“…parents are directly or indirectly involved in child trafficking due to the ignorance of the knowledge of child rights and juvenile justice act implemented by the government of India…”
Dimapur, May 14 (MExN): Childline awareness campaign cum workshop in collaboration with Childline Dimapur and Prodigal’s Home was organized by District Welfare Office Dimapur , Social Welfare Department at Niuland on May 14, 2012 with Anganwadi workers of Niuland for imparting awareness on Childline 1098 and Juvenile Justice Act system (JJ Act). The workshop was attended by 55 participants with Childline staffs, Prodigals Home staff and Subonenba Longkumer, Project Director Community Educational Centre Society /Nodal Director Childline Dimapur as the resource person. This was stated in a press note issued by Asangla Jamir, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO).
The resource person highlighted briefly on the concept of Childline 1098 (A project of Ministry of Women and Child Development Govt. of India), its history, structure and functions. He also highlighted the statistical datas of Childline such as total number calls received till date (1027), total cases (119) and kinds of cases such as missing children, abused children, runaway children, children needing medical assistance, child domestic labour, disabled children, children in conflict with law, trafficked children etc. He also cited case studies/types of cases received by Childline Dimapur for better understanding of child related problems in Dimapur and Nagaland as a whole. The latest case received by Childline is about seven children who were rescued from different colonies in Dimapur who were trafficked by a lady.
Presenting this scenario of exploitation of children in the guise of employing them as domestic labour, he mentioned that parents are directly or indirectly involved in child trafficking due to the ignorance of the knowledge of child rights and juvenile justice act implemented by the government of India to safeguard the rights of the children and for the care and protection of children in need. Basing on this, he urged all the participants to actively and whole heartedly spread the message of child protection and Childline to as many people as possible.
The resource person further highlighted on the Juvenile Justice Act 2000, 2006 and it’s certain components such as the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and its powers and functions. Several cases of children dealt by the CWC in Dimapur till date were also shared to the participants where most of the children were domestic workers who were physically abused and ill treated by their owners. Section 23 -26 under Juvenile Justice Act imposes penalty with imprisonment and fine or both to such persons involved, he maintained.
Concluding the session, he urged everyone to stop the exploitation of children by not employing any child domestic worker and to avoid any form of abuse to the children. He also urged everyone to spread the message of Childline to every wards and colonies in order to safeguard the rights of the children and to ensure a healthy child protection system in the state in order to create a child friendly environment. The awareness program is reaching out to all the Anganwati workers in Dimapur District in all the four blocks.
The note also mentioned that in the second session, Wati, Assistant Coordinator, Project for infected/affected and vulnerable children, Prodigals Home presented on “felicitating sustained and integrated community based response for children infected/affected by HIV/AIDS and vulnerable children in Dimapur, Nagaland”. He highlighted on the data of children and the achievements met till date. He also added that the team assists the needs of children education, nutrition, social security, health etc. He also mentioned that the purpose of the campaign with the Anganwadi workers was to sensitize them on the issues of children particularly those who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and orphaned by AIDS. He also focused the attention of the audience in the important points such as referral for health care, nutrition and double nutrition for malnourished children, stigma and discrimination. He also cited that the reason why parents and children don’t come to Anganwadi centre is due to fear of stigma and discrimination. He therefore urged and encouraged all the Anganwadi workers to create discrimination free centre and environment.
