Vikram and Vetaal give a lesson on child rights

Apart from being 'World Toilet Day' and 'Men's Day', November 19 was also 'World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse.' To highlight the need for more counsellors to deal with child abuse cases, two mythological figures decided to do their bit.

A street play based on mythological characters Vikram and Betaal, titled 'Vikram Vetaal', was performed at Goregaon, Jogeshwari and Powai by Arpan NGO. The play depicted the trauma faced by an 8-year-old girl called Anjali, who is abused by her neighbour.

Preceding 'World day for Child Rights', which is celebrated on November 20, the street play was also accompanied by an exhibition at Michael High School in Kurla. Students attended a Personal Safety Education (PSE) program which educated them on ways to prevent being subjected to abuse. They held an exhibition of paintings, sketches and greeting cards. "The program gives key lessons about safe and unsafe touch, and how to save oneself from such situations. Counselling is important in terms of overcoming the trauma of sexual abuse because a child needs to know that its not his/her fault. As adults, its our responsibility to preserve their childhood," said Shraddha Shirskar, a member of Arpan.

"I saw a street play like this for the very first time. It was quite an eye-opener and very informative. When we travel in public transport, we are often subjected to inappropriate behaviour. From now on, if I see something like this happening to anyone, I will take action and try to save the victim," said 17-year-old Pooja Banerjee, who was present at the Galleria Mall in Powai where the play was staged.