Report abusers, don’t suffer in silence
It is okay to report anyone who harms or hurts you to a trusted adult or the police.
You would get the necessary help and the perpetrator will be prevented from causing you and others more harm.
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This is the advice the police are giving to children who are going through any form of abuse.
The Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), Supt Alice Awarikaro said in an interview with the Junior Graphic that,“you or your parents would not die if you reported someone who is abusing you,rather make the police aware of what you are going through to be helped”.
A trusted person, Supt Awarokaro said, could be the assembly member or a respected adult in your neighbourhood, a parent (if that parent is not the abuser), guardian, teacher, etc.
“If you can't think of any trusted person or afraid of making a parent or someone angry, you can report the abuser to the police yourself, call or WhatsApp the police hotline numbers because your report would be private and the police will protect, as well as arrest the abuser”, she noted.
She gave the police hotline number for abuse as: 0551000900.
Supt Awarikaro said many children were going through abuse but were not aware it was abuse.
She explained that a child who was being abused could experience different types of abuse at a time or only one type and could be physical, verbal, emotional, sexual or neglect.
Supt Awarikaro said physical abuse “ is when someone hits you hard with the hand or an object like a rod or hit you to leave bruises or cuts on your body, adding that shaking, pushing, choking, painful grabbing and kicking could also be physical abuse”.
She said verbal or emotional abuse was the kind of abuse which occurred without the abuser touching you, adding that it was common for parents, teachers or other adults to get angry at you once in a while but if they always insulted,shouted, punished you for no reason, threatened or called you names such as ‘fool', ‘animal etc., then that was abuse.
Supt Awarikaro said that if parents or guardians failed to provide the things needed for a child to grow such as shelter, food, hygiene, supervision, medical attention, education or safety, that was also abuse.
On what sexual abuse is, she said, “when someone touches your private parts such as the breasts, vagina, penis or buttocks”.
“Child abuse is never okay irrespective of the reason so don’t blame yourself. Gather courage and let someone know because if you don't, that person might never stop the abuse which would affect you academically, socially, physically and psychologically”, Supt Awarikaro added.
#StopChildAbuse
#ReportSexualabuse.