We live with and meet different types of people every day. They could be in our age group or much older. They could be family, friends relatives, neighbours, etc. Some of these people can make us feel happy and comfortable, while some may not. The discomfort could be because they are mean to us or tease us. In some cases, some people may be nice to us but increasingly find excuses to be with us alone. When alone, they may touch us in inappropriate places, including our private parts, which can be painful. They may also ask us to touch their private parts and/or make us watch inappropriate photographs or videos. All of these can make us feel uncomfortable, helpless, scared, and angry. Sometimes such an incident may happen once and be caused by a stranger. Sometimes, it can be caused repeatedly by someone we know well- a cousin, a neighbour a friend. We may like them because they are kind, bring us gifts, and tell us funny jokes. Our parents may trust some of them enough to leave us alone with them. Not everyone behaves this way, but there are people who may do this to us, and this is simply wrong. They may use their kindness to make us do whatever they want. And they may even threaten us with serious consequences into keeping their behaviour a secret. But this need not be a secret and need not happen at all.
REMEMBER
- Your body is yours alone. You have the right to say no when anyone makes you feel uncomfortable. For instance, if a person hugs or kisses you whenever you meet, but it makes you uncomfortable, tell the person no. Inform your parents too.
- Even when elders are around, if a person finds ways to touch you secretly and inappropriately, say no. move from the place and find a safer place. Don’t forget that whatever happened was NEVER your fault. And don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise. And what happened does not change how much all the people who matter to you love you.
- A touch is unsafe if you feel nervous, scared, uncomfortable, or it hurts you. If at any point anybody makes you feel uncomfortable, remember you have the right to tell the other person that.
- Always talk to a trusted elder; it could be your parents or teachers, and explain to them what happened.
IT’S NEVER OKAY FOR ANYONE TO
- Touch your private parts
- Touch their private parts in front of you
- Ask you to touch their private parts
- Ask you to take your clothes off or take videos or photos of you
- Show you videos or photos of people without any clothes
Picture Credit : Google
