Swara Bhaskar campaigns against sexual abuse

Bhaskar has shot for a video, in which she is narrating Hindi poems about how children are affected by the issue.

Swara Bhaskar is known for voicing her opinions on several social issues, including those related to women’s safety and education. Now, the actor has lent her support to a campaign against child sexual abuse. Recently, the Raanjhanaa (2013) star shot for a special video for an initiative called Hindi Kavita, in which she is seen reading poems for kids. The poems, written by director Manish Gupta, talk about how children can be tricked by adults, and consequently be abused by them.

Swara says, “When the people behind this project shared their data with me, which stated that every other kid is abused, I was shocked. There was no way I could have turned away from such a cause.”

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Swara feels strongly about the issue. “Child sexual abuse is prevalent in our society to an unimaginable extent. I felt I should raise my voice and do whatever I can to increase awareness about it. People don’t want to talk about it. Most incidents are dismissed. Many kids don’t even realise what has happened to them. Many are unable to verbalise their trauma. As a society, we have to take away the burden of shame from the child and put it on the perpetrator,” she states. Swara feels that campaigns like these “are meant to make people uncomfortable” with the subject, and in turn, encourage them to speak about it. The poems also paint an extremely gory picture of the situation, which, the actor says “we should all be ashamed of”.

Swara adds, “When the people behind this project shared their data with me, which stated that every other kid is abused, I was shocked. There was no way I could have turned away from such a cause.”

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