*Ingrid Srinath
One of the most emotionally demanding
aspects of CHILDLINE’s work is confronting the relentless stream of information
about children in dire situations. In the 2 weeks from May 16 to May 31, the CHILDLINE
Contact Centre that coordinates calls from Northern and Western India received
over 1.15 lac calls to our 24/7 helpline (1098). Of these, many were children
and concerned adults calling to seek information, advice or simply a
sympathetic ear.
In 1892 cases however, at an
average of 118 each day, a child needed more active intervention.
A staggering 530 calls reported
missing children, separated from their families while travelling, from a mela
or other public venue, or while they were out playing.
277 were reports of child
labour – child beggars, and children labouring illegally as domestic workers, in
restaurants or in even more hazardous occupations.
A further 16 had been
trafficked into beggary, child labour or the sex trade.
Over 200 calls were education
related – children prevented from going
to school, others who felt they could not cope, still more seeking financial
help.
147 were about homeless children
- some abandoned, some orphaned, some simply parents who could no longer care
for their children.
88 reported physical abuse, 24
of which involved sexual abuse, including 16 instances of rape.
78 were children who had run
away from their homes and families seeking employment, drawn by the presumed
attractions of a big city or escaping poverty, starvation, neglect or abuse.
Another 74 were cases of child
marriage.
26 concerned children with
physical or mental challenges children needing help.
Only 15 sought help with
alcohol or other substance abuse.
And just 13 had been accused of
breaking a law.
7 children had been injured in
accidents.
Illnesses, emotional trauma and
family conflicts accounted for most of the rest.
Analysis of the data from the
South and East zones for this period is still awaited.
Each call received a
compassionate hearing and counseling from CHILDLINE staff, while teams across
129 cities, towns and districts rushed to rescue the affected child, return it
to its home, provide it with medical, legal or material assistance, organise shelter,
provide a referral to the requisite service and, where necessary, activate the
police or Child Welfare Committees.
It would be all too easy to
lapse into depression at the seemingly endless saga of abuse, neglect, exploitation
and desperation. To sink into despair at each news report of a child in need who
did not, or could not reach CHILDLINE. Yet the inexorably rising numbers of calls
are also a cause for optimism. Each represents the growing awareness that
children in distress do not have to suffer in silence. They, and those that
care about them, have a lifeline. And each day we are a little closer to
ensuring that no child in India feels that they have no one to turn to in their
time of need.
*Ingrid Srinath
is the Executive Director of CHILDLINE India Foundation.
