Create more awareness needed on laws for protection of children: ZP vice-president

Sheela K. Shetty, vice-president of Udupi Zilla Panchayat, said on Thursday that more awareness and education needed to be created about laws for protection of children and women.

She was speaking after inaugurating a district-level review meeting on Improving the rules for newly enacted Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 at the Zilla Panchayat Hall, here.

Ms. Shetty said that though there were various laws to protect women and children, their implementation left a lot to be desired. The officers implementing these laws and rules should realise that it was not easy for either women or children to speak out.

She said that she herself had been an office-bearer of a Federation of Women’s Association for the last four decades. She had observed that whenever a case regarding a woman in distress was brought to the notice of the police or other officials, their “response was slow”. They should respond quickly and in a sensitive manner. The NGOs too had an important role to play in this.

It was also essential that anganwadi teachers were treated with respect. An anganwadi teacher worked with children from the morning till 4 p.m. and then had to do administrative work. They were like “second mothers” to the children. But for all their service, they got a measly Rs. 6,000 per month as salary, Ms. Shetty said.

Vanita Torvi, member of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KCPCR), said that it was essential to reduce the dropout rate from the schools. The children working as child labourers should be admitted to schools and given bridge courses. It was also necessary for departments concerned to do research on crimes related to women and children and have a database at the district, State and national levels. This would help in formulating better strategies in bringing down the crime rate, she said.

Gracy Gonsalves, Deputy Director of Women and Child Welfare, and Niranjan Bhat, District Officer for Empowerment of Senior Citizens and Differently Abled Persons, were present.