Violence against

Children in India

Name: ANIRBAN MUKHERJEE ID No: 2009B3A7641P DYNAMICS OF SOCIAL CHANGE PROJECT

INTRODUCTION
Violence is a daily reality for millions of children around the world, affecting girls and boys of all ages, all social contexts, and all nationalities. In every part of their lives their homes and families, schools, institutions, workplaces and communities children may be beaten, sexually assaulted, tortured, and even killed. The perpetrators of this violence are often the very individuals who are responsible for protecting children their parents, guardians, teachers, employers, the police and security forces. Violence is a global epidemic of scandalous proportions, violating every childs right to a safe and healthy environment.

AREAS/SITUATIONS WHERE CHILDREN FACE VIOLENCE

In the home and family
The family has the greatest potential to protect children and provide for their physical and emotional safety. Human rights treaties recognize the right to a private and family life and home. But in recent years violence against children by parents and other family members has been documented. This can include physical, sexual and psychological violence as well as deliberate neglect. Frequently, children experience physical, cruel or humiliating punishment in the context of discipline. Insults, name-calling, isolation, rejection, threats, emotional indifference and belittling are all forms of violence that can damage a child's well-being. Children are most frequently sexually abused by someone they know, often a member of their own family. Harmful traditional practices are generally imposed on children at an early age by family or community leaders. Much of this violence is hidden

behind closed doors or because of shame or fear.

In schools and educational settings

Schools have an important role in protecting children from violence. For many children, though, educational settings expose them to violence and may teach them violence. They are exposed to corporal punishment, cruel and humiliating forms of psychological punishment, sexual and gender-based violence, and bullying. Although 102 countries have banned corporal punishment in schools, often this ban is not adequately enforced. Fighting and bullying are also examples of violence against children in schools. Often bullying is associated with discri mination against students from poor families or marginalized groups, or those with particular personal characteristics such as appearance or a disability. Schools are also affected by events in the wider community for example, gang culture or gang-related criminal activity associated with drugs.

In care and justice systems

As many as 8 million of the world's children are in residential care. Relatively few are there because they have no parents; most are in care because of disability, family disintegration, violence in the home and social and economic conditions such as poverty. Children in some institutions face violence from care-givers and other children. Staff may 'discipline' them with beatings or restraints, or by locking them up. In some institutions, children with disabilities face violence in the guise of treatment, such as being subjected to electric shock to control their behaviour or given drugs to make them more 'compliant'. Children in detention are frequently subjected to violence by staff. In at least 77 countries, corporal and other violent forms of punishment are accepted as legal in penal institutions. Detention of children with adults is routine in many countries, and this puts them at increased risk.

In work settings
Across all regions, violence physical, sexual and psychological affects many millions children who are working, both legally and illegally. It may be used to coerce children to work or punish or control them in the workplace. Most workplace violence is inflicted by employers, although those who inflict violence may also include co-workers, foremen, customers, police, criminal gangs and intermediaries. Many girls work in domestic labour, which is often unregulated. They report maltreatment such as physical punishment, humiliation and sexual harassment. The exploitation of children in prostitution or child pornography is not only a form of violence in itself, it also puts the exploited children at risk of physical and psychological violence, as well as neglect.

In the community
The community is a source of protection and solidarity for children but it can also be a site of violence including peer violence, violence related to guns and other weapons, gang and police violence, physical and sexual violence, and trafficking. Violence may also be associated with the mass media and new information and communication technologies. Community violence often affects marginalized groups of children, such as street children. The mass media sometimes portray violence as normal or glorify it. Cyber-bullying through the Internet or mobile phones has been documented in recent times.

MEDIA report on child violence in India(abridged)

'More than 50% Indian kids face violence/abuse'
LONDON: In a shocking revelation, more than 50% children interviewed for a survey in India to determine the extent of violence against them said they had faced sexual abuse. In total, 12,500 school kids in 13 states between five and 18, as well as otherwise, took part in the research. The report by Plan International, a children's organization here, said India is dubiously ranked third among 13 countries in terms of estimated economic cost of corporal punishment. Plan calculated that anything between $1.4 billion and $7.4 billion was lost every year in India by way of social benefits because of physical ill-treatment in schools. This is premised on how the larger economy is affected by the impact of such punishment, causing poor pupils' attendance and academic performance.

