THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when crimes against children are on the rise, the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare has come up with a monitoring and protection cell which would help facilitate a safe physical, mental, sexual and social environment for them. According to Deepak PS, general secretary, Kerala State Council for Child Welfare, authorities including police officials, doctors, councillors and psychologists will be a part of the cell. A toll-free number 1517 has been set up which will have call tracking and instant response system in which children can contact. Immediate action will be taken soon.
More than 70 per cent of cases, including physical, verbal and sexual abuse, involve parents or their immediate family circle."Unfortunately, these figures do not accurately capture the real picture as most cases are not reported. More than 30 per cent of children go through sexual abuse before the age of 10 and in most cases, that could be their maternal or paternal uncle or father itself as they have easy access to the child. By taking advantage of the child's trust and vulnerability, the majority of the abuses occur in the house," said Deepak SP.
Victims
A 14-year-old school girl from Chirayinkeezhu was rescued by the Council recently. She was under house arrest after refusing to go to her mother who was working abroad. This led to mental torture and physical abuse. Later, the child was rescued and given counselling to help get back to life. Another incident was that of a child who was physically tortured by her mother's lover. Drug-alcohol addiction and internet fixation fuelled such abuses.
A study conducted by 'Ammathottil' revealed over 16,000 cases of unwanted pregnancies. Among that, more than 50 per cent cases involved a person in the victim's close circle.Deepak points out a case reported a week ago where a child was abused by her mother's younger brother.
"The maternal uncle was the culprit and when the child bought the issue to her mother's attention, she was hushed up. Later, the abuse became a regular thing and the child shared the incident with her father, which lead to a divorce. Monitoring and protection cell works well in these cases as the child have no one else to turn to," said Deepak.