THIRUVANANATHAPURAM: The teenagers in the state are a troubled lot with wide exposure to porn, drugs, alcohol and smoking. As per statistics, around 21.8 per cent of the teenagers who seek the help of counsellors through the state’s ‘Unarvu’ scheme do so to get rid of the habit of watching porn.
Some 19 per cent had consumed alcohol, 14 per cent smoked cigarettes and 2.5 per cent were addicted to cannabis.
If the recent cases are to be taken as a sign, the perpetrators in pre-adolescent sexual abuse cases are also minors.
Around 6.8 per cent of the 2,432 persons who took counselling in the last six years were victims of sexual abuse, reveals the statistics compiled by Dr R. Jayaprakash who heads the scheme. He was speaking on the sidelines of a special training session hosted for school teachers on Friday.
“With decreasing emotional give and take with children, parents are unaware of what children are going through. You are a successful parent only if your child shares even the most insignificant things in their life with you. For that you need to be really friendly and tactful. Peer domain influences their habit of substance addiction.
Parents should avoid blindly criticising their bad friends and should gradually counsel them out of their habits,” said Mr Jayaprakash.
Recently, an eight-year-old girl was taken to counsellors for her habit of rubbing genitals against tapered edges of tables and handrails.
After an interview, the counsellor found that she was being subjected to sexual abuse for the past three years by a 13-year-old neighbour boy. Interestingly, the victim's mother was under the notion that a rapist can only be an adult.
“The children's slightest doubt on sex should be given answers that suit their age. Sex education should be imparted very gradually in the form of stories to children. They tend to imagine themselves as protagonists of stories and thus parents can find hints of abuse,” he said. Children are most vulnerable for sexual abuse during the middle stages of puberty (14-16 years).
Around 1.9 per cent of all pupils who took counselling had faced sexual advancement from school mates. With no parental guidance on sex, teenagers exhibit hyper sexuality and start off as peeping toms who primarily target parents.
“Don't ask your child whether he watches porn. Befriend him and ask him what type of porn he watches if you want to elicit his response,” the counsellor said.
As per Unarvu officials, in Kerala, girls are customarily rewarded with clothes and jewellery during puberty and given guidance on sexual health. On the other hand, boys are ignored even after their “voice starts cracking.”
Apart from this, the progress in the quality of education has also been hampered due to parents who spend their time on soap operas in the evening.
“Only fewer than 12 percent of students in government schools and fewer than 30 per cent students in private schools have the habit of studying for around one or two hours daily,” as per statistics.
