CHILDLINE team successfully stops child beggary

In India, children work to earn money so that they can support their family. As young as 6 years old works on the streets or on the railway platforms. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 states employing children (below 14 years) has been prohibited in all occupations and processes, with certain limited exceptions.

CHILDLINE received a call from a caller informing that the 7 years old child was begging in front of a Chowpaty stadium, Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh.  After receiving the information CHILDLINE team immediately visited the spot, rescued the child and brought him to CHILDLINE office. CHILDLINE team counselled the child and after some time he revealed that he was from Shahdol District and his family’s economic condition was not good. His parents worked as labourers and they did not have a place to stay and were living on the streets. The child wanted to help and support his family, so he decided to start begging.

In the meantime, Child’s parents were called and CHILDLINE team spoke with the child’s parents and counselled them. The child’s parents were not aware that their child was begging. CHILDLINE team presented the child and his parents before Child welfare Committee (CWC). CWC Chairperson counselled the parents and warned them if their child was ever  found begging anywhere, legal actions will be taken against them as per M.P Bhiksha Vritti Nivaran Adhiniyam, 1973. The child was handed over to his parents as per CWC order.    

How can I help my child heal after physical abuse?

Physical child abuse occurs when a child is purposely physically injured or put at risk of harm by another person. It may include any unexplained injuries such as burns, bites, bruises, broken bones or black eyes etc. In many cases, child abuse is done by someone the child knows and trusts, often a parent or other relative. A child who's being abused may feel guilty, ashamed or confused.

Resilience in children enables them to thrive in spite of their adverse circumstances. It involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned over time and can be nurtured through positive and healthy relationships with parents and other caregivers and adults who guide them in healthy problem-solving strategies. Here we try to explore strategies for helping your child recover after experiencing physical abuse of any form by keeping in mind the below written points:

·         Have a positive outlook. When faced with a problem; show your child that the problem is only for a short time and that things will get better. Children learn from your ability to bounce back from and work through tough situations.

·         Ensure safety. Address your child’s physical safety first by assuring him or her that no one will physically touch or harm them in future. This will help your child develop feelings of trust and openness to psychological and emotional healing.

·         Address the past as the past. Help your child identify his or her current life that is different from the past. Make them understand that the past is gone now and future is ahead. Don’t talk about the incident repeatedly with child or with others. The details of the case should only be discussed in absence of child.

·         Don’t blame the child. Never blame the child for the ill happenings. Make them realize that the incident just happened and it was not their fault. They just needed to be preventive.

·         Provide care and support. Express love, empathy and support verbally and physically. Ensure care, attention and satisfaction of emotional needs.

·         Allow children to express their feelings. Teach them how to identify and describe their feelings and commend them for expressing feelings of hurt or sadness without acting out.

·         Protect them for future. Use this as a chance to teach expectations and personal boundaries i.e. limits set in relationships that protect our sense of self. This is required so as to avoid similar situations in future again.

·         Build Confidence. Help child to rejoin school, recreational classes or pursue hobbies and interests. The life should move on without break.

·         Build connections. Create bonds with friends and family that can support your child during challenges so that the social circle doesn’t hampers.

·         Be patient. Children’s reactions to trauma vary as widely as the types of trauma one can experience. Healing takes time so be patient.

The healing process does not always follow a clear, straight path. Time is the best healer and children are good at adapting to it. Soon your child will be seen keeping up with his/her friends, doing well in studies and day to day activities like before as if nothing happened.

CHILDLINE is a 24-hour emergency outreach service for children in need of care and protection in India. Any child/concerned adult can dial 1098 to access this service. CHILDLINE has been provided support to physically abused children from various cities/districts. During the year 2018-19, a total of 16,680 cases of physical abused were intervened by CHILDLINE forming 6% of total cases assisted.

A run-away child labourer restored to her home

Recently, CHILDLINE received a call from a reporter from Nagaon informing about a girl child being found at ASTC (Assam State Transport Corporation) bus stand. CHILDLINE team reached the place and bought the girl child to CHILDLINE office where she was provided food and further interrogated about her whereabouts.

Pooja belonged to a poor family and lost her parents when she was very young. She lived her cousin sister (a domestic labourer), cousin’s husband (a rickshaw puller) and three children. As the total income of the family was very less (only Rs 5000) she wanted Pooja to help them financially. Therefore Pooja’s sister sent her to Mr. Mehta’s house in Guwahati to work as domestic help. Pooja began working there but later she was tortured by Mr. Mehta and had to do a lot of work. Due to the tough situations, Pooja ran away from Mr. Mehta’s house and landed in Nagaon.

Understanding her situation, CHILDLINE team produced the child before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), General Diary Entry (GDE) was lodged at Sadar Police Station and she was shifted to Govt. Shelter home for a temporary stay. CHILDLINE team counseled the child during which she showed interest in going back to her home in Tinsukia.

CHILDLINE Tinsukia and Tinsukia Sadar Police were contacted to trace child’s home and Home Investigation Report (HIR) was received by CHILDLINE team. After a few days, her cousin sister along with the Police came to CHILDLINE Nagaon office. As per the order of CWC the child was produced and handed over to her cousin sister. CWC Nagaon gave direction to Tinsukia Sadar Police to divert the child to CWC Tinsukia for care and protection of the child.

