Safety and Protection in Child Life, Children are the world’s most valuable resource and they are the best hope for the future. So, we must protect families, we must protect children, who have inalienable rights and should be loved, should be taken care of physically and mentally, and should not be brought into the world only to suffer. In order to take care of every child, we must have to implement all the laws and articles in society. We must also have to conduct various communities to bring awareness among people.
In the Indian context, child labour remains a complex problem. Despite proactive legislative measures and policies in India to combat the problem, the decline children working has been less progressive than expected. Children are most often found working in agriculture and households, with girls often being invisible. Although the Supreme Court made laudable directions and suggestions in many instances to protect basic rights of poor children, unfortunately these directions and suggestions are not followed and implemented by the government machinery effectively. In this regard, the performance of the Indian Judiciary stands out as a signal contribution to the implementation of human rights generally and that of Child Rights in particular.
Child is very important in the development of society at large. The development of the Nation is exclusively based on the status of the child. It is also true that this is the one of the vulnerable groups in the society. we can also further add the Children are the assets of the nation. children play very significant role in the nation building. All these make obligatory on everyone to protect and provide various safeguards to the children. The definition of child protection is the process of protecting individual children identified as either suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm because of abuse or neglect Adults working with children should also be fully trained in safeguarding children by a nominated safeguarding adviser and have the opportunity to receive training in order to develop their understanding of the signs and indicators of abuse or neglect, this training is recapped every year throughout the world.
Now, let us observe the issues faced by the children in the society and how we need to destroy it and provide safety to children.
Issues faced by children in their life:
CHILD LABOUR
Safety and Protection in Child Life, Education is critical for economic and social development. It is crucial for building human capabilities and for opening opportunities. The importance of education was fully recognized by classical economists and social scientists in order to survive in this society. But we observe that many children have to work in the society rather than study due to some money issue and many parents also force them to do work in order to live. The problem of child labor continues to pose challenges in the nation. The government has taken many proactive steps to tackle this problem. However, considering the magnitude and extent of the problem and that it is essentially a socio-economic problem inextricably linked to poverty and illiteracy, it requires concerted efforts from all sections of the society to make a dent in the problem.
For child protection to work effectively we must ensure we have good interrelationships with other agencies and good co-operation from professionals that are competent in responding to child protection situations. A procedure for recording concerns and incidents if a child discloses information that concerns his/her welfare; We must make a record of exactly what the child has said in their words and report it to a safeguarding officer, ensuring that these records are kept confidential and separated from pupil’s records.
CHILD MARRIAGE
Child marriage refers to any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or another child. While the prevalence of child marriage has decreased worldwide and from one in four girls married a decade ago to approximately one in five today and the practice remains widespread. Child marriage is a violation of human rights. Every child has the right to be protected from this harmful practice, which has devastating consequences for individuals and for society.
Stop child marriage
Child marriage is now firmly on the global development agenda, most prominently through its inclusion in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 5.3, which aims to eliminate the practice by 2030. Although indicator 5.3.1 measures child marriage among girls, the practice occurs among boys as well. Regardless of gender, marriage before adulthood is a breach of children’s rights. So, as a citizen in the country, we must have to stop this culture in the society to gain the safety of the child over this obstacle.
CHILD ABUSE:
A child who’s being abused may feel guilty, ashamed, or confused. He or she may be afraid to tell anyone about the abuse, especially if the abuser is a parent, another relative, or family friend. Child health experts condemn the use of violence in any form, but some people still use corporal punishment, such as spanking, as a way to discipline their children. Any corporal punishment may leave emotional scars. Parental behaviors that cause pain, physical injury, or emotional trauma and even when done in the name of discipline and could be child abuse.
Some children overcome the physical and psychological effects of child abuse, particularly those with strong social support and resiliency skills who can adapt and cope with bad experiences. For many others, however, child abuse may result in physical, behavioral, emotional, or mental health issues and also even years later. In today’s world, we have to gain every child’s trust by throwing out fear in them regarding it. Encourage them in such a way they can easily get a chance to express themselves through their heart with honesty.
CHILD TRAFFICKING
As we know that, India has a very huge volume of child trafficking. As many as one children disappears every eight minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. India is a prime area for child trafficking to occur, as many of those trafficked are from, travel through, or destined to go to India. Though most of the trafficking occurs within the country, there is also a significant number of children trafficked from different societies. There are many different causes that lead to child trafficking, with the primary reasons being poverty, weak law enforcement, and a lack of good quality public education. The traffickers that take advantage of children can be from another area in India, or could even know the child personally.
Children who return home after being trafficked often face shame in their communities, rather than being welcomed home they face many issues regarding it. In some cases, children are taken from their homes to be bought and sold in the market. In other cases, children are tricked into the hands of traffickers by being presented an opportunity for a job, when in reality, upon arrival they become enslaved. We must have to stop these things by using some power of the common citizen in the society.
Child Protection aims at prevention and reactions in relation to exploitation, violence, and abuse against children. Children obtain protection against activities such as sexual exploitation, labor, trafficking, and harmful traditional practices. Most children are vulnerable to these abuses hence require much protection for full growth and development. Analyze how national and local guidelines, policies, and procedures for safeguarding affect day-to-day work with children. National and local guidelines, policies, and procedures determine the nature of relationships and interaction with children. The policies decide on the rights and privileges of children in the society thus outlining how this group should relate to the entire community. The policies ensure that the procedures for the protection of children are clear to all in the daily interactions. The policies enlighten the entire society on how to spot child abuse, violence, and exploitation and they also have the essence of creating a positive and safe environment for the development of children. So, I conclude that keeps children safe by stopping child labor, child abuse, trafficking, and marriage in this society by implementing various schemes. At this age, they have the right to education and right to freedom so we must ensure that we provide it to them in this society.
It is our responsibility as caring adults in this country to protect our children. So, be a responsible person and protect every child in society.
Harika
(Volunteer)
