Priyanka Chopra calls for protection of child victims of sexual abuse

May 9, 2017

United Nations, May 9: Drawing attention to the harrowing traumas of child victims of sexual violence, UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra has called for an increased support for such children and raising awareness that underage sex can lead to unwanted teen pregnancy or HIV.

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Bollywood actress Chopra,who has been the ambassador since December last year and a United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) India Ambassador for 10 years,visited Zimbabwe this week where she met child survivors of sexual violence and heard their harrowing stories. Through her trip, she advocated for increased support for child victims of sexual violence.

"No woman, and most definitely no child, should ever have to experience sexual violence – especially from someone they trust for protection, such as a family member," she said. Chopra's first stop was in Chitungwiza, south of Harare, Zimbabwe, where she met a 13-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped by her uncle and threatened her if she revealed the abuse.

The girl had become pregnant but with the help of her mother and neighbours, the incident was reported to the police and the uncle who abused her was arrested, tried, and jailed for 10 years. "As a society, it is on us to provide and take care of our children as citizens of the world, to educate children at a young age that it's not OK to be inappropriately touched and that under-age sex can lead to unwanted teen pregnancy or HIV," Chopra said.

Chopra, 34, also visited 'Childline Zimbabwe', the country's 24-hour service for children who have been abused, violated or exploited. Besides providing free, confidential, multilingual counselling to children aged 18 years and under, 'Childline' also offers 25 community-based drop in centres throughout the country. "I was astonished by the number of calls that were coming in during the brief time I was there," she said.

"The counsellors, all volunteers, told me that many calls come from children in hysterics because they had been raped or abused. They were so scared," she added. Chopra said the model of 'Childline' should be replicated by countries that have high rates of violence against children "because it is a safe place for children to turn to and know that their call will be answered by a compassionate person who will take their complaints seriously and respond."

According to UNICEF, sexual violence against children is widespread in Zimbabwe and latest available data has showed that close to one in 10 girls aged 15-17 years old have been a victims of forced sexual intercourse or a forced sexual act. Approximately two-thirds of victims were first abused by an intimate partner and about a tenth of the victims by a stranger.

Most concerning is that in the case of children, most abuse occurred in situations when the child knew and trusted the adult who abused him or her. Sexual violence against children is also "mostly invisible" and goes largely undocumented, noted UNICEF, stating that fear of "getting into trouble" as well as shame and stigma all contributed to children not reporting the abuse.

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News Network
May 20,2020

Mumbai, May 20: Doing his bit to help people in need during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, and the lockdown 4.0 phase, Bollywood actor Salman Khan has initiated ''Being Haangryy''- food truck facility to distribute, provide ration to needy.

To feed the affected people in Mumbai, the food truck with the words ''Being Haangryy'' written on it, was seen in Mumbai roads on Wednesday, where volunteers are providing huge bags of ration. A long queue of people was standing near the truck to get the essentials.

Many videos of the truck moving around the city providing ration kits to the people in need, surfaced on the internet from earlier this month.

However, the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor has not announced this initiative himself on his personal social media accounts.

The Sultan actor is staying at his Panvel farmhouse with his nephew Nirvaan Khan and other family members ever since the lockdown was announced.

Earlier, the 54-year-old actor urged people to take up the ''Anna Daan'' challenge and donate to the underprivileged ones who are worst affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

After urging people to take up the ''Anna Daan'' challenge, the actor posted a video on Twitter, that features him and Iulia Vantur, Jacqueline Fernandez among others loading the bags filled with ration on to a truck.

Khan actively posts videos on his social media handles to raise awareness about the importance of social distancing during COVID-19.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

@jacquelinef143 @vanturiulia @rahulnarainkanal @imkamaalkhan @niketan_m @waluschaa @abhiraj88

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News Network
February 10,2020

Feb 10: Bong Joon-ho’s film “Parasite” starts in a dingy, half-basement apartment with a family of four barely able to scratch out a life. There must be no place to go but up, right? Yes and no. There’s nothing predictable when the South Korean director is on his game.

This dark, socially conscious film about the intertwining of two families is an intricately plotted, adult thriller. We can go up, for sure, but Bong can also take us deeper down. There’s always an extra floor somewhere in this masterpiece.

It tells the story of the impoverished four-person Kim family who, one by one, and with careful and devious planning, all get employed by the four-person affluent Park family — as a tutor, an art teacher, a driver and a housekeeper. They are imposters stunned by the way wealth can make things easier: “Money is an iron. It smooths out all the creases,” says the Park patriarch with wonder.

Bong, who directed and wrote the story for “Parasite,” has picked his title carefully, of course. Naturally, he’s alluding to the sycophantic relationship by a clan of scammers to the clueless rich who have unwittingly opened the doors of their home on a hill. But it’s not that simple. The rich family seem incapable of doing anything — from dishes to sex — without help. Who’s scamming who?

Bong’s previous films play with film genres and never hide their social commentary — think of the environmentalist pig-caper “Okja” and the dystopian sci-fi global warming scream “Snowpiercer.” But this time, Bong’s canvas is a thousand times smaller and his focus light-years more intense. There are no CGI train chases on mountains or car chases through cities. (There is also, thankfully, 100% less Tilda Swinton, a frequent, over-the-top Bong collaborator.

The two Korean families first make contact when a friend of the Kim’s son asks him to take over English lessons for the Park daughter. Soon the son (a dreamy Choi Woo-sik) convinces them to hire his sister (the excellent Park So-dam) as an art teacher, but doesn’t reveal it’s his sis. She forges her diploma and spews arty nonsense she learned on the internet, impressing the polite but firm Park matriarch (a superb Jo Yeo-jeong.)

The Park’s regular chauffer is soon let go and replaced by the Kim patriarch (a steely Lee Sun-kyun). Ditto the housemaid, who is dumped in favor of the Kims’ mother (a feisty Jang Hye-jin.) All eight people seem happy with the new arrangement until Bong reveals a twist: There are more parasites than you imagined. The clean, impeccably furnished Park home will have some blood splashing about.

Bong’s trademark slapstick is still here but the rough edges of his often too-loud lessons are shaved down nicely and his actors step forward. “Keep it focused,” the Kim’s son counsels his father at one point. Bong has followed that advice.

There are typically dazzling Bong touches throughout. Just look for all the insect references — stink bugs at the beginning to flies at the end, and a preoccupation with odor across the frames. And there’s a scene in which the rich matriarch skillfully winds noodles in a bowl while, in another room, duct tape is being wrapped around a victim and classical music plays.

Bong could have been more strident in his social critique but hasn’t. There are no villains in “Parasite” — and also no heroes. Both families are forever broken after chafing against each other, a bleak message about the classes ever really co-existing (Take that, “Downton Abbey”).

“Parasite” is a worthy winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the first South Korean movie to win the prestigious top prize. The director has called it an “unstoppably fierce tragicomedy.” We just call it brilliant.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Mumbai, Jul 21: Police have recorded statements ofthree psychiatrists and a psychotherapist as part of their probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput last month, a senior official said on Monday.

Their "statements were recorded over the last three- four days" by the Bandra police who are probing the case, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Abhishek Trimukhe.

The late actor was consulting these mental health professionals and hence their statements were recorded as part of the ongoing probe, police said.

Rajput was undergoing treatment for depression since November 2019, they said.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging in his suburban Bandra apartment on June 14 in what the police claimed was a case of suicide. In the initial investigation, the Mumbai police had found that the actor was under medication for depression.

So far, the police have recorded statements of over 36 people, including director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bollywood casting director Mukesh Chhabra, actress Sanjana Sanghi and Rajput's friend Sandip Singh, among others.

Rajput's friend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, has also given her statement to the police.

Filmmaker Aditya Chopra recorded his statement in connection with the case at the Versova Police Station on Saturday.

Rajput starred in films such as 'Shuddh Desi Romance', 'Raabta', 'Kedarnath' and 'Sonchiriya'. But his most prominent role came as cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the biopic, 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story'.

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