According to Plan's findings, corporal punishment is widespread in Indian schools, despite being illegal. More than 65% children, its report claimed, said they were beaten. A majority of such victims are in state schools. The study also discovered that caste and gender discrimination was the major cause of violence against children. It said many students abandoned their studies because of such humiliation, which included hitting with hands or sticks, making them stand in various positions for long periods and tying them to chairs. More boys (54%) than girls (45%) were subjected to corporal punishment. Plan blamed "societal acceptance of violence as a form of discipline" for it and pointed to a lack of awareness about children's rights in India. In the schools surveyed, there were

at least five beatings of students a day. Interestingly, many among the students interviewed believed corporal punishment was sometimes necessary. Students in Assam, Mizoram and UP reported highest rates of corporal punishment, while Rajasthan and Goa the lowest. Plan's conclusions are based on Overseas Development Institute, a UK thinktank, research. The institute's sources included government of India data on child abuse in the country.

SOURCE: The Times Of India

THE SITUATION PREVAILING IN INDIA

CHILDREN WHO form 42 per cent of the Indias population are at risk on the streets, at their workplace and even inside their own homes. It is unthinkable, but every year thousands of children become victims of crime whether its kidnappings, violent attacks, or sexual abuse. According to National Crime Records Bureau and NHIRC: CRIME AGAINST CHILDREN increased by 3.8 per cent nationally (14,975 cases in 2005 from 14,423 in 2004); Child rape increased by 13.7 per cent (4,026 cases from 3,542 in 2004); Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number (870) followed by Maharashtra (634). Together they accounted for 37.3 per cent of rape cases. Delhi tops the list of 35 Indian cities on crime against children (852 cases of violence against children in 2005, 27 per cent of all cases) followed by Indore (448), Pune (314) and Mumbai (303). 1,327 children were reported murdered in 2005 up from 1,304 in 2004 (an increase of 1.8 per cent). Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number (390) accounting for 29.4 per cent of cases. Nearly 45,000 children go missing every year; more than 11,000 are never traced. On physical abuse in schools, also referred to as corporal punishment, the study says that 99.56 per cent children in Assam have been subjected to it, followed by 90.86 per cent in Mizoram. Girls in Assam are apparently punished more than boys, the ratio being 54.82 per cent to 45.18 per cent. There are two distinct types of violence experienced by children (defined by the United Nations as anyone aged 0-18 years) child maltreatment by parents and caregivers in children aged 0-14, and violence occurring in community settings among adolescents aged 15-18 years.

HOW SOCIETY CAN TAKE STEPS TO INHIBIT IT

Violence involving children in community settings can be prevented through: (1) preschool enrichment programmes to give young children an educational head start; life skills training; (2) assisting high-risk adolescents to complete schooling; (3) reducing alcohol availability through the enactment and enforcement of liquor licensing laws, taxation and pricing; (4) restricting access to firearms. Recognising that children under 18 constitute a significant percentage of the Indian population, the government is committed to their welfare and development. This statement reflects budget provisions of schemes that are meant substantially for the welfare of children. These provisions indicate education outlays, provisions for the girl child, health, provisions for child protection, etc. From a share of 5.28 per cent of the Budget in 2008-09, which declined sharply to 4.53 percent in the revised figures for 2008-09 even as general government expenditures went up, the total share of children in this years Interim Budget has gone down sharply to only 4.32 per cent. Apart from this the share of resources for child protection is minuscule-0.034%. Child protection has never figured in any planning document so far.

