Begaluru: A “Child Safety Awareness Day” was organised on Sunday by Halasuru Lake Residents Welfare Association (HLRWA), in association with VeriHelp, a school security provider.
The event aimed to help equip children and their parents with simple measures they can take to protect the children from incidents such as sexual abuse and bullying.
Preeti R. of Enfold India, an NGO working towards addressing and preventing child sexual abuse across multiple platforms, did a session with parents on how to identify symptoms of abuse in children and what measures they can take to prevent it from happening.
“These incidents are heart-rending, but it always feels like someone else’s misfortune, until it happens closer to home. It is time for us to come together as a community and understand how we can protect our children. What can we do to keep them safe and teach them to protect themselves,” said Mahendra Jain, President of the HLRWA.
The event was open to parents and children up to the age of 10 years. Experts from the Enfold, VeriHelp, and others addressed the gathering.
The event also had fun activities designed around the theme of safety, including face painting, story-telling and magic show. Child safety is a growing concern among parents in Bengaluru as such incidents are on the rise in schools and other public places. While most of these incidents are not reported, the children remain scarred for life.
