Ramanathapuram

Close on the heels of introducing ‘Anti-Romeo’ squads to check eve-teasing cases, the district police have launched a special intervention campaign to create awareness among school students of sexual abuse and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Women Inspectors of Police attached to the all women police stations and other stations were involved in the campaign to educate the students, especially the girls, on the types and symptoms of child sex abuse and the provisions of POSCO Act to deal with the offenders.

After the campaign was launched on Friday, the women Inspectors of Police have covered 1,500 students and an equal number of students on Saturday, Superintendent of Police Omprakash Meena said.

“We have initiated the campaign after noticing a rise in child sex abuse cases in the State and the awareness among the children is low,” the SP said.

The district has 18 women Inspectors of Police and they would address the students on daily basis after tying-up with the schools, without disrupting the study hours, he said. Each Inspector of Police would cover one school a day and the district police proposed to cover all government and private schools in the district, the SP said.

Apart from sensitising the girl students to good and bad touches, the police officers presented case studies to explain the types of abuses that take place and the punishment given to the offenders through court of law.

“The campaign received good response as women police officers interacted with the girl students freely,” the SP said.

The girls studying in classes X to XII were educated about the prohibition of child marriage act and explained that marriages of girls, below the age of 18 years were offence even if the marriages were conducted with the consent of the girls and their parents. The police officers advised the adolescent students – both boys and girls to focus on their studies for their better future and career. After the launch of the Anti-Romeo squad there has been considerable reduction of eve teasing cases in the district, the SP said. No single case reported in the last one week, he said.