Sexual abuse of children is becoming a moral epidemic in this country, writes Kailash Satyarthi

Freedom never comes to us as a gift-wrapped package. Freedom from fear is a struggle that is a relentless quest for courage and compassion. We live in times when we constantly engage in loud debates on a whole range of issues. But I have noticed how our collective conspiracy of silence becomes deafening when it comes to our most precious assets: Our children. Over the last few months, I have met dozens of young innocent children who have been ravaged by monsters in acts of sexual barbarity. I have met family members of young children who have been brutally raped and murdered. I have tried my best to comfort parents who have lost their children to trafficking gangs. Their pain and sorrow are not just an indictment of our society, but they have also made me realise that my lifelong quest for child rights remains an unfinished struggle.

That is why I have decided to march again. For me and for the children of India, this march is nothing short of a declaration of war against child sexual abuse and trafficking. Silence on this issue is no longer acceptable. It would amount to cowardice. I refuse to accept that predators can roam free and fearless while victims live in fear. I am marching to give a voice to these helpless victims and to reawaken the slumbering conscience of our nation. Child sexual abuse must stop. 

I appeal to all of you to join me in this historic march and become the voice of children. The Bharat Yatra will be launched from Kanyakumari on September 11, 2017 and move towards Delhi. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Indians like you and me have pledged their support and will be joining different legs of the yatra from Srinagar in the north to Guwahati in the east to Ahmedabad in the west.  This march will be a collective and resounding voice opposing violence against children.

Four years ago, a five-year-old girl was sexually abused in the most inhuman manner by perverts near her house. She is still recovering. Her father has pledged support to our movement against child sexual abuse. Some weeks ago, a 16-year-old girl who lived near Shimla was gang-raped and murdered on her way back from school. Her father is a shattered man. But he wants to do anything he can to stop other young girls becoming victims like his daughter. He is with me in this march. 

The sad and harsh reality is that sexual abuse of children is becoming a moral epidemic in this country. The victims can come from poverty-stricken slums to affluent, gated communities. The predators are drivers, teachers, neighbours and close relatives. This sinister fear has gripped parents across the country; they worry when children are late  reaching home. This fear has to be erased. Official data states that close to 50 children are sexually abused every day in this country. In reality, the number would be far higher as in a majority of cases where relatives become predators, parents don’t report the crime for fear of social stigma. I am marching to persuade parents to speak out loudly and clearly even if rapists turn out to be their relatives. Children are far more valuable than sham notions of social respect and family pride. 

Another sad and harsh reality is that laws are not proving to be enough of a deterrence despite POCSO being enacted in 2012. In Delhi, it will take 12 years to clear the pending cases of child sexual abuse. It will take more than 20 years in Maharashtra and a shocking 40 years in Gujarat. Justice delayed is not just justice denied; it is also justice raped and murdered. My march is to protest against this.

I have spent more than 36 years fighting for child rights. I have undertaken many yatras. In almost all cases, I have initially encountered cynicism, apathy and even downright hostility for revealing ugly realities of our society. But then, when victims have gathered the courage to speak out and when ordinary citizens have lent their support, social attitudes have changed. Almost the whole of India was sceptical when I launched a yatra from Bihar to Delhi to protest against child labour in 1993. Almost the whole world was cynical when we organised the Global March Against Child Labour in 1998. Child labour was considered to be a normal practice. But when dozens of young children marched with me into the headquarters of the International Labour Organization in Geneva and spoke out, the world took notice. Within a year, the ILO passed a convention that made the worst forms of child labour illegal. Small voices can have a mighty impact.

We urgently need a collective of small voices against child sexual abuse and trafficking. I have no doubt that the Bharat Yatra will persuade and provoke India to rise in revolt against this social evil. If you and I don’t demand safety for our children, then who will? 

The author is a Nobel Peace laureate and the founder of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation