A Study on Perceptions towards Child Sexual Abuse among Student-Teachers in Puducherry

The primary purpose of the research is perception about child sexual abuse among student teachers. Perception is someone interpretation of something based on their previous experience. Any activity with a child before the age of legal consent that is for sexual gratification of an adult or a substantially older child. The perpetrators take advantage of violate or deceive children or young people who have less power over elders. Student teachers in a B.Ed., programme are individuals who are currently enrolled in Bachelor of Education programme, which is a professional degree program designed prepare individuals to become approved and recognized teachers. They are typically in the process of completing coursework and gaining field experiences in order to meet the requirements in the jurisdiction. Survey method was adopted for this study. The sample consists of 62 student teachers in Vivekanandha College of Education in Puducherry. Simple random sampling technique was used in this study. Although preliminary in nature, the present findings are among the first to demonstrate the nature of child sexual abuse among student teachers in Puducherry. Further, the study revealed that child sexual abuse manifests both as contact and noncontact forms. More boys than girls are exposed to most forms of abuse.