At present, the girl child is staying at her cousin sister’s home. She never attended the school and showed interest to learn some new skill. With help of CWC, currently she is undertaking a cutting & tailoring course for 5 months.

The main motto of CHILDLINE was to do immediate restoration of the child. The continuous efforts of the CHILDLINE team members made it possible to restore the child to her home as well as ensure good care and protection for her better future.

How to develop child's emotional skills?

Since the time of birth children begin developing a sense of self and the world around. As parents bond with them strengthens they learn to trust them and feel secure in their world. This marks a development stage for future when parents help them develop socially and emotionally. By interacting with others children are able to form a secure relationship that leads to social development. Emotional development is regulating and expressing emotions. It involves the way one feels about themselves, others and the world.

A progressive social and emotional development is important that influences a child’s self-confidence, empathy, the ability to develop meaningful and lasting relationships, a sense of importance and value to those around him/her. Parents and caregivers play a major role in social and emotional development because they form the most reliable bond with the child over which he/she looks up to.

A person’s life experiences, genetic make-up and temperament can affect their social-emotional development. As your child’s first role model, parents should send a positive message to them and try being supportive by following the below written points:

·         Love your child and show your affection by hugging, cuddling, listening and talking quite often.

·         Encourage your child to try new things to make them aware of their capabilities. Let your child know you are pleased with their accomplishments.

·         Give your child opportunities to play with other children of their age. Help them explore their world and interact with other people. Teach them to develop kind and generous behaviors when interacting with other adults and children.

·         Show your feelings. Let your child see when you are happy or sad. This helps them to develop empathy for others.

·         Establish daily routines. This helps them feel confident and secure. Create routines that are predictable but flexible. This is how they learn to do things in an organized way.

·         Acknowledge your child’s feelings. Help them talk about what and how they feel about a situation. Comfort your child when they are upset. Talk in a child friendly manner by holding them and speaking softly and calmly.

Deliver positive social-emotional opportunities for your child so that they feel optimistic about themselves and can develop confidence. This is how your child will form secure relationships with others and ultimately will be able to focus, learn and grow in future.

CHILDLINE is a 24-hour emergency outreach service for children in need of care and protection in India. Any child/concerned adult can dial 1098 to access this service. CHILDLINE has been provided support to the emotionally disturbed children from various cities/districts. During the year 2018-19, a total of 47,642 cases of emotional support & guidance were intervened by CHILDLINE forming 16% of total cases assisted.

A girl child used for flesh trade rescued

 In India, there is a large number of children trafficked for various reasons such as labour, begging, and sexual exploitation. Every year hundreds of under-aged girls are unknowingly forced into flesh trade and used for making money. CHILDLINE came across a similar case at Bhubaneswar where a 16-year-old girl child repeatedly faced physical and sexual assault by a man who married her.

A young girl standing at Bhubaneswar Railway Station was accompanied by a middle-aged man and seemed to be in a wretched state when the volunteers of an NGO informed GRP about the suspicious situation. When GRP officials started interrogating the man about the girl, he got nervous and fled away from there. The child began to cry and was found to be in an emotionally and physically abysmal condition. Looking at the situation, GRP decided to hand her over to CHILDLINE for further intervention. CHILDLINE team arrived and the child was shifted to one of the child care institutions where she was counselled carefully.

After a few days, the girl came to senses and finally succumbed to speak up. The child informed the CHILDLINE team that she used to live with her father, a differently abled person and mother in district Jagatsinghpur. While the child was returning from school, she was kidnapped from the road in a Bolero van by a man named Pradhan (name changed) who belonged to her village, accompanied by other men and they took her to Chennai. She was shocked by the situation but the next tragedy awaited her when Pradhan and all his friends took advantage of the situation and raped her. She was also beaten up brutally and was seriously traumatized. Pradhan locked her up in the room and every day brought some people who used to rape the child in the room. Pradhan used her as a prostitute and used to collect Rs. 5000 to 10,000 from each person.

After two months, she met one of her villagers and returned back to her village with him. But, she did not disclose her brutal sufferings to any family members or anybody as Pradhan threatened her that if she disclosed the matter, her entire family will be killed. But the villagers and family members talked to Pradhan. He admitted that he kidnapped her and agreed to marry her as he kept sexual relation with her. In fear and apprehension, she got married to Pradhan. But she was again tortured by Pradhan and was used as a prostitute to entertain other men. She even tried to escape but failed. After a few days, Pradhan brought her to Bhubaneswar Railway Station where the volunteers of an NGO took notice of her, informed GRP and with CHILDLINE team rescued the girl.

CHILDLINE was constantly in touch with the child and provided emotional support to the child while she was at child care home. The matter was informed to the police station and an FIR was lodged mentioning all relevant sections under IPC and POCSO Act following which the accused was arrested. Currently the girl is kept at the child care institution by order of the Child Welfare Committee for better care and protection.