A person whom I used to call Bhaiyya (brother) out of respect, forced himself on me. I was 16 years old. He had offered to walk me home late one evening after Navratri celebrations. I was grateful as I was scared to walk alone in the dark.

But what happened next is something I haven’t been able to forget all these years. The way he grabbed me. The way I struggled and luckily managed to escape.

Even after so many years, I still remember every detail of that horrifying night. I went into a shell after that, blamed myself and stopped going out after dark.

I can only imagine what young survivors and innocent children go through after sexual assault. Many of them go into depression, some also experience PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Trust me when I say it is very difficult for children to lead a normal life after facing sexual assault. One way to give them back their right to a happy, trauma-free life is to put the culprit behind bars.

Repeated court appearances make survivors relive the trauma. And this often stops survivors and their families from seeking justice.

I don’t want any child to go through the trauma I did. 

I’ve started this campaign asking all political parties to commit to setting up more fast-track courts to ensure swift justice in cases registered under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. Sign and share my petition

Ironically this pro-children act was framed in 2012 to ensure speedy trial and swift justice to children but data suggests that in reality these cases go on for years.

Maharashtra has 17,300 cases pending trial; UP has 15,900 and Madhya Pradesh 10,950. Kerala, Odisha, Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Gujarat have cases ranging between 3,500 to 5,000 pending.

Even our Supreme Court agrees that children should get speedy justice. Because justice delayed is justice denied!

Sign and share my petition. Raise our collective voice for voiceless children so that our lawmakers hear our call for #SwiftJusticeForKids

Click here if you want to sign my petition in Hindi

#SheVotes2019