SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF BOYS IN SOUTH ASIA A ...

institutions. However, the NPAC has limited goals, objectives and strategies to address child
pornography and no mention of the sexual exploitation inherent in the production of
pornography using children.
The NPAC has a separate section on child trafficking. Among its strategies to address
trafficking is dedicating central and state authorities to deal exclusively with trafficking. The
NPAC is intended to be administered through state plans of action. However, although some
states, including Maharashtra, have developed state action plans to address trafficking, 249
action plans to address child sexual abuse have not been formed in any state.
5.4 Programme Responses
The immensity of India makes it difficult to summarize the country’s programme responses
through examples of practices. In smaller countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka) it is easier for government and civil society to interact and share practices and ideas.
In India, hundreds of programmes of widely varying scope and effectiveness address the
sexual abuse and exploitation of boys. At the same time, geographical distances, resource
limitations and differing languages limit networking among NGOs in different parts of the
country. For example, governments and NGOs in both Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have
initiated numerous outreach activities to provide boys living on the street with safe night
shelter, but due to language differences, lack of networking and limited resources for visits,
they have negligible contact and sharing of experiences. Thus many activities operate in local
isolation, and a comprehensive assessment of programme responses to the sexual abuse and
exploitation of boys in India is a major task that needs to be undertaken.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has initiated the Integrated Child Protection
Scheme, which seeks to apply a holistic methodology to address a broad spectrum of
protection concerns for both boys and girls. Yet to be mobilized in most of India, the scheme
establishes state and district child protection units whose purpose is to mobilize and support
village-level protection services. When implemented, it has the potential to address many of
the issues that contribute to the sexual abuse and exploitation of both boys and girls. The
scheme envisions providing family intervention activities and emergency outreach services
that could reduce the separation of children from their families and increase reintegration of
children with their families after withdrawal from exploitation.
5.4.1 Children’s participation
With the support of the NGO Sanlaap in Kolkata (West Bengal) and counterpart NGOs in
Nepal and Bangladesh, child survivors and young people at risk engage in regional
participatory activities, including peer support, community awareness and public advocacy,
through the Youth Partnership Project coordinated by ECPAT International.
UNICEF has developed numerous resources to promote child participation in developing
policies and programmes. Documents include ‘Promoting Children’s Participation in
249 Government of Maharashtra, Women and Child Development Department, 2007, ‘State action plan to
combat human trafficking 2007’.
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