Trigger Warning: Mentions of child abuse and child pornography
Recently, CBI conducted a raid at 76 locations across 14 states and union territories. As a result, CBI has registered an FIR against 83 individuals with their phone numbers and addresses over the last few days. These people were known to download or circulate child porn primarily through WhatsApp on their phones.
The raid was targeted in the house of 25-year-old Surendra Nayak in Dhenkanal of Odisha. The irony is that, as the news spread about the raid, the team members themselves were surrounded by the women of that area armed with wooden sticks.
When such raids happen in our area, we should support them, but instead of supporting these raids, we are taking sticks in our hands against the CBI officers. How can we say that our children should be safe? Safety does not always lie in the hands of the government, but we too play a significant role in protecting our children.
According to reports, India had blocked around 857 pornographic websites in 2015 because of child pornography. The decision was taken under the Information Technology Act, but this complete ban was lifted and only implemented to the website showing child porn.
A committee in Rajya Sabha was constituted and was chaired by Mr Jainram Ramesh, who presented their report on 25th January 2020. The committee recommended that an awareness campaign should be initiated.
Some examples would be a campaign for parents to recognise early signs of child abuse, a nationwide campaign on cyberbullying, and training for responders in child abuse investigation and media persons reporting on child exploitation.
When the government is taking alarming steps on this issue, why are we standing behind? When we find some picture or video related to child porn, we can directly report it by calling helpline number 155260 or cyber cells.
We can also report the content in that particular app or website, as many apps like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube have introduced strict policies that restrict nudity. Finally, we can file a complaint at the National Commission of Women or a local police station.
So when we have so many options to raise our voices, why shut them out. We should stop such content on the internet, not our voices. Raise your voice and save children!
If you or anyone you know is aware of instances of child abuse or child pornography, contact the helpine number 1098 and 155260 respectively.