Author: Nayan Patel, II year of B.B.A.,LL.B.(Hons.) from Christ University
Abstract
The Republic of India is a country in South Asia having 29 states, its capital being New Delhi. The republic of India contains a lot of diversity in its custom, tradition, and even in languages out of which Hindi Is the most used language. It has a population of about 1.21 billion, having 2 largest population and the seventh most extensive country in the world. It is a vast country and also among the developing countries in the world. Despite this fact, the country has shown remarkable progress in the economy with an average of 7.3% over the past five years. But the inequality is still reflected in the country in the low human development attainments of the country’s most marginalized groups including cast, tribal and rural population, women, transgender people living with HIV, and migrants. Although India has made a lot of efforts to counter the social and legal issues of the country, they seem to be uneven. India’s children continue facing some of the hardest situations anywhere in the world, with high malnutrition rates, child labor and forced begging, and childhood illnesses such as diarrheal diseases.
Introduction
We have read about child rape and child sexual exploitation in the papers daily. India leads the world as a country with maximum cases of child exploitation. Even the parents of sexually abused children are too scared to tell anyone because of the fear of being ashamed in society. Somewhere there is the fault of the society also they should take the matter with concern rather than taking it as a shameful act. And it is not true that the act is committed only by the stranger but many times it is committed by the members of the family, relatives, and even the neighbors. According to the survey, in 90% of the cases, the children are exploited by the person with whom they know and trust. Many cases have come forward where the father, uncle, or neighbors have sexually exploited the children. In this situation, one can say that they need protection at home also. They are many times afraid to mention this because of fear of not knowing what has occurred. Sexual exploitation Is not rape alone. There can be many forms of sexual exploitation like clicking nude photos of children, making children watch pornographic content, physically teasing them, etc. this type of activity creates an impact on the children throughout their life and make them fearful, worried, guilty, and lonely. Can be defined in other words also Sexual exploitation refers to actual or attempted abuse of vulnerabilities, discriminatory powers, or trusting positions committed against children and families served by volunteers for sexual purposes. Sexual abuse is the actual or threatened physical assault of a sexual nature, whether violent, unequal, or compulsory, committed by a volunteer against a child or family member serving.
There are many religious and cultural practices are going on in India even today
A. Female Genital Mutilation
It means the removal of the part of the total removal of the external female genitalia organ for non-medical uses. The practice does not have any health benefits for girls and women. And it is mostly practiced in young girls between the age of infancy and the age of 15 years. The practice is a gross violation of the human rights of girls and women. It showcasesthe inequality between the sexes and the extreme form of discrimination against young girls and women. It forbids the person’s right to health, security, and physical integrity and also the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading human treatment, and the right to life.
B. Self- flagellation
Temporarily relieving mental distress by repeated use of non-lethal methods that cause socially unacceptable injuries in the dermis and epidermis is physical harm to oneself. The area selected for self-destruction is easily hidden by clothing without implying inaccessibility.
Some causes of self-flagellation
1. Because of traumatic events
2. Disorders
3. Anxiety disorder
C. Baby tossing
This ritual is followed in some parts of Indiafor 700 years by both the Hindu as well as the Muslimgroup of people. In this ritual, the infant or small babies are thrown from the roof of the temple by the priest and about 14-15 men are standing down with the blanket to catch the baby, and men surrounding them are charged to hand over the babies to the readily waiting mother. They perform this ritual with the belief that the health of the child will be good and to shower the good luck and because of this dangerous act the child takes a long time to come out of this shock or trauma.
Child labor
As India is gaining the power to become the world’s future monetary superpower it is very important to securer the people of the nation, which are without a doubt the children of the nation. Child labor which is prohibited in the constitution of India is still practiced widely in India. India has the greatest number of child laborers (less than 14 years) in the world about 100-150 million out of 44 million are occupied with hazardous jobs.
Crimes against children
The National crime bureau (NCRB) released the statistics from the 2020 report that there is a sharp rise in the crime against children physically as well as sexually also. There is also a rise in the cases recorded under the Protection of children under the sexual offense (POSCO) act. With the technology getting the advent the crime against children also getting new faces as Online bullying, molesting the child, coral punishment, and physical violence against them in school and family. The pandemic has been proved to the cheery on the cake as it exacerbated the other existing pandemic like malnutrition, poverty, violence, and mental health issues.
