The Koshish That Paid Off
How TISS Team Blew the Lid Off Bihar Sexual Abuse Case
We spoke to them like a friend and they opened up to us: Team Leader
When a seven-member team of young psychologists of the ‘Koshish Project’ of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) landed in Bihar last October for a social audit, they had little idea they would end up exposing a sordid tale of sexual abuse of the scale that has surfaced.
I am sure nobody, the Bihar government or us, knew that this scale of sexual abuse would be prevalent at the institutions in Muzaffarpur. We built confidence with children, spoke to them like a friend and they opened up to us,” Mohd Tarique, who headed the team, told ET.
The three women members of the team interacted at length with many of the nearly three dozen girls against whom sexual assault has been proven now. The team camped in Bihar for almost seven months, travelling to 110 institutions over 38 districts.
It was the report from TISS in May that blew the lid over the sexual abuse case. The team had also met main accused Brajesh Thakur. “One must credit the Bihar government for having this social audit, which is not compulsory under law...,” said Tarique.
“The most critical part is having a conversation, individually, and in groups,” said Tarique. “Sexual abuse is something that especially the children are not very vocal about. It wasn’t upfront that all the children spoke about it but there were some children who shared that this was happening. Some used another girl’s name saying that it happened with that person. It was indicating more like a pattern or the environment of the place.”
He said that the most important part how team members carry themselves in the institution. “Like if you sit in the superintendent’s office and two children bringing in tea for you notice you are comfortable with him, they take the message to the barrack that there is no point in telling these people anything. We avoided that – no refreshments were accepted,” he said.
Tarique said that when the TISS team spoke to the children in private, they strictly disallowed any institution member to enter the room on any pretext. “We had to warn the staff that if they come in on any pretext, we will have to complain to the government. This gave children the confidence to speak up,” he said. The TISS team would also never counter-check what children told them with the staff there immediately in front of them.
The key was to be realistic with the children. “We told them we may not be able to change everything, we did not make tall promises. But we assured them that whatever they would tell us, we would report it and it would go to the highest authority. Our mandate was not to investigate a crime – it is something we stumbled upon,” Tarique told ET.
