CHENNAI: To stop child sexual abuse, the Department of School Education in Tamil Nadu will soon set up  an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).

While hearing a Public Interest Litigation on the increasing sexual abuse of school children, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court came down heavily on the school administrations.

To ensure that mobile counseling centres in schools are operating correctly and that free counseling is offered to children in both government and private schools, social activist Veronica Mary filed the PIL before the Madurai court.
Although mobile counselling centres have been set up in Tamil Nadu for the past ten years, the bench said that the replies the petitioner received under the Right to Information Act showed that there had been no significant improvements.

The state government is reportedly working with the Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNCPCR) to establish the ICC in schools. The schools will be framing anti-sexual harassment policies and a copy of which will be distributed among students and teachers.

The Madras High Court ordered us to immediately form the ICC, so we have accelerated the procedure, the official continued. "The state school education department was already in the process." Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhil, the state's minister of education for schools, said in a statement to the media on Tuesday: "A nodal body will be created in schools with representatives from TNCPCR and this organisation would spread government-led awareness and sensitization programmes on sexual awareness.

The Department of School Education has implemented a number of measures to stop child sexual abuse in schools. Complaint boxes were put up in schools, which were accessible every week, and the necessary actions were done. The government will pursue those responsible for crimes with vigour.

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