Mumbai: Pravin Ghuge, chairman of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, on Monday expressed concern over the rising cases of child sexual abuse in the city.
Mr. Ghuge was speaking at the launch of a campaign against child sexual abuse in Mumbai organised by World Vision India (WVI), a non-government organisation. Titled ‘It takes every Indian to End Child Sexual Abuse’, the campaign aims to put an end to exploitation and sexual abuse of children by 2021.
Matter for concern
“Data provided by the Mumbai police shows that there is a rise in the incidents of sexual abuse cases, which is a matter of concern. It is to be noted that families are coming forward to register child sexual abuse cases,” Mr. Ghuge said.
The campaign includes activities like training parents on child protection and creating awareness at community and school level and at anganwadis.
“The magnitude of sexual violence against children is unknown. Child protection is a collective responsibility of both the state and caregivers. We need to work towards reducing all forms of violence, vulnerability and harmful practices that hinder children from exercising their rights, and protecting them from dangers that pose a risk to their life and childhood. We look forward to engaging with people from all walks of life towards ensuring a violence-free environment for our children,” said Mikhael Pradhan, head of advocacy, WVI.
Reporting crime
The campaign will also focus on strengthening existing child protection programmes and working with agencies concerned with child protection to encourage people to report crimes against children. It will work with community, faith-based and other organisations.
Mumbai Police officers said that in spite of sustained awareness programmes, the stigma attached to child sexual abuse makes a large number of people hesitate before reporting such crimes.
Police efforts
“We consistently conduct activities like awareness programmes at the police station level and Police Didi programmes in schools. In recent years, we have observed that more and more people are reporting such cases, and we will continue our awareness campaigns to encourage this trend,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deven Bharti.
“There are several programmes for child protection, but none of them have identified a long-term goal. WVI has laid down a roadmap to end child sexual abuse by 2021. The campaign aims to bring together different stakeholders to strengthen the framework and fight child abuse,” Mr. Ghuge said.
