MUMBAI: News of a four-year-old student of a prominent Juhu school being molested by her school bus conductor has left several students across the city scared. For some, however, the case brought back painful and daunting memories of similar incidents.
"At first I thought my teacher was just fond of me, but with time he started holding me around my waist, touching my lips and calling me 'sexy'. At a school trip, he went to the extent of forcibly trying to kiss me. I was only 13 and didn't know what to do," said Priya (22), ex-student of a prominent ICSE school in the city. The incident immediately changed her behaviour towards that teacher but instead of support from friends, she was mocked upon in class. "My friends made me believe that I led him on to me and some classmates went to the extent of calling me a s***," she said, adding the guilt affected her so much that she couldn't even confide to anyone in her family.
Almost a year later, when her family learnt of the issue through Priya's friends, they confronted her and immediately contacted a psychiatrist. "I personally went to visit the school principal along with her parents to discuss this matter, where I was categorically told that 'girls at this age are infatuated with men and make up such stories', and the school expected us to ignore it," said psychiatrist Dr Anjali Chhabria, to whom Priya was finally taken. The matter was even discussed with the school trustees, but it changed nothing. "My parents were repeatedly told that he was a really good teacher and won many awards for the school, so no action was taken," added Priya. She went through two years of therapy to overcome the guilt but the fear still remains and she broke down while narrating the incident.
"Even though I passed out of the school, my younger sister was still studying there. I made sure she never participated in any sports activities and insisted to my parents that she be shifted to another school. They tried, but couldn't do so due to lack of seats in nearby schools, which left me worrying all the time," said Priya. Recently, the family got to know that the teacher quit on his own accord only a couple of months ago.
Richa, 18, still fears being groped by strangers on the road and insists on travelling along with someone all the time. "A cleaner in our school would regularly follow me during school break and after school hours, but I never paid attention. One day during the annual function, the cleaner followed me to the washroom and pounced on me," said Richa, who was nine when the incident happened. Because of loud music at the function, Richa's screams didn't reach anyone. "I scratched him and ran as far as I could and hid in a class. I couldn't step out of the class for the next couple of hours," she added. Richa confided in her parents only two months after the incident took place.
"I knew my parents wouldn't believe me and I couldn't explain to them why I was scared of going to school. When I finally shared this episode with them, they immediately contacted the school principal," she said. While in this case the school was quick enough in taking action against the cleaner and fired him, it refused to file an official complaint against the cleaner. "They said it would affect the image of the school and my parents were made to promise in writing that this incident would not go outside the principal's cabin," she added.
The incident still affects Richa, despite going through three years of therapy to finally overcome the fear of being followed and groped by the same man again.
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