Insight
---------------------------------
Two out of three children in India are physically abused...
Thursday April 19 2007 17:15 IST
Vimala Ramachandran
The recent report brought out by Government of India, Ministry of Women and
Child Development has for the first time documented the prevalence of child
abuse including the prevalence of violence in schools. The report has come
out with startling findings:
Two out of every three children were physically abused
Out of 69% physically abused in 13 sample states, 54.68% were boys
Over 50% of children in all the 13 sample states were subject to one or the
other form of physical abuse
88.6% were physically abused by parents
65% of school-going children reported facing corporal punishment two out of
three children were victims of corporal punishment, most of them from
government and municipal schools
53.22% children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse
5.69% were sexually assaulted
Every second child (both boys and girls) reported facing emotional abuse
50.2% of children reported they worked seven days a week this includes
children formally enrolled in school
Most children did not report the matter to anyone
The report has highlighted the vulnerability of boys and girls to various forms
of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Taking all the 13 states together more
boys reported physical abuse than girls, though the ratio of girls physically
abused was higher in Kerala (55.61%) and Gujarat (54.61%).
Incidentally, the highest percentage of abuse among boys was reported from
Delhi (62.2%) followed by Madhya Pradesh (59.75%) and Maharashtra (55.75%). The
situation of children in institutions / shelters, observation homes and other
places created for the protection of children is alarming. Yet, what most of us
find difficult to accept is that over 53 per cent of children reported being
abused at home and in their families.
A very disturbing yet timely part of the report deals with emotional abuse,
invisible and insidious. Unfortunately, in India we are still some distance
from understanding and acknowledging emotional abuse. Dismissing a girl child
as being unwanted at home to caste-based remarks in schools we need to pay
more attention to the impact of emotional violence. Humiliation was reported by
44.13 per cent of children and they talked about being humiliated at home, in
schools, at work, on the streets and in the institutions created for their
protection.
Comparison was also reported as another form of emotional abuse. Comparing
children with their siblings, with other children in the extended family, with
others in schools and in institutions seem to leave a deep impression on the
minds of children. The younger age group 5 to 12 years felt that being
subjected to such comparison was hurtful. This report reinforces the findings
of a number of qualitative studies on barriers to learning and attendance.
Discussion with children reveal that they get very upset if they are asked
bring their own water / utensils for mid-day meal especially if they belong
to the Dalit community. Equally upsetting is getting them to sit in one corner
of the classroom, calling them by their caste names and dismissing their
performance in school by linking it to their family occupation or telling girls
that they will only end up having babies and looking after the house.
An overwhelming proportion of girls (70.57%) from different parts of the
country reported neglect or deliberate favouring of male siblings. I remember
one particular incident that still haunts me. During the course of my work on
barriers to education, I asked girls in different states about what they eat at
home.
Most of the girls from poor rural and urban households said they did not have
time to eat breakfast and that their first meal of the day was in school. On
probing further they said that when non-vegetarian food is cooked at home they
rarely got a piece of meat or fish and were usually asked to make do with the
gravy.
They resented having to do housework when their brothers were goaded to do
their homework and study for examinations. What the girls disliked most was
being told that they are being trained to adjust in their marital home, a
constant reminder that they do not belong to the natal family and that they
will go away one day.
Child trafficking is another area that merits urgent attention. It is shocking
that our law enforcement agencies do not take reports of missing children
seriously. A set of non-negotiable protocols need to be put in place to make
sure every report of a missing child, violence against children, corporal
punishment in schools, abuse at the hands of policemen (especially of street
children) and the silent screams of children working in sweatshops / factories
/ dhabas and in homes are followed-up. Joint police-civil society agencies
need to be created and empowered to monitor if the protocols are being
followed.
It is high time we translate our understanding and our knowledge into action
and create a momentum whereby all institutions that interact with children are
made to set in motion processes to sensitise their staff / teachers, introduce
programmes where children are told about their rights and strengthen help-line
services.
The writer can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
---------------------------------
Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.
