Not only do they look perfectly normal, paedophiles even behave in a very normal fashion. This makes it difficult for you to spot them. They craftily twist their way into your confidence so that you trust them with your children.

Paedophiles can be from anywhere; any class, profession, race or religion. And even though the majority of paedophiles have been reported to be men, women too abuse children.

What Can You Do?

Both boys and girls are equally susceptible to abuse. "Parents need to be aware of their surroundings and have a high index of suspicion starting from age 2-3 of their children," says Dr. Mirchandani, M.D, psychiatrist and hypnotherapist.

Here are some precautions that you can take.

• Paedophiles usually look for jobs through which they can come in contact with children. So run a background check on the people you hire to take care of your children.
  
• Have an age-appropriate, open discussion with your kids regarding sex education. Tell them to inform you if anyone touches them in a manner that makes them feel uncomfortable.
  
• Another popular source of communication for paedophiles with children is the Internet. Monitor your children's surfing activities. Install a net nanny if possible, so they won't visit restricted sites.

Prepare Your Kids

• Tell your kids not to give away their personal information like name, address and phone numbers to strangers. As far as possible, ask them not to talk to strangers.
  
• Tell them to stay away from dark and lonely places, especially when they are alone.
  
• In case they feel that someone could harm them, ask them to scream or do something to draw attention.
  
• Ask them to tell you if they feel that someone is trying to sexually abuse them. Let them know that sexual abuse isn't their fault, so they won't be embarrassed to tell you.

If your kid tells you that she is being sexually abused, do not ignore him. Try and understand what is wrong.

Never ridicule your child's concerns or she will feel backward to open up to you in future.

In case your child has been sexually abuse, visit a counsellor. "Family Planning Association of India runs free counselling centres across the country," says, Dr. Mirchandani.

Besides this, there are NGOs running child guidance centres across India. These also have child help lines where kids can talk to someone in private.