So the day that my husband predicted comes true "Seema you might get hurt in the process, please take care..." Though he meant physically hurt , what happened today has hurt me beyond any physical pain. Having passionately & actively worked in the field of Disability/Mental health for close to 15 years & worked with NGOs, Clinics & Schools ; I am now more than convinced that Parent Partnership is the key to bring the best in any child. Anyone other than the Parent (meaning the one who is raising the child) is a facilitator. Being silent/neutral in the wake of injustice is as good as being supportive of the one indulging in injustice - This lesson has been ingrained well by my family, teachers, all my mentors at every institution I worked with and currently working with. Hence there was no second thought while filing the first petition to #The_State_Commission_for_Protection_of_Child_Rights highlighting the urgent need to take action towards ensuring safe, ethical, transparent & accountable therapy practices for children with disabilities. This was given in the wake of several cases of abuse & injury reported by parents while the child undergoes therapy behind closed doors in therapy centers with so called trained adult therapists. As if this was not scary enough the parents who wait outside hoping against hope is neither given the real picture nor explained the details of therapy in writing. Documentation was negligible or nil in most cases. The second petition was filed to #The_Child_Welfare_Committee , the 3rd to #The_Collector_Ernakulam_District ,& 4th to #The_Minister_of_Social_Justice_Kerala_State. Finally on inquiry with the District Child Protection Officer for an update. She says (translated to English for ease of typing) "Madam, we did visit all the centers you mentioned in the city , nothing is wrong anywhere." - -Huh? Really Wow ! So you mean to say parents are being trained now, they sit inside during session & there is good documentation?- "No, Madam, nothing of that sort but all the therapist have explained to the parents why they should be sitting outside & the parents have understood. They have no complaints. So what can we do?" We can take action only if parent complains. -WHAT? Dear Child Protection Officer , if I must call you so? You mean to say you as an authorized entity of the District is waiting for something untoward to happen to children who cannot voice for themselves and then further wait for it to get reported by parents who are clueless of what to do or where to go? We wouldn't leave any child without supervision behind closed doors with any adult for 45 minutes!! And here we pay for it in the name of "Therapy" which is not documented and you Ms. District Child Protector tell me that you will WAIT!!! Duh!!! What an abuse of authority Ms.@^$/!/$&€£@ I tried the peaceful means but well now I think I understand why people turn to #Activism
