Smt. K.K. Shylaja, Hon’ble Minister for Health & Social Justice
Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, President, Catholic Bishops Conference of India
Shri T.P. Senkumar, Kerala State Police Chief
Smt Sobha Koshy, Chair Person , Kerala Commission for Protection of Child Rights
Shri V. L Mony, Principal, Kerala Law Academy
Adv. Sr. Jessy Kurien, President, Citizens Rights Trust,
Ms. Sneha Kalita, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court
Sahodaree Sahodaranmaare,
Priyappetta Kochu koottukaare,
Ellaavarkkum Ente Namaskaaram,
I am very happy to address you all at the valedictory function of the Children's Parliament organized by the Child Rights Trust.
Let me at the outset, compliment the office bearers of the Child Rights Trust for organizing this Children's Parliament focusing on the Rights of Children, especially at a time when crimes against children are on the increase.
India is a home to about 430 million children and as a consequence rights of children and their aspirations are of paramount importance in our march towards an inclusive and equitable society.
Children are the greatest assets of any nation. They should be seen as the foundation on which we shall build a strong, vibrant and dynamic India. Many great men have extolled the position of children in society. Gandhiji, for instance, believed that the law of love could be best understood and learned through little children. He also believed that it was best to begin everything from children. Gandhiji said: “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children”Such is the faith that we elders have in our children.
As all of us know, the State of Kerala is in the process of creating a “Navakeralam”, where rejuvenation of school education has a major role. It is through a robust and quality-oriented education that we will realize the dream of transforming India into one of the leading nations of the world. And Kerala, which has the best child development indicators in the country, expects that dream to happen through you, our children.
At the same time, our society has the responsibility to prepare children to become future citizens by making them fully aware of their rights. This Children's Parliament is one of the many programmes through which our society can hope to create this awareness. I must also say that your generation is more fortunate than the generations of people like me, because, in our childhood, we had very little idea about our rights as children. In those days, we accepted whatever was offered to us by elders, thinking that we were entitled to rights only after growing up as adults. Today, we realize the fact that children form almost 40% of the population of this country and we are unanimous in our resolution to protect the rights of children.
As a person hailing from Judiciary, I am duty bound to inform the audience about certain provisions relating to “Children” in our constitution. Art 15[3], 39[e][f], 45,47 impose on the State a primary responsibility of ensuring that all the needs of children are met and that their basic human rights are fully protected.
Based on the “Conventions of Rights of Child” by ‘United Nations Organization’ and our ‘Constitution’, Parliament enacted “The Juvenile Justice [Care and Protection of Children] Act 2000”. It applies to all Children who have not completed 18 years of age. Juvenile in conflict with law has to be enquired by only ‘Juvenile Justice Board’. Such persons shall not be placed in a Police lockup or lodged in a Jail. It also prescribes rehabilitation homes etc.
Most of you would be aware of some of the Child Rights that cannot be denied in any Institution. For example, every school should have one toilet for every 25 girls and 40 boys. Though Kerala's toilet coverage is almost 100%, this target in schools is yet to be fulfilled. I feel that our MPs and MLAs should spend a portion of the ‘Constituency Fund’ earmarked under ‘Local Area Development Scheme’ be spent to construct Toilets in Schools. Here, I must mention that the decision to have vending machines in schools for Sanitary napkins is a laudable step.
In Kerala, the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, which came into being on 3rd June 2013 has been regularly giving recommendations, reviews and reports about the violation of rights of the children in the State. It has also given some strong directions to schools and other establishments on enforcing the rights of children. The Commission, which has the responsibility to monitor the Right to (Free and Compulsory) Education [RTE] Act 2009 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences [POCSO] Act 2012, had received 1,582 complaints of violation of children's rights. Out of this, it had cleared nearly 1,400 cases.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) is landmark legislation as it is the first law enacted, which exclusively addresses the issue of child sexual abuse in India. The enactment of POCSO Act is one such genuine attempt by the legislators to create the desired enabling environment by empowering the children and strengthening the legal provisions for their protection from sexual abuse and exploitation.
