Shalini, New Delhi: Today is World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse. A crime many people don't want to hear or talk about, and which disgusts and frightens many others.

“For many years I would write my diary. It was my best friend. But immediately I would tear off the pages,” says Sakshi, whose name has been changed because she wishes she was not associated with the story she's going to tell.

“I was being abused by my own family. It all started when I was very little. For many years I didn’t realise anything till late. And as a child I was helpless. I blamed myself. I didn't want to believe it. I was scared to talk about it, to get help. Even after I grew up, I would just shun those memories,” says Sakshi.

Sakshi is now 20 and is studying for a Masters Degree. But her life is different from an average college goer.

After 15 years of living with the trauma, it was in one of her college professors' she found some understanding.

“What helps you is to go out and do something about it. Like I am working with a group who works for similarly affected children. You learn to deal with yourself better when you're helping others do the same,” she says.

Sakshi is not the only one. A survey carried out this year by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development shows nearly 50 per cent of children between the ages of five and 18 in 13 states across the country are sexually abused at school.

Also Read: Keep Your Kids Safe

And 53 per cent say they have suffered some form of sexual abuse – at school or elsewhere. Most people think that abuse whether physical or emotional doesn't happen around you. But the truth is that it could be the girl next door or it could be your cousin or just about anyone.

There are never any clear-cut solutions or easy answers either. But there are ways out and Sakshi tells you what it takes to do that.

“What it takes is to believe yourself. You have to tell yourself that it’s not your fault. Sharing things always makes it better,” says she.