A predator in Walden

Which parent has not felt a pang of anxiety when watching his or her child board the school bus? Will she be OK in the world out there? The Parkwood sex abuse case has administered a shock to the whole system of beliefs people have about their children’s school, that it is a home away from home, and that the teachers are parents in the absence of parents.

It takes an incident of Parkwood proportions to shatter the belief parents have that sexual abuse of children is something that happens to someone else, often only in the foreign pages of newspapers. However, studies have found that the phenomenon is more common than people think. Here in India. And particularly Andhra Pradesh.

A study of child abuse conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2007 found that a staggering 53.22% of the children studied in 13 states reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi reported the highest percentage of sexual abuse among both boys and girls. About 22% of the child respondents reported facing severe forms of sexual abuse and 50.76% reported other forms of sexual abuse. Some 5.69% reported being sexually assaulted.

But two further facts are even more salient to the Parkwood case: 50% of the abusers were persons known to the child or in a position of trust and responsibility. And most children did not report the matter to anyone.

To most people who knew M Salauddin Ayub, he was the definition of the decent guy. Bright, intelligent, sporty and achievement-oriented. Few who knew him had any insight to the ills that lay within. His fellow alumni at Hyderabad Public School remember him as a studious guy who was made fun of for his attention to studies, which he took sportingly. His later peers say he made his money in the financial districts of Dubai who nursed an ambition of building a school on the model of the one he went to, where liberal education was imparted in a milieu of discipline.

This was to be Ayub’s Walden, a place where chidren were instructed in the lap of nature. The school, whose frontage and interiors might do justice to a plush hotel rather than an educational institution, was cleverly market-positioned for the city’s elite who seek social graces as much as professional orientation from their wards.

The nobility of the school’s intentions perhaps served to mask the person Ayub was. His extraordinary proximity to girl students, cutting through the hierarchy of wardens and teachers went unnoticed within the camouflage of high intentions.

Psychiatrists Express spoke to say all these facts accord to the character profile of sexual predators. The trust and responsibility of the positions they hold are forbidding for a child to resist or report to their parents. And parents too would take no notice of any indicative evidence since the ambience was so noble.

As the study cited above found, child sexual abuse is a ruthless combination of sexual abuse, emotional abuse and physical abuse. The child victim of abuse may show a cluster of physical, behavioural and emotional changes listed alongside.

 

Physical symptoms

* Bite marks

* Unusual bruises

* Lacerations

* Burns

* High incidence of accidents or frequent injuries like swellings on face and extremities

* Discoloration of skin l Sleep, speech disorders

* Complaints of pain upon movement or contact

* Bed wetting

* Continuous loose motions and passing stools on bed

* Recurrent abdominal pain

* Constant throat and urinary infections

Behavioral changes

* Avoids physical contact with others

* Avoids certain adults

* Wears clothing to purposely conceal injury, i.e. long sleeves m Gives inconsistent versions about occurrence of injuries,burns, etc.

* Often late or absent from school m Comes early to school, seems reluctant to go home afterwards

* Not concentrating in school

* Compulsions, obsessions, phobias, hysterical reactions

* Temper tantrums, aggressive overdemanding behavior * Say negative statements about self

* Attempting to physically hurt oneself

* Constant rubbing of body parts against objects * Sexual exploration and abuse of others

* Substance-Abuse

* Precocious Sexual-Behavior

Emotional changes

* Apprehensive when other children cry

* Depression, anxiety

* Seems frightened by parents

* Has difficulty getting along with others * Deep sense of isolation

*  Little respect for others

* Overly compliant, shy, passive, withdrawn, gives in readily

* Plays aggressively, often hurting peers  

WHAT THE PSYCHIATRISTS SAY

As any psychiatrist will tell you, the mind is a mysterious place, and it is hard to map the factors that turn a decent-looking individual into a sexual abuser of children. Psychiatrists Express spoke to after the Parkwood school incident said most sexual offenders of children are often themselves victims of sexual abuse in some form or other when they were children. The guilt every victim of child abuse harbours develops into a factor in their own abuse of children when they reach adulthood.

