POCSO AWARENESS & DRUG ABUSE PROGRAMME AT PAIPPAD

MHD Kottayam conducted an awareness programme on POCSO Act & Drug Abuse in association with DLSA (District Legal Service Authority) and KSACS (Kerala State AIDS Control Society) and Social Work Department, SB College, Changanaserry at Paippad.

Smt. Rajasree Rajgopal, Sub – Judge, DLSA, Kottayam inaugurating the programme.

KISMAT Kottayam in association with the District Legal Services Authority, Kottayam, Kerala State AIDS Control Society and Social Work Department of SB College, Changanaserry   organized an awareness session on POCSO act and Drug Abuse for the interstate migrants residing at Paippad panchayat on 22^nd August in order to educate them about the various types of sexual exploitation faced by children in recent times. The increasing number of cases being registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in the migrant worker intense rural areas like Perumbavoor and Aluva is on a constant rise. The programme aimed to generate more awareness on this sensitivity topic and impart knowledge to the interstate migrants on the consequences faced if found guilty in such scenarios.

The programme was inaugurated by Smt. Rajasree Rajgopal, Sub – Judge, DLSA at 5:30pm, and she addressed the audience on the importance and relevance of this topic. Before this, a welcome note and the purpose of conducting this programme were delivered by MHD Kottayam to the audience. Following this, a very informative Street play was performed by the students of Social Work Department, SB College, Changanaserry depicting the recent POCSO related cases reported in Kerala. Around 200 or more interstate migrants witnessed this play. After this, an awareness class on POCSO Act, excessive usage of substance abuse among the migrants and promoting the sales of drugs to each other is a non – bailable offence and will face longer jail terms if caught was discussed by Adv. Vivek Mathew, Panel Member, DLSA and was translated in Hindi by KISMAT Kottayam coordinator Mr. John Sumit Jose.   He also spoke on the basic labour laws and schemes available or enacted by the state government. He especially stressed on the consequences of watching and forwarding Child Pornography content on social media platforms will face severe punishments under the Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.  In the end, he interacted with some of the migrants personally, who shared about their bad experiences and atrocities they faced under few contractors and house owners. He explained them to move legally with the help of DLSA and Labour department to demand their justice.