Childrens on Crossroads

Children on Crossroads
According to researchers at Stanford University and the University of California-Santa Barbara, stories about crime and violence make up 40 per cent of the child-related newspaper coverage. Though we do not have similar statistics and research-based analysis on Indian children, situation is alarming in India also.

University of California also found “a general lack of public policy coverage” related to children in the sources studied. In this behalf, the Indian situation is worse because our   television and newspaper presentations on children’s issues hardly mention, much less focus on policy issues that affect children.

Nor are the age groups clearly marked in the newsier articles and television discussions. It is the adolescents mostly who get the media attention.

In news coverage of children the emphasis is on reports of crime, with children portrayed as both victims and perpetrators of violence. Such an emphasis diminishes the public’s perception of the relative importance of other child-related concerns.

A child who experiences any kind of maltreatment—neglect, physical or sexual abuse—is likely to get involved with the juvenile justice system.

It’s not clear how many youths under 18 are tried in adult criminal courts in this country. Cases of three-year old charged with rape and murder have been reported in newspapers.

It is no consolation that brutalisation of children is a world wide phenomenon. In India, situation is as bad as anywhere else but cases of child abuse do not get reported.

Peculiar   to India is   female foeticide or selective abortion based on the foetus gender or sex selection of child. This is a crime perpetrated against the yet-to-be born girl child. Often, parents themselves are responsible for committing this crime. Besides, domestic   violence too affects children badly. Children get physically abused or hurt at home or get mentally damaged while witnessing violent fights between parents...