CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE- (it's a shame & crime as well)

yesterday evening while I was in kitchen preparing dinner,, my door bell rang,, I went to open,,,,,,,& found my maid standing there with her sister ( 13 yrs old),who was crying profusely, I let them in,, the next thing tht happened was both of them went down on their knees & begging for help, I was taken aback by the way they were behaving, I made them sit & gave them water to cool down.

i asked her wht happened & why her sister is crying , the story she me told me still gives me goose skin. There is an elderly man ( who's a wodower& stays at home while the rest of the family is out making money !!) in the house her sister was working, he's been repeatedly sexually abusing her from last 2 months,, ( tht's the time she has come from her village for a better future prospects !!), as everything from the place to the people was new to her, she could not react the way she should at tht time.moreover there was lack of support from the family,once she complained, but was shooed by her elder brother, saying she doesn't want to work, & tht's why she's giving lame excuses. to my horror tht girl ( or I should say child) is pregnant now,,she begged me saying "aap bade log ho, hum garib hain,,humari koi sunwaii nahin hai".at tht time I was feeling so ashamed of being a so called bada log .

tht made me shudder to think,what if god forbid it would have happend with riddhima,i wonder how unsafe a child is no matter from which strata of society she belongs to. in hw many houses, around the world kids r being abused by their uncles, cousins, brothers,brother-in-laws, grandfathers or even fathers/step fathers !!!!!!or neighbors, family friends, aquaintances,teachers ,,,,,,,,,,& so on.

childhood abuse is a common problem, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. in the United States, more than 3 million reports of abuse or neglect are investigated each year. Of these, more than 700,000 children are classified as victims of neglect or abuse. the child suffers greater emotional than physical damage,we all know tht traumatic events in childhood increase the risk of borderline personality disorder and other mental health problems. Emotional trauma at a time when the brain isn't fully developed may cause changes to the brain and decrease a person's ability to deal with stressful situations later in life. ( sme child abuse victims can never have a normal physical relationship with their life partners,), the aftermaths r really horrendous.

i know it may sound a lecture to many of u, the first thing anyone with a child at home should do is to sit & have a normal chat with tht child,, it's surprising but most of the kids keep on living with this shame rather than sharing it with anyone coz they think tht no one's gonna believe thm( which sadly is true, as most of the time the culprit is one of respectable family member, or an aquaintance),

i'm sure the child will open up and I more thing don't think it's a mother's duty to tell birds and bees to a child, I think fathers also should take initiative.

it's a vry vry serious issue, don't just brush it off. I request all of u to help a family in distress, and be an active community member,there r helplines like -CHILDLINE, GIRL SKIRT, DOLL HOUSE & various other NGO's..

i know things r pretty bad here in our country but at least we can try,tke concrete steps as a parent, guardian, neighbor, teacher or extended family member.screw those perverts & hang them with their u know what.!!!

PLS KEEP UR EYES AND EARS OPEN, SOME CHILD SOMEWHERE MAY NEED UR HELP.

{meanwhile i'll decide after discussing with my husband how r we gonna help tht child, who came to me yesterday for help....}