Events

To observe the Global Day for Prevention of Child Abuse on 18th and 19th November, RACSHA members – Dr. Jai R Ram of Mental Health Foundation, Kolkata and Gargi Guha of Swayam, participated in a Radio Mirchi program on 11th November. In this program our members... raised awareness on child abuse and discussed how violence and abuse impacts individuals and the whole family.

In November this year, the youth members organised and participated in another awareness camp with adolescent & youth members in the Dihi village, south 24 Parganas, under Deeksha Vidyalaya’s guidance. The topic was ‘My body, my mind... and my choices – about consent’. There was active participation from attendees.

In November 2024, RACSHA in partnership with Institute of Psychiatry & UNICEF, organized a State Level Consultation programme with mental health professionals and civil society organizations. The event ‘Combatting child sexual exploitation and addressing children’s mental health impacts’ had Dr. Shekhar Sheshadri,(psychiatrist) and Mr. Anant Asthana(Child Rights Lawyer) as main Resource... Persons, supported by Dr Jai R Ram ( RACSHA member). As many as 75 participants attended this interactive session held at Institute of Psychiatry’s auditorium. The focus of the discussion was – Balancing Care: Addressing child sexual exploitative & abusive material and mental health under the POCSO Act.

In June 2024, RACSHA successfully launched its website with the support from Digirati Webcrafts Private Limited. The website creates a presence on the net by introducing the members and gives an overview of the network’s purpose.

In June 2024, Way to Sunshine- RACSHA’s youth members, participated in awareness camps in Deeksha’s community learning centre at Dihi, South 24 Parganas, on the topic of gender and sexual violence of children. Participants included women from the community, local schoolteachers, youth members from the community, adolescent students at the school and others. The sessions were also supported by members... from Swayam. The youth members navigated the discussions skillfully. Deeksha Vidyalaya supported this endeavor.

In May 2024, following a series of group meetings, RACSHA members developed a document, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) under the guidance of Ms Ronita Chattopadhyay, Consultant in Documentation & Knowledge Sharing. This is a basic guideline of the network’s functions & operations. It is also meant to be handbook for new, senior and youth members, with RACSHA’s philosophy, values, events and functional guidelines highlighted.

In February 2024, RACSHA members issued a position statement in social media condemning the violence, the atrocities& human rights violationof residentsin Sandeshkhali in the Sundarbans area of south 24 Parganas. Concerns were raised for children and students appearing for Madhyamik and Uchhya Madhyamik exams. Members highlighted the impact of immense trauma of living in fear, without any assurance of protection from the local administration. RACSHA demanded proper trial and protection from violence.

NGO representatives of RACSHA met with the Chairperson, Advisor and other members of State Commission of Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) and placed few ground level challenges faced in field work. Among other issues, the complexities of mandatory reporting of the POCSO Act posed major difficulties during... implementation.

On 24th June this year, SCPCR and RACSHA collaborated to organise a Consultation with all stakeholders to discuss few challenges and suggest ways to add few riders/ bring about few amendments to the POCSO Act. Resource persons included Hon’ble Judge of Calcutta High Court, Mr. I. P. Mukherjee, Mr. Debal Ghosh , Special Secretary of Health & Family Welfare of W.B., Dr. Das Malakar, State Family Welfare Officer; Dr. Jai R Ram, psychiatrist and key member of RACSHA and other dignitaries.

On 31st May, RACSHA member, Sreemoyee Sen Ram participated in a street protest, organised by Maitree & RACSHA. This was in support of women wrestlers protesting against sexual harassment by the Seniors and the political class.

In April and May this year, the youth group participated in in-house workshops on gender & sexuality and the impacts on CSA. Resource persons- Arunima Pal of Swayam and Avinabha Dutta, RACSHA member.

RACSHA and Way to Sunshine members organised an online webinar called,’ Aar noi….Not Anymore’ to have conversations on ragging, bullying, abuse and ways of redressal within educational institutions mainly. The guest speakers were:- Dr. Jai R Ram (Psychiatrist); Mr. Barrry o’ Brien (Author and Educator), Dr, Gopa Mukherjee... (Professor at Gurudas College); Dr.Subhrajyoti Mukherjee (Mental Health Professional); Ms. Reshmi Ghosh (Advocate at Calcutta High Court) & Ms Rusha Chowdhury (student). The moderators were Sreemoyee S Ram and Priyanka Podder.

