Bangalore wakes up to child abuse

BANGALORE: The number of children seeking care and protection from child abuse has crossed the 500 mark within just 11 months of setting up of a Child Welfare Committee in the city. Of them, 126 cases are from children who had confided to counsellors about parents beating and branding them.
A society that virtually saw no complaints from children against their ‘abusive'' parents till a few months ago is opening up slowly to ensure children get justice.Child counsellors from over 60 schools and other NGOs working for child rights agreed that they have come across a large number of such cruel punishments from parents.
Three among the 500 cases registered by Child Welfare Committee pertain to gruesome sexual assault by perverted parents, said committee chairperson Nina Nayak.
Around 15 per cent of complaints that reached the children''s helpline, Makkala Sahaya Vani (MSV) 1098, pertain to children who don''t want to stay at home because of abusive parents.
Children say they are depressed, but after a little bit of counselling they admit that it was all because of their abusive parents, say counsellors.
MSV received two such cases on Monday. A five-year-old girl refused to go back home because of her abusive grandmother. Same is the case with a 12-year-old girl, who said her mother was getting extremely violent with her.
Children however, tend to open up only if confidentiality is assured. "Children are often found pleading not to tell their parents about their distress," they say.
Psychologist Ali Khwaja says it is a significant trend. "Complaining is good as our country is more adult-oriented and child rights are simply ignored.
But the practice should not go to the extent of the West, since that might see a decline in values," he says.
Children and parents, who have been counselled by experts, admit that parents get violent and abusive when children score low grades, peer and sibling pressure, differences between the couple, etc.
The extreme cases of punishment have been locking up children for hours, branding them and beating till they bleed.
Children''s activist Saranya Hegde says: "While children facing such extreme abuse should get justice, they should not take undue advantage of the trend. This may have serious consequences on our society, which upholds high family values."
Psychiatrists and child right activists are unhappy with the conviction rate in cases of sexual abuse. It is a challenge to help these little victims overcome the mental trauma especially in cases of sexual abuse, they say.
"The child should not be troubled by demanding repeated versions of the assault.
Innocents never lie. The present system of trial will have a negative impact on the already troubled mind," child psychiatrist Dr Shekar Seshadri said.