Kanchan is 11 years old. One evening she was playing, when her mother asked her to get some medicine from the chemist. However, the closest medical shop was closed. When she was on her way back home, she met a man on the way who told her that he had spoken to her mother and would take her to his medical shop so she could get what he needed.

But instead, he took her to a forested area close by and on the way there, he showed her pornographic pictures. He told her that by having sex, girls become fair and asked her if she had ever sex. Once they reached an isolated spot, he raped her and told her not to scream or else dogs in the jungle would come and bite her. He then accompanied her half way back to her house and then ran away.

When the girl reached home, she was in a bad condition and was bleeding. Her mother was shocked and tried to report the matter to the police, but it was in vain, as there was no one to hear their plea and help them access justice.

Later when her school teacher came to know about this incident she approached HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, and a team went to meet the victim’s family. The girl was in trauma and looked very scared. HAQ provided regular counseling to the girl and helped her to deal with the aftermath of the incident. HAQ also provided legal support to the girl. The mother and the girl did not have much hope that the accused would be arrested, as he was a stranger, and unknown to them. However the man was found and arrested. This helped to bolster their courage.

The girl is yet to go to court and give her statement, but counselling sessions are still ongoing and the team is helping her prepare her statement for court. The girl says that she is ready and confident that she will be able to talk about what happened to her.