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Tulir - Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse (CPHCSA) is an NGO working on child sexual abuse awareness and rehabilitation, based in Chennai, India. [1] In Tamil, the word Tulir means the first tender leaves of a plant, symbolising children and "the belief in the resilience and resurgence of the human spirit." [1] The NGO is run by Vidya Reddy. [2]
A study conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2007 revealed that approximately 53.22% of children experience sexual abuse. [3] However, due to the taboo nature of sex in conservative societies, instances of child sexual abuse often go unnoticed and are not reported. In 2005, Tulir, in collaboration with Save The Children, conducted a study in Chennai, surveying 2211 school children from various backgrounds. [3] The study uncovered that 48% of boys and 39% of girls interviewed disclosed having experienced sexual abuse, with the perpetrators being individuals known to them.
Tulir engages in the following activities:
The organisation also participates in local, national, and international efforts to promote and protect the rights of children. [1] [3] [4]
Tulir holds workshops for schools to address child sexual abuse holistically. One such workshop was held from November 28–30, 2016 called "Safe Schools: Supporting schools address child sexual abuse, holistically" and covered topics such as prevention of child sexual abuse, developing a child protection policy, introducing concepts and practice for personal safety education, and addressing sexual misbehaviors in children and youth and POCSO, educators and schools. [5]
They also offer training and consultancy services to teachers, social workers, doctors, parents, lawyers, and police personnel. [4]
In 2006, Tulir was honored with an international award by the Women's World Summit Foundation on the occasion of the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse (19 November) in Geneva. [4]
Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, regardless of the relationship to the victim. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Sex traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion as they recruit, transport, and provide their victims as prostitutes. Sometimes victims are brought into a situation of dependency on their trafficker(s), financially or emotionally. Every aspect of sex trafficking is considered a crime, from acquisition to transportation and exploitation of victims. This includes any sexual exploitation of adults or minors, including child sex tourism (CST) and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (S/RES/1325), on women, peace, and security, was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 31 October 2000, after recalling resolutions 1261 (1999), 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), and 1314 (2000). The resolution acknowledged the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and girls. It calls for the adoption of a gender perspective to consider the special needs of women and girls during conflict, repatriation and resettlement, rehabilitation, reintegration, and post-conflict reconstruction.
Child abuse is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to act by a parent or a caregiver that results in actual or potential harm to a child and can occur in a child's home, or in the organizations, schools, or communities the child interacts with.
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed by men or boys against women or girls. Such violence is often considered a form of hate crime, committed against women or girls specifically because they are female, and can take many forms.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development, a branch of the Government of India, is an apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to women and child development in India. The current minister for the Ministry of Women and Child Development is Smriti Irani having held the portfolio since 31 May 2019.
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child, indecent exposure, child grooming, and child sexual exploitation, such as using a child to produce child pornography.
Sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian response first came to public attention with the release of a report in February 2002 of a joint assessment mission examining the issue. The joint mission reported that "refugee children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have been subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation, reportedly by employees of national and international NGOs, UNHCR and other UN bodies..." Humanitarian agencies responded almost immediately with measures designed to prevent further abuse, setting up an inter-agency task force with the objective of "strengthening and enhancing the protection and care of women and children in situations of humanitarian crisis and conflict..." In 2008 there were signs that sexual exploitation and abuse of beneficiaries not only continued, but was under-reported. In January 2010, the ECHA/ECPS task force developed a website devoted to protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) by personnel of the United Nations (UN), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other international organizations.
The Women's Shelter of South Texas was established in 1978 to provide emergency shelter and support for victims of domestic violence. Services expanded in 1993 to include survivors of sexual assault. New facilities were built in 1994 that allows up to 65 clients. In 1995, the Batterers Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) was established. In 1987 the agency expanded to provide services to rural areas in Alice, Beeville, Kingsville, and Sinton. The Shelter wants to include offices and a full staff in each location. The organization continues to educate and prevent sexual assault in South Texas.
Transnational efforts to prevent human trafficking are being made to prevent human trafficking in specific countries and around the world.
Human trafficking in Nepal is a growing criminal industry affecting multiple other countries beyond Nepal, primarily across Asia and the Middle East. Nepal is mainly a source country for men, women and children subjected to the forced labor and sex trafficking. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017.
Founded in 1999, Alliance India is a non-governmental organisation operating in partnership with civil society, government and communities to support sustained responses to HIV in India that protect rights and improve health. Complementing the Indian national programme, we build capacity, provide technical support and advocate to strengthen the delivery of effective, innovative, community-based HIV programmes to vulnerable populations: sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender people, hijras, people who inject drugs (PWID), and people living with HIV.
Chennai has LGBTQIA cultures that are diverse concerning- socio-economic class, gender, and degree of visibility and politicisation. They have historically existed in the margins and surfaced primarily in contexts such as transgender activism and HIV prevention initiatives for men having sex with men (MSM) and trans women (TG).
Mamatha Raghuveer Achanta is a women's and children's rights activist. She has served as chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Warangal District, as a member of the A.P. State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, and as the founder and executive director of Tharuni, a non-government organization (NGO) that focuses on the empowerment of girls and women. She has participated in rescues and adjudicated issues such as exploitation, violence, child sexual abuse, child marriages, and child neglect.
PULSE Foundation is a Bulgarian non-governmental organization, registered on July 7, 1999, under the name “Animus – Pernik”. Since the beginning of 2002, the organization continues its charitable activity under the name “PULSE” – “Positive Personal Skills in Society”. In 2015, PULSE Foundation operated with 19 full-time employees and over 40 youth volunteers.
Kirthi Jayakumar is a peace educator, a women, peace, and security and feminist foreign policy practitioner, lawyer and writer. She is a Commonwealth Scholar, a Vital Voices (VV) Lead Fellow, a VV Engage Fellow, a Local Pathways Fellow, and a World Pulse Impact Leader. Kirthi is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She served as an advisor to the G7 through the Women7 under the German Presidency of the G7 in 2022, and currently under the Japanese Presidency of the G7 in 2023, and was named as one of UN Women Asia Pacific's 30 for 2030.
Smita Bharti is an Indian social activist, playwright and director. She has written and directed over 20 plays with communities spanning social, class and age strata. Through research, training, workshops, performances, campaigns and publications, she works extensively and intensively with women and adolescents in difficult and challenging circumstances, in prisons with victims under trial, with survivors in situations of domestic violence, sexual abuse and incest, physically and mentally challenged individuals. She also works with the policy and decision makers who have the potential of making systemic change in the country.
Aware Girls is a non-governmental organization in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, founded in 2002 which aims to address violence and discrimination against women and young girls in Pakistan, and advocate for women's rights, education, and access to sexual and reproductive health resources. Their stated aim is "to strengthen the leadership capacity of young women enabling them to act as agents of social change and women empowerment in their communities."
The status of women in Zambia has improved in recent years. Among other things, the maternal mortality rate has dropped and the National Assembly of Zambia has enacted multiple policies aimed at decreasing violence against women. However, progress is still needed. Most women have limited access to reproductive healthcare, and the total number of women infected with HIV in the country continues to rise. Moreover, violence against women in Zambia remains common. Child marriage rates in Zambia are some of the highest in the world, and women continue to experience high levels of physical and sexual violence.
Kalimah Johnson is a therapist and clinical social worker who specializes in cultural-specific holistic healing. She is the founder and executive director of the SASHA Center in Detroit, Michigan and has been influential in the #MeToo movement.