With an eye on sensitising children regarding inappropriate touches or molestation even by familiar persons like parents, teachers and school staff, the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) has directed affiliated schools to show a 10-minute animated film on child sexual abuse during assembly time.
The movie Komal conceptualised and made by the NGO Childline India Foundation, won the National Award for the Best Educational film last year.
It portrays the story of a little school-going girl, who is sexually abused by her father’s close friend after she develops a comfortable bond with him.
The movie also depicts the benefits of counselling as well as the affect student-teacher interactions might have on addressing such issues.
The idea behind screening the movie is to make children understand what constitutes an inappropriate touch or what molestation is, the CBSE circular stated.
The circular has directed schools to show the movie during the assembly.
The movie, which was commissioned by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, is also available on YouTube in different languages including English, Hindi and Tamil.