Teaching ‘Touching Safety rules’ to boys

Naina Jha conducted a workshop for the male students of class 4th & 5th of DAV Public School, BSEB Colony, Patna on 1st August, 2019. It was attended by 350 boys. The workshop began by asking the boys to name their body parts. Only two boys named the private body parts. Therefore, they were explained, what genitals are and why is it necessary to have knowledge of every part of your body.

It was followed by explaining safe and unsafe touches by using examples. The PANTS rule was also explained to the boys. PANTS is an acronym that stands for Privates are private; Always remember your body belongs to you; No means no; Talk about secrets that upset you and Speak up, someone can help. An activity called ‘My Safety Circle’ was conducted, wherein all the boys drew their own Safety circles. To draw a Safety circle, each boy drew a hand, wrote his own name on the palm and wrote the names of trustworthy people on each finger. The boys were advised to tell every secret thing to the members of their safety circle. The boys were then showed a video that shows how a child can be abused and what action they can take when they are harassed.

Also, the boys were told a few statements to which they had to answer yes or no. Some of the questions asked were, ‘is it okay to brush daily?’; ‘is it okay if your elder brother/sister asks you to change your clothes in front of them?’. This exercise was done to know the students’ understanding of right and wrong when it comes to keeping oneself safe. 

At the end of the workshop, the boys were asked to share their stories, where they felt uncomfortable or they experienced unsafe touch. One of the boys reported that his elder cousins had touched his private part and told him not to tell this to anyone. They told him it was a game and he was not supposed to discuss this game with anyone else. Around 10 boys who reported having experienced unsafe touches.