Intoxicating a child
The hunger of a child can end up in different ways like he can be the target of the sex racket or may end up being a beggar or many a time because of hunger and many other reasons the children may start consuming the intoxicating substance like cigarettes, alcohol and make them intoxicated to escape them from the reality and make them slavery work and many other types of the illegal work. They are even used to traffic the drugs from one place to another as being children they can not be suspected easily by the cops and they take advantage of this and use them to transport drugs and many other drugs, alcohol, etc.
Child prostitution
Prostitution in easy language means to deliver the sexual service in exchange for money or monetary benefit. The children are forced to deliver the sexual service and even not taken their consent and the age for giving consent is different in different countries e.g. the age of giving consent is 14 years in Italy and India it is 18 years. Nevertheless, the offenses like kidnapping, abducting, and all other child-related offenses are usually covered or related to child prostitution. Although there is much legislation across the globe to stop child prostitution it prevails due to a large number of pedophiles in society.
Child Rights in India
A human being below the age of 18 years is a child unless, under the law applicable to the child, the age of majority is attained earlier. The future of the nation depends on the growth and well-being of the children of the nation. They are considered the assets of the nation. The state must protect and look after the children and achieve this goal the state must grant certain rights to the children. Many laws and regulations are made after signing the United Nations Convention on the right of the child also known as CRC 1989 and India was also a signatory of the convention. However, it was ratified in India on 11 December 1992. It also has the preamble setting out of different principles the CRC is built upon.
Part 1 (article 1-41) sets the rights of the children and the obligation of the governments and many rights such as Survival Rights, Development Rights, Protection Rights, Participation Rights, and many more.
Part 2 (Article 42-45) talks about the provisions regarding the implementation of the provisions of the CRC
Part 3 (Article 46-54) Includes the Provision for signing the convention and also states the rules and regulations for Ratification, enforceability, amendment, denouncement, etc of the convention
Also, the government has taken timely measures on the same, and some of the important and effective legislation and schemes are The Children and adolescent (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and Child Labour Project Scheme (NCPL) Scheme.
The Children and adolescent (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
This act has implied strict provisions against child labour section 3 of the act states that the child should not be employed in a hazardous occupation except the family business. Also, he/she can be employed in the Audio-Visual Entertainment industry within safety measures. The Central Government appointed the technical body to lay down the guidelines
Also, the Act states the limited work hours along with the holidays to the children and the employer should send the notice to the inspector regarding the working of the child Section 13 directs the employer to maintain the proper health condition in the workplace.
It is a successful piece of legislation as it has done a remarkable job by lying down the norms, which industry s hazardous for the children, and which are not. Also rehabilitating the children who suffered from child labour and the chance of returning them to the mainstream society.
National Child Labour Project Scheme
This is initiated by the Ministry of Labour and employment in 1988. The ministry took the survey of child labour and sent them to the special school with the vocational training, a bridge course Mid-day meal, and also a stipend of rupees the 150 per month. The members of the committee were withdrawn from the reputed NGOs, concerned government departments, and panchayats. The scheme was able to solve the problem to some extent. Formal education can solve the root cause of child labour because the educated child will have less chance of falling prey to child labor.
M.C. Mehta VS State of Tamandu&Ors.
In this case, the eminent environment lawyer M.C Mehta has fileda Writ petition on the Apex Court stating that there is a gross violation of article 24 in the Shivkasi where children below the 14 years of age are employed in the factory or mine or any other hazardous activates. The committee of the advocates was appointed and a detailed report was presented to the state government after the proper analysis of the situation the Court directed the guidelines in favor of the children below 14 years of age to be employedand the work condition and also the period of the work is limited. Not only in shivkasi but there is the problem of child labour in many parts of the nation not only in India. And it can be solved by the joint efforts of the State as well as the Central Government and through various articles like Article 24, 39, 39(e), 39(f), 41,45,47 it is possible and the judgment also mentions thatIndia’s commitment towards the Convention of Child Rights which was earlier adopted in UNGA in 1989.
