Not-so-sunny summer camps

CHENNAI: When the coach offered to give 11-year-old Riya* special

swimming exercises

to help her get ahead of her peers in the

summer camp

, she was thrilled. The coach made it seem it was their little secret which her friends should not know about. For days, she was sexually assaulted underwater. Riya realised what had happened to her much later after she was back in school and learned about the reproductive system in her biology class. As summer camps in the city draw to a close, usually in June, there is a spike in complaints of child abuse.

In Riya's case, she went for counselling and nothing is known about the coach. "Children come back to school, talk to their peers and realise that something that happened to them a month or two ago was wrong and then the abuse comes to light," says Vidya Reddy, founder of Tulir - Centre for Prevention and

Healing of Child Sexual Abuse

.

Unfortunately, there is no regulatory authority to monitor temporary organisations that conduct summer camps, which have mushroomed over the years and there is no accountability once they wrap up. As a new academic year is set to begin, it is crucial that educational institutions ensure a reporting and response mechanism, say experts.

Coaching classes or small camps are not an institution therefore it is advisable to make sure that the organisers are known to the parents, so that they can be traced, says a city-based lawyer Shaan Katari Libby. "Also there should be a proper safety policy," says Libby, who has also conducted two summer camps for children here. "For instance when I sent my son to a camp last year I read up the safety policy and spoke to parents who had sent their children in previous years. I sent my child when I was satisfied that he would be safe. Background checks by parents are crucial," she says.

In case children complain, activists urge parents and institutions to understand the implications it has on the child and take action against the abuser. In another case reported recently, one of the coaches at a summer camp had insisted on making an adolescent girl sit on his lap and ran his hands through her clothes. When the girl discussed this with others it was found that many of them had been abused by the coach. The camp sacked him but no formal complaint was made.

Experts say, around 90% of parents do not report abuse, worrying about various consequences such as the future of the child, because the long-drawn judicial procedures prevents children from pursuing

studies

abroad and put them under media spotlight. Under Section 19 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, any person who has knowledge of sexual abuse of a child has to report it to police. Failure to report attracts a punishment of six months, imprisonment and/or a fine. "We don't know how many are aware of this law," says Job Zachariah, Unicef's chief field officer in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. "

Schools

or child care institutions usually hush up cases trying to protect their reputation. This is a violation. If we remain silent, it supports the abuser and it allows them to continue."

Response of an institution to abuse is important and unfortunately not many react responsibly, says Reddy. "In my 12 years of working in this field only one school has responded appropriately in dealing with the abuse. Institutions hide under a cloak of self-righteousness and are not open to scrutiny and inspection. We need to understand that the abuser is extremely clever and have pre-emptive measures in place," says Reddy.

Abuse of a child in schools or any educational institution is a breach of trust and parents must be vigilant, says advocate and parent, Sanjay Pinto. "Since psychological scars caused by abuse may not be immediately evident and parents must engage with children to let them confide and not feel guilt or shame for what has happened," says Pinto, calling for a ban on employment of convicted abusers in jobs involving children.

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