Apollo Hospitals consultant psychiatrist Minhaj Nasirabadi says, “Whenever we interview a person with paedophile tendencies, they tell us they were either victims themselves when they were children or were exposed to such acts. Besides, people with personality problems may also become abusers.’’ Doctors say there is no foolproof treatment for this mental disorder.

Both child abuse victims and offenders need to seek treatment. But there is no complete cure, especially if the offender is hardcore. All abusers have symptoms like depression, aversion to mingling with others, personality problems, crying unnecessarily, among other things.

However, such patients appear physically normal while hiding a festering soul inside.

Psychiatrists said they see at least one victim of sexual abuse every day, often in an extremely bad condition, especially psychologically.

Despite being given extensive counselling, the victims continue to feel guilty. “Most of the victims feel guilty thinking that it was their mistake.

But it’s important to reinforce the fact that the mistake was not the victim’s but the offender’s,’’ Dr Nasirabadi added.

Prominent psychiatrist Ashok Alimchandani said that the victim develops mistrust, aversion and emotional disturbance after sexual exploitation by a person they trusted or respected. “In most of these cases, the crime goes unreported. Generally it happens in large families wherein an elder person exploits a young girl within the family. It goes unreported until the victim visits a doctor and explains what she experienced.’’ Dr Alimchandani said that he has come across cases of women exploiting young boys too. However, such cases are comparatively fewer.

AP’s LITANY OF WOES

Dec. 27, 2007: B.Pharm student Ayesha Meera brutally murdered and raped. Investigators believed it to be a case of necrophilia, intercourse with a corpse.

Sept. 13, 2007: Fifteen students of AP Social Welfare School at Parigi allegedly raped by teachers and principal. Two of them allegedly had to undergo abortions. The teachers claimed their boyfriends made them pregnant.

Nov. 21, 2008: Principal of state-run BC residential school in Eluru, P Sri Ramachandra Rao, suspended for allegedly attempting to rape a class X student.

Nov. 14, 2009: Principal of private school in Vizianagaram, Srinivas Rao, arrested for attempt to molest class V student in a classroom.

Locals thrash principal.

June 29, 2009: Intermediate student raped and murdered on campus at Shankary Junior College after

July 21, 2010: Student of Parkwood School International allegedly raped by director Mohammed Salahuddin Ayub.

July 23, 2010: LKG student allegedly raped by autorickshaw driver at Falaknuma.

 

RENU SHOREY, MANTHAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

I was as horrified -- as anybody would be -- when I came to know about the incident at Parkwood International School. To me a school is more than a temple.

The Parkwood incident is unforgivably shocking. What’s worse is that it was perpetrated by a director who is supposed to be the custodian of children.

However, there is no one foolproof method to prevent such instances. You will never know what is going to happen. By looking at a person you can’t say how he is going to behave. No school is going to give a certificate that so and so is good. Integrity is important. Parents should beware of such instances and tutor their children to take care of themselves. At the end of the day, the child should be taught to be cautious and prudent.

The government should ensure strict laws and hand out stringent punishments as a deterrent so that such instances will never happen again. Parents should be make themselves aware of how such things can happen and how they can be avoided.

The CBSE has no guidelines as such with respect to protection of girl children in school. It only describes the expected behaviour of teachers, heads of schools and children. For that matter no educational board, be it SSC or ICSE, has any guidelines on sexual abuse of children. But the boards do talk about provision of councillors and psychologists, depending on the number of students in schools.

I’m sure parents are shocked by such incidents taking place in our schools.

But schooling has to go on. Such incidents keep happening but that doesn’t mean parents should stop sending children to schools.

After the child, parents are the most important stakeholders in this issue. They should explain to their children what is a good touch and what is a bad touch and what is a safe distance to maintain with other people.

In a way, Parkwood has shaken up everyone. On the positive side, everyone will become more watchful and cautious. It will be an eye-opener to school managements.

They will realize that such things can’t be hidden and the offenders can’t get away.

While parents are the most important elements of the preventive strategy, schools should support children to ensure that such things do not happen.