Koshish organises ‘Blue Umbrella Day’ to highlight hidden issue of sexual abuse of boys
Boys being sexually exploited remain largely unknown, unacknowledged, and not responded to, across a wide range of contexts and cultures: Study
Budgam, April 16: KOSHISH- a Non-Profit Organization (NGO) working for child rights in Kashmir on Friday organised sensitisation campaign at Nilnag Budgam aiming to highlight the widespread yet hidden issue of sexual exploitation of boys.
The NGO launched the campaign titled Blue Umbrella Campaign was launched in collaboration with Butterflies in India and Family for Every Child (FFEC), UK.
More than 60 boys and girls participated in the sensitization programme. Experts on the occasion deliberated upon the issue and urged the participants to speak about the issue. They said the study reveals that boys being sexually exploited remain largely unknown, unacknowledged, and not responded to, across a wide range of contexts and cultures.
Director Koshish Dr Rouf Malik said around the world, 1 in 6 boys experiences sexual abuse; many more are exploited or exposed to inappropriate sexual materials. He said the evidences suggest that the situation in India is also not different and underreporting keeps the magnitude of the issue under the wraps as elsewhere. “These experiences are having long-term negative consequences for boys’ health and wellbeing, and the effects can be felt throughout all of society”.
He said Blue Umbrella Day (BUD) to encourage adults to play a bigger role in protecting boys from harm and caring for them in ways that best support their wellbeing. Malik said globally this campaign is intended to raise awareness of sexual violence affecting boys by engaging social media channels and talk about the issue that mainly remains unacknowledged.
He urged people to break the silence on sexual abuse of boys and revealed that in majority of the reported cases, boys were sexually abused between the age of 14 and 16 and almost all the perpetrators were known to them. He said the known persons included close relatives, neighbours, older friends and adult acquaintances
Programme coordinator Owais Ahmad who is a child rights practitioner, said the campaign emphasises on the fact that we can protect boys from sexual violence; that all boys need adult care as much as girls and that we can start by changing our attitudes.
He hoped the Blue Umbrella Day campaign will encourage parents, communities, and societies to protect boys and nurture them in ways that best support their wellbeing.
During the programme, several activities were carried out that include presentation of a skit and song by students highlighting the sexual abuse menace while a rally was also taken out wherein participants drew attention of the people towards the issue.
