ICYO  - Youth Information 

No 2007/ 31 (May)                                     E-News from

  Indian Committee of Youth Organizations

Largest Network of Youth Organizations in India.

 

Join hands to stop abusing, exploitation, trafficking to Children and YOUTH

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'Children are also sexual beings'

 

It's no boon being children in India, or for that matter, anywhere in the world. This is chillingly borne out by statistics that put the number of children in one form of distress or another at a staggering 300 million.

 

Not only are children vulnerable to violence, exploitation and abuse on a daily basis, which manifests in worst forms of child labour in communities, schools and institutions, they are also targeted during armed conflicts, besides being subjected to abominable practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage.

 

In India alone, more than 53% of children are subjected to sexual abuse, but most don’t report the assaults to anyone. The laws dealing with sexual offences too do not specifically address child sexual abuse.

 

Most shockingly, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 does not recognise child abuse, and only rape and sodomy can lead to criminal conviction. For law, anything less than rape just amounts to 'outraging the modesty'!

 

Ingrid Srinath, CEO of Child Rights and You (CRY), a child rights organisation, in an interview over email with Supriya Mishra discusses the entire gamut of issues pertaining to child abuse and rights violation and suggests possible ways of fighting the scourge.

 

Excerpts from the interview:

 

How would you define child abuse?

 

Any one definition of child abuse is limiting because these definitions emerge from the adult understanding of a child's world. The existing definition that is closest to being complete is 'all kinds of physical, emotional, sexual abuse, neglect, all forms of exploitation and any unwelcome behaviour resulting in actual or potential harm to child's health, dignity and over all well being'.

 

The important element in the definition is the word  'unwelcome' to the child and harms his/her dignity. The subjectivity in this definition gives the individual child the space to define his/her own boundaries without universalizing them into one single unit. The idea would be to empower the child to identify and define abuse

 

What are the various aspects of child abuse and which is the most important aspect we need to look at?

 

Aspects of child abuse have been given in the definition above. Forms of child abuse cannot be prioritised. Certain areas need a greater emphasis because of the silence or acceptability surrounding them such as child sexual abuse.

 

Besides the fact that most times this abuse happens within family, the nature of violence makes it more of a moral shame than a child rights issue. Even when it is discovered, the family chooses to keep quiet as the child is still considered the property of the family.

 

Child sexual abuse is the best kept family secrets and as children, these secrets become dirty and disabling.

 

Added to that is the lack of a positive sexual language available with the child.

(Supriya Mishra / Hindustan Times/8 May 2007)

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Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO)

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Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO) is a registered non-profit, non-governmental network organization, committed in developing areas of mutual cooperation and understanding among different youth voluntary agencies, youth groups, clubs and individuals working in the field of youth welfare in India.  ICYO functions as an umbrella organization of youth NGOs in India. It's family consists of
over 356 organizations spread in 122 districts of 22 states from different corners of India.

Affiliation:  Consultative (Roster) Status with ECOSOC, United Nations;
Consultative Status with Commission on Sustainable Development;
Full Member of World Assembly of Youth (WAY); Asian Youth Council (AYC);
Youth for Habitat International Network (YFHIN); CRIN, South Asia Youth
Environment Network (SAYEN), Affiliate group of ECPAT International, Thailand;
ATSECE-DELHI, Indian Partner of AIDS Care Watch Campaign;
Steering Committee member of World Bank's YDP Network;
Working relation with Indian Association of Parliamentarians (IAPPD);
International Medical Parliamentarians Organizations (IMPO);
Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD);
World Youth Foundation, Malaysia.