A few drops of blood in a school bathroom. That’s all it took for one hundred and twenty-five girls, aged just 10 to 16, to be pulled out of class and lined up for a physical check after blood stains were found in their school bathroom. 125 girls.  

This isn’t a fictional incident; it happened more than two weeks ago, in a school in Shahapur, near Mumbai. At this point, the principal, an attendant, and three others have been arrested. And the private English-medium school remains shut amid public outrage and protests from parents.

And while that may seem like the full story, the real story begins here. The children were not comforted. Not cared for. They were inspected. These were schoolgirls — children — made to believe that their discomfort didn’t matter. And the adults in charge chose punishment over protection. It sounds extreme — but maybe it only feels shocking because we’ve learned to treat this as normal.

This silence isn’t new. It’s been rehearsed, repeated, and passed down. Do you remember tying a sweater around your waist to hide a period stain? Being discouraged against playing during P.T. period, not from a place of care, but so that no one sees the white uniform being stained?

What happened in Shahapur wasn’t a hygiene check. It wasn’t a mistake in school protocol. It was a violation. A criminal act.

What The Law Says 

India has a clear legal framework to protect children from harm — the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, or POCSO, passed in 2012. It was especially created because the older laws weren’t properly built with children in mind. The POCSO Act recognises that violations aren’t always violent. They can be quiet, routine, and dressed up as discipline.

It defines sexual assault as any physical contact made with sexual intent. But intent isn’t always obvious — and the law knows that. That’s why the Act includes provisions for acts that humiliate, threaten, or violate the dignity of a child.

What happened in Shahapur may not have involved explicit violence — but it didn’t need to.The mass inspection of minor girls, without consent or dignity, falls within the legal definition of abuse. And the law doesn’t just define what’s wrong, it tells us what to do next.

Mandatory Reporting: Why the Law Doesn’t Wait for Proof

One of the most important — and least understood — parts of the POCSO Act is mandatory reporting. If you know or even reasonably suspect that a child is at risk, the law expects you to act. Under Section 19 of the Act, any person who has knowledge of — or even a reasonable suspicion — that a child is at risk is legally obligated to report it to the police or to a child protection authority.

This includes teachers, school staff, parents, and even bystanders. In a setting like a school, this responsibility becomes even more urgent. The law asks: if something feels wrong, why aren’t you saying something?

Who Can Be Protected — And Who Can Be Held Accountable?

Under the POCSO Act, every person under 18 is considered a child — regardless of gender, maturity, or background. When it comes to the offender, the law makes no exceptions. Anyone — regardless of gender or position — can be held accountable if they have harmed a child or failed to act when they should have. That includes principals, teachers, school nurses, wardens, and staff.

When confronting abuse or sexual harrasment, it’s important to remember that, first of all, you are not alone and what was done to you is not your fault. You are not defined by either the violation or by the silence that sometimes follows it. Second, it’s never too late to file a report. The POCSO Act places no time or age limit on when a survivor can file a complaint.
Whether it happened last week or twenty years ago — if you are ready to speak now, the law will listen.

And you do not have to do it alone. Once a report is filed, the police must inform the Child Welfare Committee within 24 hours. A ‘Support Person’ is appointed to guide the child and their family through the legal proceedings. A Special Public Prosecutor is assigned so that the survivor doesn’t have to go lawyer-hunting or bear legal costs. These safeguards exist to ensure that no child, no survivor, is left to carry the weight alone — emotionally, financially, or legally.

The Law Is One Part Of The System. But So Are We.

Justice doesn’t begin in courtrooms. It begins in classrooms. On school buses. In staff rooms, corridors, and homes. If an adult chooses to intervene at the right time. The law is a framework but culture creates permission and right now, our culture still permits harm — through inaction, through shame, and through habit.

We’ve been trained to prioritise reputation over protection. To “not make a scene” and to look away, but the law doesn’t look away. And neither should we. You don’t have to be the victim or their family to act. If something feels wrong, you’re allowed to speak up. And if reporting it to the police feels overwhelming, the first step can simply be telling someone responsible, a caregiver, a teacher, or someone in charge.

More than anything, if we learn to truly listen when a child expresses discomfort or tries to share their experience — that’s half the battle won.

Here's more from Homegrown:

Short Film 'Stray Dogs Come Out At Night' Explores Toxic Masculinity & Sexual Repression In Society

Barkha Dutt Shares Her Personal Experience With Sexual Abuse

Right The Wrong: A Toolkit To Understand Laws Around Sexual Harassment In India