Bengaluru: 'Distress calls’ to help exploited children on the rise
NGOs are working around the clock to rescue and rehabilitate these children
Bengaluru: Majestic Station has almost 30 children looking for work every day. Other stations report equal or higher numbers. Shockingly, these children are willing to work for a meagre Rs 10 and fall prey to abuse. NGOs are working around the clock to rescue and rehabilitate these children. They receive more than a hundred calls a week.
“Most calls received are distress calls. We also get remedial calls asking for counselors. These are from children, parents, NGOs and activists,” says Nagasimha G. Rao, Director, Child Rights Trust.
This issue has become a nation-wide movement. There are over 500 NGOs managing Childline in 291 districts in India. They help children in distress. The IT city doesn’t offer much respite. Sadly, Bengaluru has only 3 Childline centres with 2 being run by NGOs.
“On an average, APSA’s Childline rescues 4 children in distress almost every day. Calls also come from Childline centres in other cities or districts, asking for help to trace families, counsel the upset parents of a runaway child, find a home for an orphan or prevent a child marriage,” says Sheila Devaraj, Director, APSA, Bangalore. She adds, “The police also approaches APSA, to deal with street children caught stealing, doing drugs or indulging in violent behaviour.”
The biggest problem is the lack of human capital through counselors and translators. “As we receive calls from different regions, we have difficulty in communication. We need strict regulations and more translators and counselors,” states Nagasimha.
“There were 58 cases in 2014, which APSA, brought through the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, to court. In 39 of these, the perpetrators were convicted and 15 child marriages were prevented. Working through Childline, APSA’s Awareness Campaign on Childline had covered 1,20,000 of the public last year,” says Sheila. “There are roughly more than ten thousand children in distress in the city. Something should be done about this issue by the State,” adds Nagasimha.