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Study on Child Abuse: INDIA 2007

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Study on Child Abuse: INDIA 2007 Study on Child Abuse: INDIA 2007 Ministry of Women and Child Development Government of India © Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India 2007 Sketches used in the report have been drawn by Child Respondents Researcher's remarks/observations in the report are from the study itself Printed by Kriti, New Delhi Errors and Omissions: The editors and authors have made every attempt to present factual information. Study on Child Abuse INDIA 2007 Ministry of Women and Child Development Government of India A report prepared by: Dr. Loveleen Kacker, IAS Srinivas Varadan Pravesh Kumar Supported by: Dr. Nadeem Mohsin Anu Dixit TABLE OF CONTENTS Message i Foreword iii Preface v List of Abbreviations viii 1. Introduction 01 2. Research Methodology 11 3. Instruments and Standards for Protection of Child Rights 21 4. Profile of Respondents 33 5. Physical Abuse 41 6. Sexual Abuse 71 7. Emotional Abuse and Girl Child Neglect 103 8. Conclusion and Recommendations 119 9. Annexures 127 10. References 192 Smt. Renuka Chowdhury Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Women and Child Development Government of India Message The Honorable President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, in his address to the joint session of the Parliament reiterated the government's commitment to women and children: "The rights of women and children and their aspirations are of paramount importance in our march towards an inclusive and equitable society. Keeping in view the Constitutional provisions and in order to give greater focus to issues relating to women and children, an independent Ministry of Women & Child Development has been created. This emphasizes the importance being given to women as equal partners in development. Landmark legislations that ensure women's safety and protecting them from domestic violence have been enacted. Investment in the well-being of children is an investment in the future of the country. Eradication of malnutrition is receiving topmost priority, including through a rapid expansion of anganwadis whose numbers will reach one million soon. At the same time issues relating to child protection are high on my Government's agenda". In accordance with the Government of India's commitment to women and children's issues, the Ministry of Women and Child Development was created in early 2006. This move, along with increased allocations for children in the budget of 2007-08, is reflective of our government's commitment towards children. India's children are India's future as the strength of the nation lies in a healthy, protected, educated and well-developed child population that will grow up to be productive citizens of the country. Child abuse is shrouded in secrecy and there is a conspiracy of silence around the entire subject. In fact there is a well entrenched belief that there is no child abuse in India and certainly there is no sexual abuse in the country. Further, certain kinds of traditional practices that are accepted across the country, knowingly or un-knowingly amount to child abuse. Existing socio-economic conditions also render some children vulnerable and more at risk to abuse, exploitation and neglect. It is about time that we recognize this and take remedial measures. Lack of empirical evidence and qualitative information on the dimensions of child abuse and neglect makes it difficult to address the issue in a comprehensive manner. My Ministry took the initiative to undertake a Study on Child Abuse to understand the extent and magnitude of child abuse in India. I congratulate the officials for taking this initiative and I also appreciate UNICEF and Save the Children for supporting the study and for partnering the Government's efforts whole heartedly. The work and dedication of Dr. Loveleen Kacker, Joint Secretary (Child Welfare) and her team must be put on record here. I congratulate all individuals and agencies who contributed to this study. I hope this first study of its kind will lead to heightened awareness and greater response among families, communities and society at large leading to strong interventions and further studies on child protection. I dedicate this report to the nation with the hope that it will help establish and strengthen policies, programmes and legislations on child protection. Renuka Chowdhury i Smt. Deepa Jain Singh Secretary Ministry of Women and Child Development Government of India Foreword India is home to almost 19 percent of the world's children. More than one third of the country's population, around 440 million, is below 18 years. According to one assumption 40 percent of these children are in need of care and protection, which indicates the extent of the problem. In a country like India with its multi- cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious population, the problems of socially marginalized and economically backward groups are immense. Within such groups the most vulnerable section is always the children. For the Ministry of Women and Child Development the challenge is to reach out to the most vulnerable and socially excluded child of this country and create an environment wherein, not only is every child protected, but s/he also has access to opportunities and education for her/his all round growth and development. Independent India has taken large strides in addressing issues like child education, health and development. However, child protection has remained largely unaddressed. There is now a realization that if issues of child abuse and neglect like female foeticide and infanticide, girl child discrimination, child marriage, trafficking of children and so on are not addressed, it will affect the overall progress of the country. Realizing this, the Government of India is focusing on child issues and created a new Ministry of Women and Child Development. MWCD has taken significant steps to address the issue of child protection by setting up a National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, amending the Juvenile Justice (Care and protection of Children) Act 2000 and the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, launching the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) and the proposed amendments to the ITPA and the draft Offences against Children (Prevention) Bill. However, all these efforts need further supplementation through the creation of adequate knowledge base on child protection. In order to address this gap, one of the significant decisions taken by the Ministry was to initiate a National Study on Child Abuse in the year 2005. This study, which is the largest of its kind undertaken anywhere in the world, covered 13 states with a sample size of 12447 children, 2324 young adults and 2449 stakeholders. It looked at different forms of child abuse: Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse and Emotional Abuse and Girl Child Neglect in five different evidence groups, namely, children in a family environment, children in school, children at work, children on the street and children in institutions. This study was also meant to complement the UN Secretary General's Global Study on Violence against Children, 2006. I congratulate the Ministry officials and the three partner organisations, UNICEF, Save the Children and Prayas for supporting the Ministry in successfully concluding the study in the stipulated time. I would like to congratulate Dr. Loveleen Kacker, Joint Secretary (Child Welfare) and her team for their unstinting work and commitment in ensuring the completion of this project. I look forward to the implementation of the recommendations of this study which will go a long way in ameliorating the condition of the most needy and vulnerable children of India. Deepa Jain Singh iii Dr. Loveleen Kacker Joint Secretary (Child Welfare) Ministry of Women and Child Development Government of India Preface Traditionally in India, the responsibility of care and protection of children has been with families and communities. A strong knit patriarchal family that is meant to look after its children well has seldom had the realization that children are individuals with their own rights. While the Constitution of India guarantees many fundamental rights to the children, the approach to ensure the fulfillment of these rights was more needs based rather than rights based. The transition to the rights based approach in the Government and civil society is still evolving. With the adoption of the rights based approach in the newly created Ministry of Women and Child Development, issues that were hitherto peripheral came to the forefront. It is then that the gaps in child protection became obvious. What emerged was that on the one hand, there were enormous numbers of children needing care and protection, while on the other hand there were not enough schemes or sufficient budgetary allocations to deal with them. It was also observed that to carry the issue of child protection forward there was a need to create an enabling environment through a legislation to address issues of child abuse, make a policy on child protection, formulate interventions and outreach services and create an information base on child protection. The Ministry took the initiative of setting up a National Commission for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, began the process of drafting a bill to prevent offences against children and also to formulate a comprehensive national level scheme to deal with child protection. At this stage, work was hampered by lack of data on offences or crimes against children. The only source of data presently available was with the National Crime Records Bureau. Although this data was useful, it constituted a miniscule of the total crimes/violence committed against children. The reason for this is that very often crimes against children are either not reported or cognizance is not taken and also that some crimes against children are not covered under existing legislations. Though gaps in information were at all levels, child abuse being an issue shrouded in secrecy, emerged as the most burning issue.
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