The youth group, Way to Sunshine staged a play at Sisir Mancha on 19th November to mark the World Day of Prevention of Child Abuse. The theme based play was named-‘ AloOndhokaarey Jai’. 12 youth members participated. They wrote the script and was helped by Mr. Dipshankha Ghosh and team, former members of ...Swapnosandhani drama group.

On 10th November, RACSHA organised a workshop on skill building for caregivers, frontline workers of traumatised children. This was called, ‘ Helping Children’. This workshop registered 80 participants in all. The Resource Persons were-Dr. Jai Ranjan Ram, Dr. Manisha Bhattacharya and Ms SayaniBasak.... The venue was- Rotary Sadan.

Member Sreemoyee Sen Ram spoke as a panelist on the ‘Importance of a Network to Address Issues Related to Sexual Violence against Children’, at the State level Consultation Programme on dissemination of the desk study of sexual violence against children in India. This study was conducted by Joining Forces India; a coalition of 6 organisations-... Save the Children, Terre des hommes, World Vision India, Child Fund, SOS and Plan India. Other panelists included

the Chairperson of WBCPCR, DIG-CID-Special from Police, ADHS-MH from Health, CWC chairperson, a UNICEF representative, and a member from NGO-CINI.

On 30th June,to observe the International Day of Boy Child, members Sreemoyee Sen Ram and Deep Purakayasthaparticipated as panellists at aseminaron sexual abuse in boysorganised by WBCPCR and All India Boys and Men’s Forum.

RACSHA’s sixth birthday celebration took place on 2nd June,. This also included a group discussion about the tasks and responsibilities that will be taken up by members, as well as discussions about the review exercise held on 7th May.

A Review exercise was held with the RACSHA network members on 7th May to reassess goals, vision and mission of the network, peer review of growth and development of the network, and exploration of alternative approaches in terms of value addition.

RACSHA members posted a Statement of Concern on 16th April, regarding recent atrocities apropos sexual violence of children in our state of West Bengali, namely the Hanskhali, Pingla, Bansdroni, De ganga, Matia and Bolpur incidents. The statement explained about adolescent sexuality, the confusion regarding consent, and the need to move away from... ‘victim blaming’ which is wrong and further stigmatises the bereaved families.

On 12th January, in observation of National Youth Day, the Way to Sunshine members participated in member organization Sanlaap’s youth event to bring about change and end sexual violence on children. The participants talked about incidents of CSA, presented on RACSHA and its activities, highlighted real life statistics on the theme etc.

Mental health professionals within the network arranged for providing counselling and therapeutic services for referrals within the network.

Members Sreemoyee Sen Ram and Priyanka Poddar visited the community and family of the child in the Jorabagan rape and murder incident for a follow-up.

World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse and Child Safety Month Events

1. On 17th November, Way to Sunshine members organized an online seminar, ‘Untold stories of Boys’, on sexual violence on boys and adult survivors. Guest Speakers: Member & Social Activist Deep Purkayastha, Psychiatrist Dr Rima Mukherjee, Advocate Mr Kaushik Gupta....
2. On 27th November, another webinar to focus on‘Risks and Harm Lurking in Cyberspace – Virtual Predators’ was organised. Guest Speakers: IPS Officer Ms. Bidisha Kalita, Advocate Cyber Crime Specialist Mr. Bivas Chatterjee, Health Activist Ms. Ipshita Banerjee, Member & Social Activist Satya Gopal Dey.

On 1st October, the online event,‘Daily Diaries of Stifled Voices’, was organized focusing on understanding CSA and complexities in gender non-conforming children and transgender adults. Guest speakers: Dr. Sanjay Garg (Psychiatrist) ,Ankan Biswas, Avinaba Dutta, Anuraag Maitree SudebSuvana.

New Light, a RACSHA member organisation, took on the role of RACSHA Secretariat for one year.

