Page 3 - Chupi-Todo
P. 3
PREFACE
T here are some things in life that we can never really forget or ‘get over’. Things
we hold so deep within us—feelings of shame, guilt, shock, blame—that many of
us might even take them to our grave. It was this painful area of life that we began
tentatively exploring when we started researching Satyamev Jayate’s episode on
Child Sexual Abuse.
In the process of our year-long research, what we thought would be our biggest
challenge—that of encouraging people to share deeply personal narratives—was
surmounted. A far bigger challenge that emerged was dealing with the realisation
of just how rampant child sexual abuse is. Government statistics had put the extent
of child sexual abuse in India at a staggering 53%. But igures, no matter how
devastating, are still just numbers on a page. They can never prepare you for
the lives, life stories, faces and voices of the people who make those statistics
frighteningly real. The journey of our research proved to be traumatic. Many
times over, we heard people say, “This is the irst time I am speaking about what
happened with me.” We also heard, “Yes, this happened a long time ago, but I am
still not okay. It’s not okay.”
Every single survivor who spoke to us, shared his or her experiences with generosity
and courage, and made a tremendous contribution in shaping our understanding.
Once the topic became known to colleagues, people within the team too started
opening up about their own experiences of abuse. Our motivation in making this
episode now had an added, personal dimension.
CHUPPI TODO! | 01
T here are some things in life that we can never really forget or ‘get over’. Things
we hold so deep within us—feelings of shame, guilt, shock, blame—that many of
us might even take them to our grave. It was this painful area of life that we began
tentatively exploring when we started researching Satyamev Jayate’s episode on
Child Sexual Abuse.
In the process of our year-long research, what we thought would be our biggest
challenge—that of encouraging people to share deeply personal narratives—was
surmounted. A far bigger challenge that emerged was dealing with the realisation
of just how rampant child sexual abuse is. Government statistics had put the extent
of child sexual abuse in India at a staggering 53%. But igures, no matter how
devastating, are still just numbers on a page. They can never prepare you for
the lives, life stories, faces and voices of the people who make those statistics
frighteningly real. The journey of our research proved to be traumatic. Many
times over, we heard people say, “This is the irst time I am speaking about what
happened with me.” We also heard, “Yes, this happened a long time ago, but I am
still not okay. It’s not okay.”
Every single survivor who spoke to us, shared his or her experiences with generosity
and courage, and made a tremendous contribution in shaping our understanding.
Once the topic became known to colleagues, people within the team too started
opening up about their own experiences of abuse. Our motivation in making this
episode now had an added, personal dimension.
CHUPPI TODO! | 01
