RS MP(Eds: Changes in headline, intro)New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Worried over sexual exploitationof children in India, Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhartoday bemoaned that the issue was not accorded politicalpriority.
The lawmaker said while efforts by individuals and thecivil society were "well-meaning", the menace has assumed aform that only an "institutional approach" can address.
He blamed "years of neglect" by various governments forthis.
The independent Rajya Sabha member from Bengalurulaunched a National Action Plan against Commercial SexualExploitation of Children (NAPCSEC) during a press conferencein New Delhi.
"While we talk of girls' education and development, theissue of girls' safety and their exploitation has never beenmade part of the mainstream discussion," Chandrasekhar said.
"The problem has been that we have not beeninstitutionally organised," he said.
Asked why he believed it hasn't been accorded a politicalpriority so far, the lawmaker replied, "I think there has beena basic reluctance to accept it as a major problem.""But if we as a society come together and collectivelymake it an issue, the government will respond," he said.
The NAPCSEC plan has proposed creation of a nationalchild grid, on the lines of NATGRID, for timely action.
P M Nair, Chair-Professor at Tata Institute of SocialSciences (TISS) in Mumbai, also attended the event.
Nair, a retired IPS officer, said the need was to keepthe 'customer' at the centrality of this proposed framework.
"That is how the demand would be choked. These'customers' are treated as mere witnesses and that is whatneeds to change. They should instead be named and shamed," hesaid.
According to the NCRB data provided by the NationalCoalition for Protection of Children, an initiative byChandrasekhar, "The total number of child trafficking casesreported in India in 2015 was 3,490 with an offenderconviction report of 14.3 per cent."Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal areamong the states from which girls are picked up forprostitution at an early age. Delhi, Mumbai and Goa are someof the places where they end up, living a hellish life, theNCPOC said. PTI KND ABHTIR.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.