The Protection of Children from the Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012
This act provides the conclusive definition of the term “penetrative sexual assault” and “aggravated penetrative sexual assault”. The act gives proper punishment to the person who commits the crime of sexual assault on a child below the 16 years of the age then a minimum of 20 years of the imprisonment and may be extended to the life imprisonmentand the compensation should be provided for the rehabilitation and the medical expenses for the victim. The act also made strict provisions on the sharing of child pornography and making an obscene gesture to the child. This act encourages the people to come forward and let their voices be heard by the world. There have been significant increases in the number of cases in the court of the law and also the higher conviction rate. The main problem which was faced earlier was the lack of awareness but the act has relevant provisions for that also the people were made aware of the provisions and the consequences they might face for the violation of the laws. So, after analysis of the act, one can say that is it very much effective in the arena of child sexual abuse.
Juvenile Justice
Many times, if children commit a serious offense, they are considered an adult during the trial and they did not get the proper protection that they are entitled to and this becomes an international debate. Juvenile justice came into existence because the mind of the children is easily manipulated to commit serious crimes and has been seen as dead in the Nirbhaya Gang Rape Case in Delhi. The accused was just a few months short of 18 years. And this made the juvenile justice act which replaced the existing law and ensured that the juveniles between the age group of 16-18 years can also be treated as an adult in a court of law if they commit serious offenses. And this creates the ambiguity between the children and the juvenile and the rights of the juveniles has become a concern for many countries and many guidelines have been passed like the Beijing rules, Riyad guidelines, Havana guidelines, and Vienna Guidelines. And after that, the Indian legislation has also passed the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act, 2015. Under this act, it establishes the Board consisting of the reputed Civil servant and the social activists in the board dealing with the juveniles in the issue. Through Section 4 of the Act. This act shows the amount of leniency towards the juveniles in a matter of arrest, detention, and also the Bail and also the psychological test of the juvenile is done who commits the serious the crime. The committee also adopts the child from the parents who can not maintain their child. The special guideline for rehabilitating is also mentioned under Section 39 of the Act. The Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act, 2015, since its inception has done a remarkable job in the field of the juvenile rights and protection and has been proved as a cherry on the cake by keeping the NCPCR in charge of implementation will ensure the proper implementation of the act. Which proved necessary for the success of the act.
SampurnaBehrua vs UOI
Through this landmark judgment the honourable justice Madan. B. Lokur criticized the government for not properly ensuring the rights of the juvenile justice act and also directed to fill the vacancies of the NCPCR and SCPCR to have enough manpower and directed that not using the shelter homes for the children is a clear violation of the article 21 of the Indian Constitution. And also a request was made to every state High Court tomake a child-friendly court in every state.
Right to education
Education is a powerful weapon that can change the world stated by Nelson Mandela and education is an integral part of the development of the child. The right to free education is guaranteed under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution which is also a fundamental part of Part 3. It orders the state that children under the age of 14 years should be provided free and compulsory education in such a manner that the state may determine by law and it is also backed by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The government has initiated my scheme for making primary education accessible to all the children remotely the scheme is like Sarva Shikha Abhiyan and also the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.
Conclusion
The legislative, The Executive,and the Judiciary are the wings that are constantly making efforts since independence to protect the child’s rights as their national asset. The legislation has taken timely steps to protect the rights and made necessary provisions as and when needed to make the proper laws and regulations. The Executive has made sure that the laws are followed in all the regions of India which has the 2 largest populations in the world. Although laws are there it has been difficult to implement them and ensuring the development, survival, protection and normal growth of the children is a continuous process. The Judiciary also made a timely decision and the proper judgment is made in favor of the children’s rights the main focus is given to the situation of the children and the proper environment fortheir growth is maintained. After reviewing all the things there is an imminent need to increase the allocation of the resources.
As we get to know through this that there is a need to improve the certain condition of the child’srights and it is the duty of the state to protect it as they too have the right to a dignified life. Children being the assets of the nation the country cannot grow without building its foundation. Many times the parents and the legal heirs are not aware of the rights of the children and they suffer in silent.