Bengaluru, 30th May 2025: Child abuse often steals the innocence of children and impacts them physically and socially, in an interactive forum CII Young Indians hosted a conclave that acted as a catalyst to bring a white paper to help build policy that allows children to thrive. Thought leaders from Government of Karnataka, education, law, mental health, civil society, and media. The event marked a decade of impactful work under Project Masoom—CII Young Indians (Yi)’s flagship initiative to prevent child sexual abuse.
Ms Poojitha Prasad, Chapter Chair, CII Yi Bengaluru, emphasized, “Masoom has stood as a shining example of Yi’s enduring commitment to child safety and protection. Over the past decade, we have touched thousands of lives through impactful awareness campaigns, teacher training, and advocacy efforts. This conclave is reaffirmation of our shared responsibility to build a safer ecosystem for children in Karnataka. We hope this whitepaper a step that brings a consolidated effort from government bodies, schools, and stakeholders.”
Dr VIJAYALAKSHMI DESHMANE, PADMA SHRI AWARDEE reiterated, “Children are the most vulnerable members of our society. We must build a future where child safety is not a privilege, but a right. Conversations like these are critical to shifting mindsets and creating safe environments across homes, schools, and communities.”
Panel Discussion were curated on the themes of, Safeguarding Children – Voices from the Frontlines and Inclusive Protection: Preventing Abuse Among Children with Diverse Vulnerabilities. A workshops on identifying signs of possible abuse and also on the legal provisions were also part of the conclave.
Some key suggestions were
• Create training modules for teachers on demystifying sexual abuse C sexuality and on legal awareness that would be conducted annually.
• Identify 1 teacher in each school who could enable mental health wellbeing among children.
• Identify a reporting pathway with safeguarding officers in each school that could direct the children to appropriate channel for resolution.
• Create a map of counsellors who can support children in need of help to allow easy access to caregivers.
• Create Peer Mentoring Safety Nets as part of Child Protection Committees in all schools. The committee to include teachers, parents, adolescent children apart from the peer mentor.
• Create a state level awareness C media campaign to educate of how touching children inappropriately is a legal offence to act as a deterrent
The panelists included Dr Kaushik Murali (Sankara Eye Foundation), Ms Kushi Kushalappa (Enfold), Mr Rengarajan M (Vanguard B-School), and Mr Robin Christopher Joseph (Cyber Verse),Ms Shukla Bose (Parikrma Foundation), and Ms Maya Sharma (Senior Journalist) Ms Shashikala KB (Retd Senior Assistant Director).
The event concluded with Ms Priyadarshni Modi, Chapter Co-Chair, Yi Bengaluru, reaffirming Yi’s commitment to child safety and thanking all stakeholders and partners for their continued support.
The conclave was attended around by 80+ government officials, educators and mental health professionals. The conclave also served as the launchpad for a forthcoming White Paper on Child Safety, compiling recommendations from all sessions to be submitted to policymakers, education boards, and civil society partners.
