In India, every second a child is sexually abused (2007 Study, Ministry of Women and Child Development). Majority of these cases go unreported either due to lack of awareness and/or societal stigmas surrounding child sexual abuse. Our Voix Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation working on the prevention of all forms of child sexual abuse through resource development and workshops to generate awareness. Our Voix, in collaboration with Banswara Syntex Limited, is releasing a series of animated movies – Humare Super Buddies, Humare Rakshak – to educate young children, parents and teachers on prevention of child sexual abuse through personalised guiding characters – our Super Buddies.
In order to design child-sensitive awareness movies, it is necessary to adopt an approach that is inclusive of all relevant stakeholders, ranging from children from different age-groups and gender, parents, child psychologists, teachers, lawyers, child-rights activists and members of State Commissions on Protection of Child Rights. The movie series is based on 100+ recommendations received from 120+ stakeholders from 11+ states of India and individuals from the United Kingdom to ensure a culturally diverse perspective. These recommendations included the importance of debunking general myths, such as boys aren’t vulnerable to abuse or females are not abusers. Additionally, many recommendations were received for the inclusion of information about reporting mechanisms and the means to avail the same due to the current lack of awareness.
Psychologist Francesca Moresi who is trained to address child-related matters suggests that children can develop morals and values through the idea of super-heroes which makes it easier for them to distinguish between good and bad. The animated movies also take up two ‘Super Buddies’ that have been carefully penned down in roles where they share knowledge and facts about the “powers” and “rights” of children. In addition to this, the movie series is inclusive through its accompanying sign language provision for those with hearing impairment since safety – education must be an inclusive process.
This movie series will break the silence surrounding child sexual abuse by the creation of safe spaces for all involved stakeholders with correction information taught to children in order to empower and educate them in a fun and interactive manner. Moreover, The movie will help children to identify sexual abuse and speak up against the same. It will be a great resource for stakeholders to identify early warning signs and report the abuse.
In addition to this, Article 17 (c) of the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child encourages the production and dissemination of children’s rights audio-visual content which can help increase the wellbeing of children both physically and mentally. Our Voix has taken a significant step and helped India achieve that. Our Voix through the launch of the movie will also be playing a crucial role in achieving the sustainable development goal 16.2 to end violence against children.
Taking this forward, Our Voix Foundation, in association with Banswara Syntex Limited, is launching the animated movie 20 November 2020, on International Child Rights day. At the Virtual launch Event, people will be joining in from 11+ states, 2+ Countries, which will include members of the state commissions and different stakeholders.
To watch the Short film Subscribe to Our Voix’s Youtube Channel!
Trailer Link: https://youtu.be/O_xMcRWaB28
You can also use the following link to register for the event: https://forms.gle/
Date: 20th November 2020
Time: 11AM-12PM
Platform: Zoom
Together, let’s make childhood safe again 🙂