The wisdom of the legislators is well brought forth in section 5 and 9 of the Act which overtly classifies and penalizes the act of penetrative sexual assault and sexual assault by a police officer, member of armed forces, public servant, being on the management or on the staff of a jail or remand home or protection home or observation home as aggravated penetrative sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault respectively to severely reprimand the persons who commit such offences despite their high status and responsible post. These provisions send out a strong message in general, which will aid in wider curbing of such offences by public servants and by persons in responsible posts.
Child sexual abuse is a critical pattern of crime which if not dealt appropriately the interest of the child will be at jeopardy. Thus the judicial officers, public prosecutors, the investigating team comprising of the police and Medico Forensics, the State Legal Services Authorities and the Juvenile Justice Boards must coordinately work for furthering the interest of the child. The POCSO Act provides for the establishment of special courts to deal with the offences under the Act. In order to secure an effective implementation of the Act, the Apex Court has directed all the states to designate special courts in the earliest possible endeavor.
When we discuss child rights, we speak of the fundamental liberty and the inherent human rights of every person below 18 years of age. Children are at risk on the streets, at their workplace, in schools and even inside their own homes. But, what is most tragic is that a girl child's basic right to be born is violated by people who prefer to have only male babies. The girl child faces more discrimination in every stage of her life even in her own home, where she may have to forgo comforts to enable her brothers to get a good education and care. Some girls are brought up just to be given away in marriage to someone, as if she is a liability and some face cruelties like female genital mutilation, domestic abuse, incest, sexual exploitation, discrimination, less food and less access to education. They are trained to be silent sufferers who would never realize their full potential as human beings.
Of course, some of these issues are comparatively very less in our State, but the National Crime Record Bureau's report about Kerala’s second position in the number of sexual offences against children is certainly alarming. Sadder still is the fact that sexual offenders of children do not often get the punishment they deserve. The data available from special courts for the period November, 2012 to December, 2015, showed that among the 3,711 cases of sexual abuse 3,500 were still pending trial. Only in 53 cases we could convict the accused. In 2016, out of 2,093 cases booked under POCSO Act, only 34 cases ended up in conviction.
Sexual offenses against children are not a new phenomenon; in fact it has been happening in the past too, but remained unreported due to lack of awareness about one's rights. Now that the cases are on the increase, it is essential that child rights be included in different levels of the syllabus of education. Additionally, such information should reach students in simple formats like the booklet which we released here today. Such information should be made available to parents also, so that they can take care to see that their children are safe.
I am happy that the book entitled “Know Your Rights Against Sexual Offenses” handles Protection of Children's Rights as well as the Woman's right to defend against sexual offenses. The children who have attended these discussions here today should come forward to spread awareness among their school mates about the Law to protect children from offenses. Most importantly, you should be vigilant about violations of child rights around you. If a classmate or a friend is facing such a problem, you should help by reporting such issues.
Child sexual abuse is a critical pattern of crime which if not dealt appropriately the interest of the child will be at jeopardy. Thus the judicial officers, public prosecutors, the investigating team comprising of the police and Medico Forensics, the State Legal Services Authorities and the Juvenile Justice Boards must coordinately work for furthering the interest of the child. The POCSO Act provides for the establishment of special courts to deal with the offences under the Act. In order to secure an effective implementation of the Act, the Apex Court has directed all the states to designate special courts in the earliest possible endeavor.
In conclusion, I would say that it is not sympathy that the children in India deserve from parents, teachers, and society, but the recognition as individuals with their due rights in all spheres. It is our duty to empower our children with the full knowledge of their rights since for a nation, there is no asset more valuable than a child. Empowered children of today are pointers to the prosperity of of our future.
I compliment the Child Rights Trust for conducting this function in an appealing manner. My best wishes to all the children who have assembled here.
Ellaavarkkum Ente Aashamsakal
Nanni
Jai Hind
