Campaign Against child sexual abuse commences at Tezpur University

A Correspondent

Tezpur: The campaign ‘Awaaz’ organized by the Tezpur University Students’ Council (TUSC) and Tezpur University Students’ Science Council, with the participation of around 23 schools in the Napaam area of Sonitpur district, got underway on March 14 at Tezpur University.

The campaign aims to sensitize various stakeholders and raise a voice against the menace of child sexual abuse. The programme, which was organized at the council hall of the university, started with the welcome address by Saurav Basu, the president of Tezpur University Students’ Science Council. This was followed by introductory remarks by the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Tezpur University, Prof. Dilip Kumar Saikia and officials from the District Social Welfare Office, Sonitpur district, Barnali Sarma Baruah and Popi Das respectively.

A talk on ‘Gender Sensitivity’ was delivered by Dr. Madhurima Goswami, Head, Chandraprabha Saikiani Centre for Women Studies, Tezpur University. This was followed by a discussion with the audience. Namami Sharma from the Department of Social Work and Angel H. Syiem from the Department of Law delivered interactive talks on ‘Child Sexual Abuse: An Introduction’ and ‘POCSO Act’ (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act). The teachers representing various schools took active part during the sessions and clarified their various doubts.

This programme was the first phase of the entire campaign which was an initiative by the Tezpur University students against child sexual abuse. In the next phase, there will be outreach programmes where student volunteers from the university will be interacting with the students from around 23 schools. During the outreach programmes, the organizers plan to sensitize the school students about the various aspects of the menace of child sexual abuse like differentiating good touch and bad touch, among others.

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