Recently, renowned journalist Ms. Barkha Dutt, revealed how she was sexually abused as an 8 year old, and later was physically abused in an adult relationship, during her college years.
In her new book entitled “This Unquiet Land – Stories from India’s Fault Lines”, Ms. Dutt talks about why she chose to go public about her experiences, so many years later. She says “I cannot with any honesty write about feminism, call myself a feminist, or talk about the need to lift the veil of silence and the conspiracy of silence around sexual violence and abuse, if I’m not ready to break the silence in my own life.”
Ms. Barkha Dutt’s story, serves as a stark reminder to all of us, that sexual abuse happens at all strata of society, to all kinds of people, in all kinds of contexts. Silence around the issue will only increase the rate of crime, and make it ‘socially acceptable’. It is important to remember that we need to speak about this issue and encourage those who have gone through such crimes to raise their voices. It is only then that these crimes will be addressed in a relevant manner, and eventually reduce.
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