Evescape

In Goa, very unfortunately, mobilisation against child sexual abuse is nearly non-existent, or  buried under a culture of denial. The public conscience seems to have grown quiet on the ground while it boils over on social media (and very quickly cools down). When local children are harmed -- shame and image protection of institutions often silence survivors and families. For migrant children, this indifference is compounded by both societal and systemic xenophobia, class bias, observes Rajeshree Nagarsekar . ------------------------------- The horrific sexual assault of a three-year-old child in Mapusa, has once again shattered the projection of Goa as a peaceful and safe state. Found bleeding and severely traumatised, this toddler, child of a marginalized migrant vendor, joins a horrifying long list of children targeted in the state. With 269 registered crimes against children in the last nine months (averaging nearly one minor victim every single day), Goa faces a severe crisis. ...

When the very apex of law enforcement, the machinery designed to protect the vulnerable, turns into a site of predation, it is no longer an isolated systemic failure -- but  an outright betrayal of justice. For decades, across rotating political regimes, the system has routinely failed our children. The Ribandar horror is merely the latest chapter in a long, cross-partisan history of institutional neglect writes Rajeshree Nagarsekar ------------------------------------------------------ Goa's struggle with institutional child abuse is not new. The state’s dark underbelly was first forced into the public consciousness more than three decades ago, cutting across various governments, demonstrating that the failure to protect children transcends political parties. EVESCAPE Goa's first women's magazine attempts to put together a timeline of systemic collapse.  In 1987, Spartacus, a gay travel magazine had listed Goa as a sex destination for homosexuals. Among the sundry attrac...

When a child boards a school bus, parents are entrusting the state and the institution with its life. This trust has been shattered in the case of the  shocking case of a Balrath (state subsidised fleet of buses for schools) conductor booked for allegedly molesting multiple minor school girls. The survivors -- young girls had to endure inappropriate behavior for years before finding the courage to speak up during a school counseling session. The accused worked with the school for nearly 10 years. While the accused has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, this case shows a deeper, uglier truth -- our governments and institutions are failing to protect children.This case shows a complete breakdown of safety rules. It exposes the lethargy and lack of care in how laws are applied. This predator abused children for years without anyone noticing. Reason; the state government and school management failed to perform strict background checks or moni...

The recent controversy involving the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) State President Shavina Naik Shirodkar and former party treasurer Ajay Kholkar has brought this dark reality back to the forefront of Goan political discourse. Following Kholkar’s allegedly vulgar, lewd, and defamatory remarks, Shavina filed a formal police complaint at the Margao Police Station. But this incident is not an isolated one. It is a systematic gameplan of the male dominated political ecosystem which fundamentally engages in smear campaigns and blatant misogyny to undermine women in political leadership. For EVESCAPE -- committed to amplifying women’s voices -- this moment demands more than just reporting. It demands an absolute, unfiltered exposure of the systemic anxiety that triggers these smear campaigns writes Rajeshree Nagarsekar   When a woman steps into the political arena, she is prepared to battle ideologies, policies, and systemic hurdles. What she shouldn't have to prepare for is a barrage ...

The recent aggravated sexual assault of a minor girl inside the Crime Branch is not less than a catastrophic, systemic failure that highlights a deeply disturbing rot within the very institutions sworn to protect the vulnerable writes  Rajeshree Nagarsekar  The recent FIR against Crime Branch Police Inspector Vikas Deykar and his accomplice, Ranjini Palyekar, for the multi-occasion (from July to October) sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl inside the Ribandar office has shattered what little faith we as a society had left in institutional justice. The very department trusted to dismantle organized crime has instead housed it. What makes this betrayal more sinister is the systemic failure preceding it. The minor originally approached the state’s Child Helpline seeking protection, only for her grievance to be routed straight into the hands of her predators.  What's more? The actions of the Crime Branch in this case completely bypassed the mandated child protection jurispru...

Even as the Goa government remains steadfast in its assurance to the ST community regarding political reservation, the recent interim stay of the Bombay High Court on the notification estimating Goa’s Scheduled Tribe (ST) population has dealt a devastating, yet entirely predictable, blow to the tribal community’s long-standing battle for political reservation. For decades, the Gauda, Kunbi, and Velip communities have been offered grand promises of constitutional representation. Yet, as the court halted the process just weeks before the state government’s promised December implementation deadline, the structural betrayal of Goa’s original inhabitants has been laid bare once again. For years, major political parties have used the  community as a predictable vote bank, particularly across South Goa which has close to one lakh ST voters. In my interaction with key grassroot women activists of the ST community across Goa and few prominent leaders while writing this piece, a common senti...