Innocence in danger. Where’s the pedophile?
By Pritiparna Panda
How many times womenfolk of India been held responsible for a horrendous crime committed against them ? Even after having to come to terms with the truth of rape, they are subjected to an even more cruel atrocity of character assassination, the effect of which is same as rubbing salt on a wound. But how would you blame a little child of provoking such filthy intention in any person, who for some Godforsaken, skewed mentality decides to victimise a young soul and haunt them for the rest of their life ? What is even more surprisingly horrific is that not girls alone are at danger from such monsters. In a nation like India, where rape against boys is something that the society refuses to believe exists, who is there to lend a ear to a little boy’s woes? Annually the number of cases of childrape going unreported is difficult to estimate. More often than not, not able to break free of the shackles of this stigma, many children find no other way than to remain silent and allow the misfortune to stain their whole life which manifests itself in the form of a psychological disorder or a problem to function in the society normally.
Hidden in plain sight, among us, a pedophile finds it easy to target little children. Of all the cases coming to notice, it is seen that in majority of them, a person close to the family of the victim, or worse a relative, is the convict. The problem is even more grave in case of child rape where the victim is hardly aware of such a crime, let alone be careful around the suspect. How would anyone expect a little kid to sense danger from a certain person who appears to be nice and friendly and more than happy to fulfill all their innocent wishes of a toffee or some toy? What follows is a confusing series of events which involves embarrasement which seems impossible to talk about, to confide in another person, even parents, is next to unthinkable.
What is to be done when you find yourself in a position like this ? Forget and continue to live like nothing ever happened ? And what if, you encounter the monster again and that monster decides to take advantage of your fear to confide in a reliable elder ? To think of the consequences alone sends a chill down the spine. It is common knowledge, that we as people are helpless in trying to avoid such atrocities and the only light that we see is awareness among parents and their ability to communicate with their kids without any hindrance.