CASE STUDY:MEDIA REPORT

ON SCHOOL VIOLENCE

Widespread violence in India's schools is hampering the futures of millions of children and costing the country billions of pounds in lost social benefits, says Plan International in a report released this week. Despite corporal punishment being outlawed in schools throughout India,

about 65 percent of children surveyed by the the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2007 reported having been beaten at school, with some choosing to abandon their education altogether out of fear of their teachers.
Up to 5 percent of students in India who drop out of education do so as a result of corporal punishment, which costs India up to 4.7 billion a ye ar in productivity and tax revenues lost because of children not finis hing school, according to Plan. A 2006 study by Saath Charitable Trust and Plan found that corporal punishment is w idely used and accepted by parents and teachers as a le gitimate form of punishing children. A set of stringent guidelines against corporal punishment should be locked down and disseminated around the country off the back of the Ministry of Human Resource Development recently announcing plans for specific instructions to be given to schools, Plan said. Of 547 million people under 20 in India, only 11 percent will become graduates, according to the Ministry of Human Resource Development. If nothing is done about under-performance and high drop-out rates in India, the nation will have little chance of achieving the Millennium Development

Goal of universal primary education by the target 2015.

SOURCE: CNN-IBN LIVE

THE EFFECT ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Violence against children in schools is unfortunately a reality in every country in Asia and across the world. The rates and types of violence vary from country to country but every state needs to act now to prevent this violence from continuing. Though violence in schools affects all children in all countries, children in poverty are more likely to feel the impacts both social and economical. Poorer education due to violence in schools has a knock-on effect, so children learn less, have lower grades, leading to less well paid jobs which keeps the family poor and ultimately the state earning less in taxes. Violence keeping children out of school seriously reduces their chances of being able to work their way out of poverty, which contributes to far-reaching social problems as children exposed to violence in schools are more likely to turn to violence later in life. The economic impact of global violence in schools is huge even in the developed world. Sixteen-year-olds in the UK who find themselves on the receiving end of bullying are twice as likely to drop out of school and end up jobless, costing public finance 71,000 per person, while in the US, school violence costs the economy 5.7 billion a year. Violence in schools is costing children their futures and keeping them poor. It is preventing countries from developing and perpetuating violence that has an impact on every society.

THE SOLUTION ADVOCATED TO THIS GRAVE AND AFFECTING ISSUE

How can violence against children be prevented? A: There are two distinct types of violence experienced by children (defined by the United Nations as anyone aged 0-18 years) - child maltreatment by parents and caregivers in children aged 0-14, and violence occurring in community settings among adolescents aged 15-18 years. These different types of violence can be prevented by addressing the underlying causes and risk factors specific to each type. Child maltreatment by parents and caregivers can be prevented by: reducing unintended pregnancies; reducing harmful levels of alcohol and illicit drug use during pregnancy; reducing harmful levels of alcohol and illicit drug use by new parents; improving access to high quality pre- and post-natal services; providing home visitation services by professional nurses and social workers to families where children are at high-risk of maltreatment; providing training for parents on child development, non-violent discipline and problem-solving skills. Violence involving children in community settings can be prevented through: pre-school enrichment programmes to give young children an educational head start; life skills training;

assisting high-risk adolescents to complete schooling; reducing alcohol availability through the enactment and enforcement of liquor licensing laws, taxation and pricing;

restricting access to firearms.

Improving the efficiency of pre-hospital and emergency medical care will reduce the risk of death, the time for recovery and the level of long-term impairment due to violence. All violence against children and especially child maltreatment occurring in the first decade of life is both a problem in itself and a major risk factor for other forms of violence and health problems through a person's life. For instance, a recent WHO study estimated that the lifetime impact of child sexual abuse accounts for approximately 6% of cases of depression, 6% of alcohol and drug abuse/dependence, 8% of suicide attempts, 10% of panic disorders and 27% of post traumatic stress disorders. Other studies have also linked child physical abuse, sexual abuse and other childhood adversities to excessive smoking, eating disorders, and high-risk sexual behaviour, which in turn are associated with some of the leading causes of death including cancers and cardiovascular disorders.