E-Paper
Paedophilia is a disease; counselling is necessary, says Dr Harish Shetty
Dr Shetty gives HT an insight into his work and how paedophilia can be treated and handled
Dr Harish Shetty is a psychiatrist who has worked with victims of disasters and communal riots. His work has also included child sexual abuse cases. He is a member of the National testing agency (NTA) by appointment of the Union cabinet on behal of the Human Resource Development ministry. Dr Shetty was a speaker at the national conference on complex sexualities in digital contexts held at KEM on Saturday in Pune. After his speech, Dr Shetty gave HT an insight into his work and how paedophilia can be treated and handled.
Across the gamut of your involvement with trauma situations what are your takeaways looking back?
I have worked with the riot-affected Gujarat district of Anand Kheda. I have worked with victims from Latur in earthquake of 1992, victims of the Kandle cyclone in early 2000s. I work with children all the time - sexual offenders and the sexually abused. There are two famous cases, the Panvel orphanage and the Thane orphanage. Riot situations are basically acute traumatic situations. In a school (cases of child sex abuse), it is a long going process. In a riot-affected place there is fear, there is anger, there are all shades of emotion involved. One needs to suspend all beliefs to be able to work. In a riot-affected area you learn mental health in an accelerated manner, in a very short time. In paedophilia, it is acute trauma for one child.
Do you get traumatised?
I should share this, during both the orphanage cases, the psychologist, the judicial officer and the psychiatrist, all three were affected. Those two went for vipasna, and I had to seek help. Continuous examination of the affected children... you keep listening to it and you cannot even share it because it is a court case, it has to remain confidential. When I got onto the stand as a witness, the lawyer tore me down initially. I had prepared myself so I survived. All mental health professionals need to do self-care activities before they take the plunge.
You says that the way of looking at victims is changing. Explain.
The stereotype of abuser has changed and the stereotype of victims is changing. In the sense, ‘my mother beats me up, father is a drunk, therefore I became vulnerable’ is not true at all. For example, when we were learning psychiatry, alcoholics came from a difficult family, now alcoholics come from all kinds of families. Depression was common only when it was genetic. Now the number of depression vicitms is large because of the world around us. The environment around us is causing depression. Now anybody can be sexually abused because some are more vulerable because technology is smarter than the human mind now. The methods of grooming are also very creative now. Tech adds to the groomer’s creativity.
What about police sensitivity?
Police machinery is still evolving. They should increase the number of police officials - like the ‘police didi’ in Mumbai who works under Juvenile Justice Act. Senstise them continuously. One-time sensitisation of the entire police force does nto change the entire software because any professional works with belief, not because of training. When it comes to children, the intensity of emotion is high. At that point it is necessary to be compassionate to the child. One of the elements of Pocso cases is to meet the child in the most comfortable palce. Most of them do not do that. They want to finish the case. They miss out on the elements. When a high profile criminal is involved, there’s a lot of pressure on the police. At this point, supporting the family is very important.
How should paedophiles be treated?
As and when the accused is in jail, s/he should be provided with counselling which is a right. Counselling to both victims and accused is necessary. Hardened criminal who has committed multiple murders has a different personality profile. We don’t have enough jails to keep mild, average, and hardened criminals separately. In any case, the top gangsters are kept in a different enclosure. The first-time criminals are in a different space. Paedophiles should be kept in a space where counselling is available. It is a disease. Counselling is necessary.
Is there a cure?
Counselling across time might prevent the person’s impulsivity from being acted upon. If it is associated with other psychiatric illnesses, then there are medications. If someone has, say, diabetes. Keep the best sweet in front of the person. Let the person watch it and go through the person’s thoughts. After three weeks it will stop affecting the person. Impulsivity can go down.