Capacity building trainings: Support Persons’ Trainings were organised by member organisations Terre des hommes and Prajaak, on behalf of RACSHA. Enfold India was the trainer and this lasted for a few months.

On May 1st, an informal chat session, “Amader Gharoya Adda”, was organized by Way to Sunshine members to talk about mental health care in trying times. Guest speakers: Member Dr. Jai R. Ram & Film Director ...Aniruddha Roychowdhury.

RACSHA organised and participated in street activism and sensitization programmes in rural areas. On 27th February, the Way to Sunshine members organized an evening programme of interactions and awareness generation on child rights, child protection and CSA in a village in South 24 Parganas.

Campaign Programmes

Member Sreemoyee Sen Ram participated in a facebook live programme, “Atimarir shomoy shishu jouno nirjaton” (Child sexual abuse during the pandemic), as a guest speaker, representating RACSHA, organised by NGO-Talash-Society for Inner Strength, Peace and Equality.

Youth members participated in a poster making exercise in protest against rape and murder of children and Adivasi children in particular.

RACSHA members collaborated with State Commission of Protection of Child Rights in organising a state level consultation with many stakeholders in order to bring about some changes in the mandatory reporting clause of the POCSO Act.

A follow-up and petition submission to the WBCPCR regarding the CSA case presented by Dr Shamik Ghoshwas undertaken.

The Way to Sunshine youth group observed the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuseon 19th November by organizing ‘Neerobota Bhenge / Breaking the Silence’, a facebook live programme with guest speakers- Ananya Chakrabarti (Chairperson of SCPCR; Aniruddha Roychowdhury (Film Director), Dr. Jai R Ram (Psychiatrist); Debarati Halder... (Advocate and Cyber crime Expert); Ayesha Sinha & Paramita Banerjee (Social Activists; Sanchari and Krishan-Youth members. The topics of discussion were-on consent, on online abuse and survivors’ experience.

Video clips of distinguished personalities from the art world speaking about sexual violence in children were produced. Chandril, Shantanu Moitra, Tanusree, Kunal Basu,among others, participated.

In this year, some Facebook live programmes on sexual violence on children, consent, online abuse, survivor's speak etc. were organised by RACSHA....

A 2-day skill-building workshop 'Balancing Care and Legalities-an interface with the Judiciary' was organised on 12th and 13th December. This was a training programme for RACSHA members / partners and other NGO representatives dealing with children in conflict with the law. Dr. Shekhar Sheshadri& Ms. Sheila Ramaswamy of NIMHANS... were the resource persons.

World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse, 19th November

1. The day was marked through broadcasts with RJ Mir on Radio Mirchi Live by member Dr. J. R. Ram. A similar programme was also done on Radio FM Akashbani....
2. The play 'ShunteParcho ki?' on the theme of CSA was produced and staged by the Way to Sunshine youth group on 28th November. Using the medium of drama and storytelling, as well as the use of music as healing, etc. the message against CSA was powerfully presented. Selected media groups covered the production. On the same day, other cultural programmes were also held for college students by the members of the youth group.

The Bangla translation of the document ‘Safety in Schools’ was completed.

Members conducted an awareness programme on CSA at St Mary’s school, Kolkata.

Member Dr. J. R. Ram represented RACSHA at the Workshop on ‘Management of Child Sexual Abuse’ conducted by Indian Child Abuse, Neglect and Child Labour of Indian Academy of Paediatrics, in collaboration with International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, on 9th November.

Some members presented a paper and a note on amendments to the implied clause on mandatory reporting to WBCPCR, and participated at the State level Consultation on this topic.

RACSHA members conducted a programme on ‘Awareness & Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse’ on 19th November at Hazra crossing to mark the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse....

Member Deep Purkayastha represented RACSHA for the drafting of a module in the form of a booklet on child protection policy for schools in collaboration with WBCPCR and NGOs, which other members also contributed to.

Member organisation Mental Health Foundation, Kolkata developed a basic module ‘Safety in Schools’ on first aid responses on disclosure of CSA and other personal safety guidelines which was distributed to schools.

As a part of RACSHA’s 2nd birthday celebration, on 1st August a consultation programme ‘Ponder, Protect & Prevent – A Workshop on Child Sexual Abuse with Schools’ was held with 50 Kolkata based teachers & school administration in association with the Telegraph Young Metro. The youth group also initiated and discussed relevant... matters at this consultation. Venue- Rotary Sadan, Kolkata.

