violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

Improving the knowledge base in India - The NationalStudy on Child Abuse92Violence against children in the home and familyIndia has taken a proactive approach to the issue of child protection. Initiated by theDepartment of Women and Child Development in 2005, the National Study on ChildAbuse involved an enormous network around the country. One of the first majoractivities undertaken was a National Level Consultation on Child Abuse, held in NewDelhi in April 2005, to discuss various issues related to project formulation, includingdefining the concept of child abuse and methodology for the project, developinginstruments for data collection and identifying the various categories of respondents.This Consultation involved experts from all over India and from various disciplines toexchange views on the common theme of child abuse. The experts included academics,social workers, activists, NGO representatives, teachers, researchers, police, judiciary,representatives from funding agencies like UNICEF, Save the Children, USAID, USAgency, Plan International, Catholic Relief Services, SARI Equity, etc.The sample size of 17,500 included children (n=12500), young adults (n=2500), andother stakeholders (n= 2500). The child respondents included children living on thestreets, working children, children in schools, children in institutional care, and childrenin family groups not attending school. Part of the methodology involved focusgroup discussions with children in the context of children’s workshops, through whichall indicators of various forms of abuse were elicited, and confidentiality and ethicalconsiderations taken into account.From its inception, the project emerged as an advocacy and awareness opportunity,which was extremely useful from the standpoint of a country where child abuse wasknown to exist, and yet so little about the issue was discussed publicly. The participationof so many experts had a multiplier effect, in that it increased awareness and moreopen discussion about the previously neglected issue of child abuse ensued. Analysis ofresults are expected at the end of 2006. 210RecommendationsThe following recommendations are guided bythe human rights obligations of Governmentsunder the CRC and other instruments, and arealso based on evidence from research and existingpractice. They recognise that, while the primaryrole in childrens’ upbringing is accordedto the family, Governments have obligations toensure that in all places – including in the home– children are protected from actions constitutingviolence against them, and that there isan effective response when violence occurs. Inaddition, Governments are required to provideappropriate support and assistance to parents.