During the second part of the budget session of Parliament, Rajya Sabha member “Sudha Murthy” said that it is essential to make school counsellors mandatory, especially to support children who are survivors of child sexual abuse. Counselling would give children an environment wherein emotional corrective experiences and support would be provided. Previously Ms. Sudha has also suggested cancelling the registration of the schools without any Counselor. Also counselors along with teachers and parents, can ensure that children don’t think “it’s their fault” that they have experienced childhood sexual abuse. This gives them assurance, emotional support, and validation. The role of the school counsellor was stressed.
What is Child Sexual Abuse?
The imposition of a sexual act on a child or adolescent is called child sexual abuse. According to UNICEF statistics, 1 in 8 children worldwide has experienced child sexual abuse before the age of 18. Therefore, highlighting that all children are vulnerable to child sexual abuse.
Read More: Trauma Due to Childhood Sexual Abuse
What is POCSO?
The Protection from Child Sexual Offences Bill was passed in India in 2012, stating extreme punishment for severe cases of sexual abuse against children. The bill was further amended in 2019. The act aims to protect children below the age of 18 years against abuse, sexual exploitation, and pornography. The special law ensures that decisions are made in the interest of children through child-friendly mechanisms of reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and speedy recovery.
Read More: Union Law Ministry advised reducing the “Age of Consent” for the POCSO Act
Major Points Discussed
The following were the highlights made during the budget session:
- The role of Counsellor as being an emotional support system for students in school. It clarifies the role of Counsellors in schools.
- The proportion of Counsellor that is the ratio of students and counsellors in the school. This must be in a way that students are catered to properly for the support they need. It was brought to the spot that it should not be “like one counsellor is for 2,000 students”. It is a scenario with most of the schools in India.
- In case the school doesn’t have a school counsellor, then the registration of the school would be cancelled.
- The need to sensitise parents on how to handle such incidents that happen with their child.
- She also stressed the importance of involving parents during the Counseling process as it becomes a supporting pillar for a child’s mental health.
- It was stated that the POCSO Act must be a part of the Bachelor’s of Education and other teaching course curricula. This is to ensure that trainee teachers understand the sensitivity of the issue and behavioural changes in the child. Therefore, reporting it further to the school and the counsellor for taking appropriate action.
- Increased awareness and time-bound punishment of offenders, including those who commit crimes online. It was brought into discussion by Ashok Kumar Mittal (AAP).
- The increase in the nuclear family system and both working parents need to be taken into account while providing emotional support to the victims of child sexual abuse, according to Ghanshyam Tiwari (BJP).
Dharmshila Gupta, a BJP member, claimed that many of the proposed steps have already been taken for women and child protection by the government under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. Therefore, rehabilitation of the victim’s children is essential support that must be provided to them.
Read More: A Counsellor in Every School: Inside CBSE’s Landmark 2026 Notification
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