The parents of 9-year-old Adam (not his real name) called us to report one of Adam's teachers for physically abusing him. The parents explained how corporal punishment is the mode of disciplinary action used at Adam’s school however, teachers were not allowed to injure a student.
The CHL Counsellor wanting to know the whole story asked the parents what had led the teacher to punish their son. They told us that Adam and his friends were messing around and fighting during mealtime. The teacher found them and set out to punish them but Adam ended up being severely beaten and injured which forced him to run home, away from the teacher.
After hearing this the CHL Counsellor instructed the parents to go report the incident to the police and get a PF3 that will enable Adam to get medical treatment. Adam was then taken to the hospital and the teacher was summoned by the police for questioning.
A couple of days later we called Adam's parents to check on the child’s condition. They assured us that their son was doing better with the medication prescribed for him and that soon he would be going back to school. They also informed us that the teacher was made to handle all of adam’s hospital bills.
The teacher was warned by the police about the repercussions of his actions and was told to be kind and compassionate with his students especially when they misbehave instead of such kind of punishment. The teacher apologised to Adam and his family and promised to change.
Children need to be disciplined in a manner that teaches them to do better. Inflicting physical harm is more damaging than helpful not only to a child's physical well-being but also to his or her mental health.
The helpline handles approximately 169,154 cases of Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (VANE); Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA); and Child Maintenance & Custody in a year. About 18.4% of these, are cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
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