Child Rights Week to be held from November 14 to 20

Child Rights Week will be observed in the country by 10 organisations to stress the need to end commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children.

The organisations that have come together are Prerana, INGON (Impulse NGO Network), My Choices Foundation, Vipla Foundation, Rescue Foundation, Snehalaya, MISSING Link Trust, Arz (Anyay Rahit Zindagi), HELP and The Movement India. These organisations work in the field of women and child rights, anti-human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual abuse, across the country. The organisations are based in Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal, Goa and Andhra Pradesh, with a collective online following of over 1.37 lakh.

The Child Rights Week starts on National Children’s Day, which is celebrated on November 14 and ends on International Children’s Day on November 20. World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse, also falls within the week on November 19.

During the period, the participating organisations will host online events such as Twitter Chats, Facebook and Instagram Live, panel discussions. They will also publish content to provide conceptual clarity about Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children (CSE&T) and its prevention.

The campaign will use the hashtag #UnitedforChildSafety is the campaign hashtag.           

The topics to be covered include: ‘What is CSE&T of children?’; ‘Why are children most vulnerable and the vulnerabilities leading to children being victims of CSE&T?’; ‘Ways in which perpetrators gain access to potential minor victims of CSE&T and the physical/emotional well-being of minor victims of CSE&T’; Awareness and Prevention messaging for children, parents and caregivers with specific focus on digital safety; Citizen’s Role in preventing CSE&T of children.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally. According to ILO, one in four victims of modern slavery are children. India’s National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data, 2020 states that 95 per cent of trafficked persons in India are forced into prostitution. According to the NCRB, 2020, there were 108,234 cases of missing children in the country. Many of these children are at risk of commercial sexual exploitation or may have gone missing as a result of being trafficked.

The report adds that 50,275 criminal cases have been registered under various laws, including Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, Act (POCSO). The crimes include child marriage and forced child labour.

Prerna said in a press note released in Mumbai today, “Only a fraction of these cases get resolved and it is estimated that these statistics are only the tip of the iceberg, representing only reported cases, while there may be an equal number, if not more, that go unreported due to several inhibiting factors. There is an urgent need to spotlighting the issue of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children and a coalition of 10 organisations across India strives to do that this Child Rights Week.”