The incident was aired on national television and written about extensively in newspapers; there were dharnas, protests by citizens, there was turmoil everywhere but in the journey to contradict an incident that hit our society, did we forget about the victims? Did the effect of the entire shameful episode on the teenagers was lost somewhere?
“Such events have a traumatic effect on the young minds. Media has done its part , but we also need to sit back and contemplate if these children will ever be able to get over that evening?” says Dr Kishore, consultant psychiatrist NIMHANS.
According to Dr Kishore, nothing will come out of talking about what clothes the teenagers were wearing, if a group of girls and boys were together in a room, whether they were smoking or drinking, the main issue here is to help these teenagers come out of the trauma.
“First of all, I will ask everyone to stop calling them ‘victims’. The more the society targets them again and again, questioning them why they were in the given situation, the more negative impact it will have on the young minds. We need to come out of it and focus on talking to these teenagers and help them forget what they went through.”
The after effects of the incident have left the teenagers distraught. “It is not their fault at all and they need to come to terms with these facts. It was totally circumstantial. Parents should not blame their children in such a situation. They should talk to them and try to hear their side of the story as well. There should be a recalling session where these teenagers should speak out what they feel and only then can they get over their trauma.
“Parents and society should make sure that they start leading a normal life again. Eating on time, going to college, mixing with friends should again become a part of their lives.”
He further added, “It is the society we live in that needs to be blamed. What is the point of playing blame games and have debates on the issue. The main concern here are the teenagers and as a society, we need to make them forget and overcome, otherwise it will have a lifelong impact on their lives.
This could happen with anyone and we need to come to terms with it. As a society, we are at fault and should take the responsibility of the incident rather than targeting a bunch of innocent children.”
When we contacted one of the girls who was assaulted in Mangalore, Aparajitha (name changed) said, “My parents and my college principal have not taken this incident negatively and are providing full support.”
On being asked what role the media has played in such cases, Dr Kishore said, “The trauma only increases with the media sensationalising the whole thing. They, in their enthusiasm to highlight an issue, forget that they might be ruining young lives. The idea should be to create awareness not ridicule anyone.”
When we contacted Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, member of Press Council of India and an eminent journalist, about media reaching a place coincidently or to get sensational news, he said, “Sitting so far away, I don’t have an exact idea of what happened that evening. But I think the media was aware of what was going to happen that day. Usually the right wing extremists inform the media about such illegal incidents. And, if a person is standing right there capturing the whole thing then one is forced to believe that he is an accomplice.”
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