KOZHIKODE: Children sent to juvenile homes, which are meant to rehabilitate them, end up in jails, due to lack of after care on part of authorities.
A survey conducted by the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) revealed shocking facts regarding the lives of children sent to the government-run juvenile homes in the state. It found that a majority of children, who were sent to juvenile homes, were later drawn into crimes and ended up in jails. The survey studied the lives of 407 former inmates of juvenile homes in Kozhikode, Thalassery, Thrissur and Thiruvanathapuram.
According to the survey report, submitted to the state Social Justice Department recently, majority of inmates were drawn into crimes and landed in jails for involvement in offences such as affray, theft, attempt to murder. One among them died in a gang war. Data showed that 84 per cent of them were involved in criminal cases.
The report also brought out the failure of authorities to rehabilitate the juveniles. “Though the Juvenile Justice Act has made after care of inmates mandatory, almost all child care institutions have failed to comply with the rule,” said HRLN director Sandhya Rajan. The study reveals that around 60-90 per cent of the juveniles were totally denied an opportunity to reform themselves, while 61 per cent of them were not provided counselling, education and recreation.
Over 37.5 per cent were subjected to sexual assault and exploitation during their stay in shelters. There were instances where the caretakers turned tormentors which proved traumatic for both the victim and other inmates as they felt helpless. The survey found that the tendency to escape from the shelter homes is high among inmates with 24.5 per cent of ex-inmates trying to escape due to physical abuse and torture.
Shocking Revelations
Majority of inmates were subjected to sexual exploitation. In many cases caretakers turned out to be tormentors
Inmates caught after attempt to escape were punished severely
Lack of counselling by a professional child psychologist
Many former inmates were again drawn into crime
The age of ex-inmates ranged between 18 and 45 years. Only a handful of inmates were in the higher age group
A majority of former residents failed to find a life partner