There are too many women who have had experiences of sexual harassment and molestation as kids. It is heartbreaking how young girls experience being wrongly touched by men on the street, in public transport, at the doctor’s chamber, or at the tailor’s. What is worse is that many of them are scared to share such experiences with their parents.
As a young girl, actor Neena Gupta was no different. According to Hindustan Times, even she was molested by a doctor and a tailor in her childhood and she was too scared to talk about it with her mother.
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She revealed how one time, an optician was examining her but went on to inappropriately check other parts of her body.
“The doctor started with examining my eye and then went down to check out other areas that were unconnected with my eye. I was scared stiff while it was happening and felt disgusted all the way home. I sat in a corner in the house and cried my eyes out when nobody was looking,” Neena Gupta said.
She went on to add how she was scared of being victim-blamed, just like so many other women.
“But I didn’t dare tell my mother about this because I was so scared that she would say that it was my fault. That I had probably said or done something to provoke him. This happened to me many times at the doctor’s.”
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The actor also shared an account of her visit to the tailor, who touched her inappropriately while taking measurements. Despite such experiences, she remained silent.
“Because I felt like I had no choice. If I told my mother that I didn’t want to go to them, she would ask me why and I would have to tell her.”
It was later in college that she realised that many of her friends had similar experiences. But just like her, they too remained silent.
“That (speaking up) would mean that the little freedom we had would be taken away. Or worse – that we would be blamed for bringing it upon ourselves.”
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It is every parent’s responsibility to teach their kids, irrespective of gender, to differentiate between good and bad touch. Instead of chiding kids, they need to earn their trust so that kids can talk about anything with them.
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