to the Hindu traditions. Despite our protests, the cremation was performed. They took the body forcefully. We couldn’t see our daughter’s face for the last time,” the woman’s father told NDTV.
Irate locals took to the streets to voice their anger at the authorities amid rumors of a botched investigation and a local government coverup.
The family will reportedly receive Rs 25 lakh ($34,000) in damages as well as other forms of remediation from the local government, including jobs and housing.
However, police claim the cremation was carried with family’s consent, alleging that the woman’s uncle gave permission and was present at the event.
“We have videos of family members present there. I will be happy to share with media. We performed the cremation after the family’s consent. Some members of the family were present at the cremation. The media reports are not true,” District Magistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar said.
In a sane society, the next of kin has to give consent for something like this, not an uncle.
Meanwhile, all four of the attackers, from an upper caste, have been arrested and are in jail. They are expected to be charged with the woman’s murder.
The family, from the Dalit community, the lowest caste in India, claims the local police initially accused the victim of lying about her injuries and registered the incident as an attempted murder case before additional rape charges were added later after the woman gave an official statement a week after the horrific assault occurred.
India's caste system is an embarrassment to the country.
India: Father rapes minor daughter, films act on phone, gets arrested
Published: September 29, 2020
Surabhi Sudarsan, Magazines Web Editor
A 34-year-old man has been arrested in Mumbai from the Indian state of Maharashtra for sexually assaulting his 16-year-old daughter on multiple occasions and filming the act on his mobile phone. The teenager approached local police along with a neighbour and lodged a complaint against her father on September 24.
Reportedly, she was staying with her father after her mother's death. The police also seized seven clips of the action from the accused's mobile.
According to the complaint, the accused, molested her and later began sexually assaulting, raping her when the two were alone at home and filmed the acts. He also threatened to set her ablaze if she revealed the incident to anybody.
As reported by the Indian news source, the identity of the minor has not been revealed.
The accused was arrested on the same day and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Information Technology (IT) Act, reportedly.
While confirming the incident, police officials said: "The girl's mother died in 2016, and she stayed with her father and 18-year-old brother. The accused never missed a chance to assault her sexually. When she couldn't handle the situation furthermore, she finally spoke about the assault with one of her neighbours, who took her to the police station to lodge a complaint."
During the probe, police had seized his mobile phone and recovered the videos in his device as evidence. The officials are now trying to learn if these videos were shared online or uploaded anywhere. The minor teen was given in custody of her relatives, while her father was placed in police custody.
And don't let him out, please, because he will set his daughter on fire like he said!
India: Father sells 16-y/o for $41, girl abandoned after pregnancy
Surabhi Sudarsan, Magazines Web Editor, Gulf News
A father sold his 16-year-old daughter to a 21-year-old man for Rs3,000 (Dh149) ($41 USD). The incident was reported from Raigarh district in the Indian state of Chattisgarh.
Later, after being rescued from the streets while in labour, it took five months of counselling to get the 18-year-old to speak up and talk about the accused.
According to the Indian news reports, a young man who bought the 16-year-old two years’ ago, then left her on the street when the girl became pregnant. Recently, the girl has spoken to authorities about the abuse she suffered during the time.
When the man bought the girl for Rs3,000, he promised the father that he would give the teenager a job in his house. But the young man sexually abused the girl for many months, and left her on the street after impregnating her.
The girl was rescued by the Women and Child Welfare Department in May this year. Until the authorities arrived, no one was willing to help the girl due to the fear of COVID-19 infection.
Reportedly, after delivering a baby, she was treated at a hospital in Bilaspur and later shifted to 'Sakhi' centre in Raigarh last month.
Sakhi or One Stop Centre (OSC) is a scheme launched in the year 2015-16 to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by any kind of violence, both in the private and public sphere, in India.
The girl says the ordeal began when her mother died. Police have now booked the man who bought her, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
$41! the worth of a daughter in India? The father needs to be prosecuted along with anyone else who sells their daughters. Would the justice system tolerate selling a son into slavery?
India: Two-day-old girl's body with 100 stab wounds found wrapped in shawl in Bhopal
This is the third case of a female child being killed in Bhopal over the last few weeks
Surabhi Sudarsan, Magazines Web Editor, Gulf News
A two-day-old girl was stabbed to death with a screwdriver in Bhopal. The incident happened in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Monday, and the news has created an uproar in social media.
The child’s body was wrapped in a shawl and was found dumped beside a temple in Bhopal’s Ayodhya Nagar community, and this is the third murder of a newborn girl in Bhopal in two weeks, reportedly.
According to the Indian news reports, police officials received information at around 7am that a wrapped-up baby was lying next to a temple. The police are yet to identify the infant. The baby was reportedly stabbed over 100 times.
Talking to the media, Ayodhya Nagar senior police official Renu Murab said: “We were left stunned when we unwrapped the infant. Her body was pockmarked with wounds.”
Officials suspect that the baby was delivered at home instead of a hospital and the accused murdered the baby and disposed the body, apparently.
However, the police, initially thought someone had left the newborn near the temple at night and animals injured her. But the autopsy surgeon revealed that she had been stabbed with a screwdriver at least 100 times.
Meanwhile, the police registered a case of murder under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, and officials have said to the media that they are scanning footage from CCTV cameras in the area to get more evidence for further investigation.
Had it been a boy, it would most likely still be alive! India's attitude toward the value of girls in society is, like the caste system, another shame to the point of madness. Do the myriad Hindu gods approve of such madness?
India: Vexed with wife for giving birth to girl child,
man murders 6-day-old daughter in Haryana
Surabhi Sudarsan, Magazines Web Editor, Gulf News
Mother and baby / For illustrative purpose only / Image Credit: Pixabay
A man allegedly murdered a 6-day-old baby as he was upset with the birth of a girl child. The incident took place in Yamunanagar district of the Indian state of Haryana on Monday.
The accused man was identified as Neeraj, and he was an alcoholic, reportedly.
According to the official statements, Neeraj got married to his wife, Varsha in 2015, and the accused was upset with his wife as she had not given birth to a child even after five years of marriage.
On September 24, 2020, the woman gave birth to a baby girl. On Monday, the accused returned home in an inebriated state and lay down next to the newborn baby. The accused allegedly put his leg on the girl and intentionally suffocated her.
The child died immediately, and Varsha approached the police and lodged a complaint against her husband. Neeraj was booked under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Tuesday and was sent to judicial custody.
Officials said that as per preliminary probe, the man put weight on the baby and murdered her. The body of the deceased was handed over to the family after the post-mortem was conducted.
Haryana has been actively involved in fighting female infanticide. Reports say that the illegal sex determination test also occurs in Punjab and Haryana and the rate is anywhere between Rs15,000(Dh753) to Rs25,000 (Dh1255) ($205-340 USD).
At least 50 per cent of this goes to the tout, who get patients through midwives. ?????
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report says about 7,000 fewer girls are born in the country every day than the global average would suggest, largely because female foetuses are aborted after sex determination tests and also due to the murder of newborns.
People tied flowers to the railing outside the family's flat on Tuesday
