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Need To Continue Supporting, Monitoring The Needs Of Children Affected By Covid: SC Judge
Apex court judge and chairperson of the Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Committee S Ravindra Bhat has emphasized the need to sustainably continue supporting and monitoring the needs of children affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and to put in place measures that can withstand and mitigate such impact in the future.
Justice Bhat made these remarks during a review meeting held by the Committee for the protection of children and to take stock of the implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Prevention of Sexual Offences Act.
The meeting, held on December 18, focused on the care and protection of children, especially those who were orphaned, abandoned, or whose families cannot support them as well as restoration of children in conflict with the law and the impact of violence on the mental health of the vulnerable.
According to the statement by the Committee, Justice Bhat said the issue of mental health impact on sexually abused children, and rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law requires urgent attention in the way such offences are dealt with.
He also stressed the need to develop infrastructure and systems that support such children long after the legal proceedings are over.
He urged the states to provide "child-friendly, gender-responsive, trauma-informed, and context-appropriate justice and social services, in a manner that is responsive to the individual child's needs, background, situations, and level of maturity".
Justice Bhat highlighted a few priority areas, including the need to strengthen monitoring systems and adequate individual care plans for children under state protection, especially those who have been restored to their families.
He pressed for strengthening of sponsorship and schemes and referral to prevent family separation as a result of socio-economic conditions, review social services regulatory frameworks to ensure professionalisation and specialization of child protection system under the ministry of women and child development (MWCD), and the need to conduct a study of the implementation of the Pocso Act.
He said that seamless coordination and collaboration among sectors and among actors is of utmost importance to achieve the desired result for the care, protection and justice for children.
The meeting, held on December 18, focused on the care and protection of children, especially those who were orphaned, abandoned, or whose families cannot support them as well as restoration of children in conflict with the law and the impact of violence on the mental health of the vulnerable.
According to the statement by the Committee, Justice Bhat said the issue of mental health impact on sexually abused children, and rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law requires urgent attention in the way such offences are dealt with.
He also stressed the need to develop infrastructure and systems that support such children long after the legal proceedings are over.
He urged the states to provide "child-friendly, gender-responsive, trauma-informed, and context-appropriate justice and social services, in a manner that is responsive to the individual child's needs, background, situations, and level of maturity".
Justice Bhat highlighted a few priority areas, including the need to strengthen monitoring systems and adequate individual care plans for children under state protection, especially those who have been restored to their families.
He pressed for strengthening of sponsorship and schemes and referral to prevent family separation as a result of socio-economic conditions, review social services regulatory frameworks to ensure professionalisation and specialization of child protection system under the ministry of women and child development (MWCD), and the need to conduct a study of the implementation of the Pocso Act.
He
said
that
seamless
coordination
and
collaboration
among
sectors
and
among
actors
is
of
utmost
importance
to
achieve
the
desired
result
for
the
care,
protection,
and
justice
for
children.
The
meeting
was
held
with
the
chairpersons
and
members
of
the
Juvenile
Justice
Committees
of
high
courts
and
representatives
from
central
and
state
governments
as
well
as
Union
territories.
It was attended by the Secretary of MWCD, chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), senior officials of departments of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, as also Unicef India representatives.
MWCD secretary Indevar Pandey said the welfare of children affected by the pandemic was the topmost priority of the ministry.
He
gave
an
overview
of
the
schemes
of
central
government
along
with
the
PM
CARES
for
Children
Scheme,
which
has
been
implemented
for
the
support
of
pandemic-affected
children.
The
secretary
further
stated
that
"deinstitutionalisation
is
the
most
important
need
of
the
hour
and
the
child
remaining
within
the
society
should
become
the
norm."
He also said that the mission 'Vatsalya' is to strengthen the focus on a family-based alternative for children who have lost their parents, including through foster and kinship care arrangements, and also increase the scope of sponsorship schemes as gate-keeping mechanisms to ensure vulnerable children can remain with their families.
Whereas, chairperson of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights Priyank Kanoongo presented the number of children affected by the Covid-19 pandemic during the meeting.
Kanoongo reaffirmed that the Commission would continue to strengthen data collection and assessments of the situation of children to understand how children who lost parents during the pandemic have access to child care, protection, and other social welfare services and also to provide support to all such children.
Dr Shekhar Seshadri, advisor, NIMHANS-SAMVAD Initiative, spoke on the mental health impact of sexually abused children. He underlined the need for the provision of accessible mental health and psychosocial support to help children in conflict with the law and their families cope with and adapt in the face of specific situations.
Soledad Herrero, Chief of Child Protection, Unicef India highlighted that "children have been exposed to uncertainty, isolation, and grief as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with severe consequences to their protection and wellbeing".
She
commended
efforts
of
the
government,
the
Supreme
Court,
and
high
courts
to
mitigate
the
effects
of
the
pandemic
on
children,
especially
those
who
lost
their
parents
to
Covid-19.
Herrero
said,
"In
every
crisis,
there
are
opportunities,
and
Covid-19
has
brought
three
opportunities.
First,
the
opportunity
for
a
paradigm
shifts
to
build
child
protection
systems
that
put
the
family
at
the
centre
and
prevent
institutionalization,
especially
due
to
poverty."
She said that it also brought an opportunity to promote alternatives to detention and diversion from formal criminal proceedings for children in conflict with the law in cases of minor offences.
"Thirdly, the opportunity to bring visibility to mental health issues, an area under-reported and neglected until now," she added.
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