On 28th March, RACSHA members conducted trainings on ‘Handling Trauma and Disclosures’ with participants from Childline of Chattisgarh, Ranchi and certain areas of West Bengal.

On 24th March, World Down Syndrome Day, member Shatabhisha Chatterjee raised awareness on CSA about children with disabilities in a programme.

On 18th March, RACSHA members joined the protest rallies against rape of children organised by Maitree... (awomen’s rights group).

RACSHA members discussed issues related to CSA and interacted with children and adultsat the child-friendly stall of West Bengal Commission of Protection of Child Rights, at the Kolkata International Book Fair on 4th February.

On 26th January, RACSHA members visited the Roshni Youth Group, Kolkata, to express solidarity with their cause and offer support. Discussionswere held on child rights, child marriage and CSA.

An awareness programmeon CSA was conducted by member Dr. J. R Ram at Calcutta International School and Cambridge School.

To explore a partnership with the WBCPCR, RACSHA members held a meeting with the Chairperson and the team at WBCPCR. RACSHA and its activities, the need for training school teachers on this cause, and planning training on sexuality, gender and child sexual abuse were discussed.

Formation of the RACSHA Youth Group ‘Way to Sunshine’. Workshops were conducted to arrive at a common understanding on the topic.

A position statement on CSA was issued by RACSHA addressing some common concerns related to it. It was observed that many individuals, professionals and the media were conflating concepts surrounding the perpetrator of sexual abuse and a paedophile. Hence, RACSHA members felt a need to highlight issues with conceptual clarifications.

World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse, 19th November

1. To mark the occasion, member Sreemoyee Tarafder spoke about the issue and related aspects, RACSHA’s activities and contributions and necessity to raise public awareness, on Radio Mirchi’s morning programme with RJ Mir....
2. A special programme ‘Mon Niye’ was hosted by Doordarshan where RACSHA members Chandana Baksi of Swayamand Psychiatrist Dr. Aniruddha Deb, discussed key issues on child and adolescent mental health along with sexual abuse in children.
3. Under the guidance of member Sreemoyee Tarafder, students of the Department of Psychology, West Bengal State University, conducted an awareness programme on CSAand highlighted how RACSHA is taking the cause forward. The awareness programme was conducted at various departments of West Bengal State University.

Awareness programmes on CSAby professionals representing RACSHA, were conductedat various schools by -

1. Dr. J. R. Ram and Sreemoyee Sen Ram
   1. Saint Joseph School
   2. Saint Mary’s School for Boys & Girls
   ...
2. Sreemoyee Sen Ram and Priyanka Bhattacharya Bhoopalat South Point High School for teachers and admininstrative staff
3. Dr. J. R. Ramat La Martiniere for Boys School.

On 7th August, RACSHA organizeda candle-lit prayer meeting for a child,a resident of Purulia, lost to sexual abuse &witchcraft. Venue- RanuChhaya Manch, in front of Academy of Fine Arts.

A lively programme was held for RACSHA’s first birthday celebration with eminent speakers discussing issues related to child sexual abuse (CSA), how RACSHA was formed and its activities, the challenges faced by workers at various segments of the society, the role of media etc. The Chairperson ofthe State Commission... for the Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) was present. The RACSHA multi-lingual leaflets were distributed to everyone present.

Social media presence started from this year with the creation of a RACSHA Facebook page.

The Core Group was formed;it’sfunction was to take the entire initiative forward.

Leaflets were prepared in 3 languages (English, Bengali, Hindi) & posters were created. The poster in Bengali was created by Souvik Basu.

On 3rd June, a group of professionals met at the Mental Health Foundation Kolkata office to discuss the need for a collective to raise a voice against sexual violence in children. In July, this group discussed the pathways to move forward with the idea. Subsequently, group discussions and workshops were organized to arrive at a common understanding... of principles, philosophies and functioning of the collective. In November, the name of the group- Rise Against Child Sexual Harm & Abuse (RACSHA)- was formalized through a brainstorming process.