Psychosocial consequences of child sexual abuse in the tea tribes of Assam

Pages: 2122-2130
Damanjit Sandhu and Kirandeep Kaur (Department of Psychology, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab)
Dimpy Mahanta (Department of Psychology, Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam)

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious public health concern crossing social, economic, racial and cultural divides. Given the high prevalence of this type of abuse among children in the North-Eastern parts of India and its disproportionate impact on their overall well-being, it is crucial to study this issue focusing on the North-Eastern aspects of the scenario. Thus, the primary aim of the present study was to gauge the impact of sexual abuse upon children in tea gardens of Assam. For the given purpose, 120 adolescents (60 males & 60 females) of age ranging from 12 to 15 years were randomly selected from various schools nearby different tea estates of Assam, which majorly catered to the children of tea garden workers. Adolescents from the participant schools were screened for having sexual abuse experiences to obtain a sample of 19 adolescents (7 males & 12 females) having a history of sexual abuse with the help of Childhood Trauma Questionnaire by Berstein and Fink (1998). The screened adolescents further served as participants in the focus group discussions. Results of the study revealed that majority of the participants lacked prior awareness about child sexual abuse. They experienced varied sexual behaviours ranging from inappropriate touching to forced penetration. The perpetrator in all the cases was someone known to the child. Six years was found to be the age of having experienced the abuse for the first time. All participants exhibited poor psychosocial health. Majority of the participants reported current relationship with family, relatives and peers as fraught with various interpersonal difficulties. Results also revealed that none of the participants disclosed about their abuse experience to anyone. Overall, this study informed about the traumatic sexual abuse experiences of the adolescents from different schools catering to the tea gardens of Assam and its impact on their lives. This study highlights the need for the involvement of various stakeholders in the prevention of child sexual abuse.