Read on Twitter
Why reporting sexual assault (of any sort), even an attempt, is important - Thread. 3 years ago, while posted in Gurjat, we received information about a child’s dead body lying in the fields.
The boy was 7 years old, only child of his parents. His father had left Pakistan to look for better prospects in Europe 6 months before the child was born. Stuck in an immigration process, he had not seen him, ever.
The child used to live with his uncles and mother in a joint family, and was a bright student. The father, had only seen and spoken to his boy over phone. And, now he was dead.
The crime scene, and the position of the body indicated possibility of sexual assault. Soon after, the police was able to apprehend the alleged killer, a 16 year old, resident of the same locality.
He confessed to the killing, said that he attempted sexual assault, but the victim started screaming so he had to put his hand on the victim’s mouth to stop him from making noise. The boy suffocated.
Residents of the area came forward with startling revelations. The accused had previously sodomized two boys of the same locality but the local elders had let him go after some thrashing, and a warning to his guardians.
It was only 2 months after the previous incident, that he killed an innocent boy. A lot could have been prevented had the first case been reported. Not reporting crime only emboldens the criminals.
Trust your child when he/she comes to with complains of a relative, a neighbour, a van driver, a religious/tuition teacher, a senior at school, touching him/her inappropriately. Report it. It might save someone’s life.
