KOMAL’ is India's foremost film that elucidates
how child sexual abuse happens and what to do about it. The 10 minute film is
targeted at children in 6-12 age group and their parents/teachers. Using a
story in animation format, the 10 minute film depicts the process of targeting,
grooming of the child by the adult offender, the abuse, the feelings of guilt
and confusion in the minds of the child victim, the dilemma in the minds of
parents. The second half of the film covers training on safe/unsafe touch and
personal safety rules.
India has the
dubious distinction of having the world’s largest number of sexually abused
children. A study by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD)
in 2007 showed that 53 % of the children reported having faced some form of
sexual abuse and proved that boys were as vulnerable to abuse as girls.
CHILDLINE found that though 53 per cent of Indian children experience sexual
abuse, the reporting is extremely low. CIF’s own research showed that by and large
parents do not have the vocabulary to sensitise their own children on Child
Sexual Abuse and also thinks it will never happen to their children. This has prompted CHILDLINE India Foundation
(CIF) to act, as the need of the hour is prevention, sensitising and empowering
of children against Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) for the community i.e children,
parents and schools.
CHILDLINE has
been in the forefront in combating the issue of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). Though
CIF plays an important role in all three, the 1098 service is more geared
towards Intervention and Rehabilitation. Specifically in the case of Child
Sexual Abuse (CSA), Prevention becomes the most important pillar, because if
the case reaches the intervention stage where the child has been abused the
damage is already done. From receiving calls, conducting interventions,
advocating at the local & national level to introducing a stand-alone
programme on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) awareness in schools, CHILDLINE works
relentlessly to empower children with personal safety measures.
The work done
by CHILDLINE for CSA was also featured on the first season of ‘Satyamev Jayate’
by Aamir Khan. Subsequently the funding support from Viewers of Satyamev Jayate
and Reliance Foundation made the release India’s first CSA dedicated animation
film ‘Komal’ in 15 languages – English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali,
Assamese, Oriya, Punjabi, Urdu, Kashmiri, Konkani, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and
Kannada.
The
‘KOMAL’-
film aims to
reach out to the children in schools and communities on the issue of child
sexual abuse. Komal is a bright, sensitive and happy 7
year old girl. Her new neighbour - Mr. Bakshi, who moved in with his wife, is
her father’s old friend. Komal bonds with the affable Mr. Bakshi with whom she
has a whale of a time. Until, Komal discovers Mr. Bakshi’s bitter reality. In
the movie, CHILDLINE Didi explains to children the concept of Safe and Unsafe
touch.
Unfortunately not many adults are open to talk
about the difference between ‘Safe Touch and Unsafe Touch’ with their children.
A common but rarely talked-about scourge of society the sexual abuse of
children is often neglected and ignored by most adults. Additionally many fail
to realize that children are abused often by those they place their trust upon.
To prevent such an incident, CHILDLINE developed ‘Komal’. The film is now being
shown in various schools and children’s groups so as to sensitize children in a
calm and composed approach. ‘Komal’ aims to spread awareness among parents,
teachers and other care givers as well as to engage the community to empower
children to differentiate between a good touch and a bad touch.
Komal a bright, sensitive and happy 7 year old girl. Her new neighbour -
Mr. Bakshi, who moved in with his wife, is her father’s old friend. Komal bonds
with the affable Mr. Bakshi with whom she has a whale of a time. Until, Komal
discovers Mr. Bakshi’s bitter reality. In the movie, CHILDLINE Didi explains to
children the concept of Safe and Unsafe touch, so that they can be better
equipped to protect themselves and take help from trusted adults if ever caught
in a similar situation.
Conceptualised by the
Communication and Strategic Initiatives team at CIF and created by Director, Kireet Khurana and his team at Climb Media, ‘Komal’
has become a nation-wide phenomenon, reaching out to more people every day
across shores. With over 2.5 million views on YouTube, a viral on WhatsApp and
lakhs of shares on Facebook, this 10-minute film in a short span of time has
made a positive impact on many. Requests have also been pouring in from
different countries like Nepal, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mongolia,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Tibet,
Middle East and more to make ‘Komal’ in international languages as well
so that children all over the world can benefit.
‘KOMAL’ has been released in 15 languages-
English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Konkani, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada,
Odiya, Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Urdu.
CIF would shortly release 45 'accessible'
versions- for each of 15 languages which include: Captioning, Sign language
interpretation and Audio description and each accessible format with captioning
have been developed not only for the dialogues but also other sounds that are
portrayed on screen, like the sound of a ringing bell. This is beneficial to
the hearing impaired, the learning impaired and children with dyslexia and
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity. Sign Language Interpretation also benefits the
hearing impaired as an interpreter narrates the entire story in Indian sign
language from the bottom right corner of the screen. Audio Description helps
the visually impaired, who can hear the dialogues but will miss its context by
not knowing about the scene's background. Here whenever there is no
dialogue, another voice will describe what is there in the background. This
will help him/her get a more holistic picture of a particular scene.
The ‘KOMAL’ film has
been widely used for screenings at housing societies across the country and
featured in news and on social media in across the globe. Recently, in Thane, Maharashtra, Parents screen ‘KOMAL’ film to teach kids
how to prevent sexual abuse- In a bid to create awareness about sexual abuse
and safe and unsafe touch among children, CHILDLINE along with parents have
come together in Thane to help them learn how to recognise the danger and deal
with these situations. CHILDLINE along with parents launched this initiative
through the screening of ‘Komal’ to generate
awareness of the issue and enable the children to talk about uncomfortable
incidents they may have experienced and did not have the courage to talk about
them so far.
It is clear
that Komal touches a chord amongst people across the world. Komal has become a viral on whatsApp- thanks
to parents. On YouTube it has over 6 million views. We have received emails
requests for Komal form Philipines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Nepal (we are about to complete a special Nepali language version
on request from organisations in Nepal), Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan,
Mongolia and other countries. Requests for language versions have been
received- Tibetan, Nepali, Arabic, Mongolia and so on.
The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) has formally requested for an International
track of Komal so they can dub it locally for their refugee camps in many parts
of the world.
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