Awareness Programme on POSCO and POSH at GDGPS Lucknow:-

Awareness Programme on POSCO and POSH at GD Goenka Public School Lucknow. Child sexual abuse is a major concern that is increasing day by day in India and to fight child sexual abuse, it is important that we all take responsibility in our own ways to combat the menace.
Keeping this in mind an awareness session was conducted in GD Goenka Public School virtually for the students of Classes III to XI. The resource person, Ms. Raina Khatri Tandon, a certified POSH Compliance expert and the founder of Right to rising (India’s first and only ISO certified POSH organization) conducted a session for the Goenkan students.
Ms. Tandon commenced the session with a story about Bhanwari Devi, a social Dalit worker, and briefed the students about how the POSH Act 2013 came into existence. She explained to the students about good touch and bad touch, how to reach out to parents, teachers, and guardians in case of abuse. The terms like child abuse, POSH Act, and POSCO Act were discussed in detail. Students were made to understand the protection committee/safety committee and what to do if they are harassed. The duties of the school were also emphasized by the resource person.
Students asked their queries and doubts related to terms like rape and how visiting sites can be harmful to them. How to prevent child abuse was discussed wherein students were trained to shout loudly in case of any kind of uncomfortable moment. They shouted in unison repeating the words of the resource person. She encouraged the students to always shout and scream and reach out to the members of the protection committee in case they are in school or to reach out to their parents at home or anywhere else. The Posco Act was discussed in detail and how children are protected under this Act was also briefed to the students.
The session concluded with the resource person sharing the numbers of the police and child helpline. Three points were emphasized towards the end:-

‘Be brave, shout, and reach out for help.’