Arpan’s Child Safety Week 2026: ‘Ruk Jao Varna POCSO Pakad Lega’ Warns Child Sexual Abusers
Child sexual abuse often happens in plain sight. In homes, in schools, on buses, in tuition classes and on phone screens. The abuser can be anyone, even someone the child knows and trusts. Adults are usually close by. What keeps offenders safe is our silence. It is time to break it. Some adults do not recognise abuse when they see it. Some sense that it is wrong but find it easier to look away.…
Child sexual abuse remains a pervasive concern in India, often occurring in seemingly innocuous settings such as homes, schools, buses, and online platforms. The abusers are frequently those known and trusted by the children, taking advantage of the adults' presence to go unnoticed. This Child Safety Week, Arpan, a Mumbai-based non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating child sexual abuse, is intensifying its efforts to break the silence surrounding these offenses.
They urge offenders with the slogan, "Ruk Jao Varna POCSO Pakad Lega" (Stop, or the POCSO law will catch you). According to a 2025 study published in The Lancet, approximately one in three girls and one in seven boys in India experience sexual violence before turning 18. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded 69,191 POCSO cases in 2024, with an average of 189 cases per day or about eight per hour, representing a small fraction of the total abuse incidents.
This awareness campaign, initiated by Arpan in 2019, has grown into a nationwide movement involving various stakeholders to promote open discussions and protective actions for children's safety. This year's campaign emphasizes the specific acts of abuse, categorizing them into six clear behaviors: inappropriate touching, sexual intent through inappropriate looks, requesting sexual photos or videos, taking and distributing sexual photos or videos, showing sexual photos or videos to a child, and viewing, saving, or sharing such content.
These actions are all punishable under the POCSO Act, which covers a spectrum of child sexual abuse offenses, including contact and non-contact abuse, as well as online exploitation. In 2024, 20,845 cases were registered under Section 7 for sexual assault, 3,502 under Section 11 for sexual harassment, and 500 under Section 13 for creating or distributing sexual images of children.
Additionally, cases related to the publication or transmission of sexually explicit material involving children constituted nearly nine in ten of all cybercrime cases against children in 2024. This week-long campaign includes offline and online initiatives, such as the flag-off of six Mumbai Metro coaches displaying the campaign messages, a public launch by actress Vidya Balan, and deployment of branded metro trains, buses, and digital bus shelters throughout Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai.
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