The situation for children in India:

• India’s growth over the last two decades has contributed phenomenally to
global human development. Extreme poverty in India reduced to 21
percent, infant mortality has more than halved, some 80 percent of women
now deliver in a health facility and two million fewer children are out-of-
school.
• High levels of malnutrition (38.4 percent of children are stunted), poor
learning outcomes (only 42.5 percent of children in grade three can read a
grade one text), vaccine-preventable diseases, and child labor persist.

• India is the only large country where more girls die than boys, with the
inverse sex ratio at birth being 900 girls born for every 1000 boys. Globally 7
percent more boys die under the age of 5 compared to girls but in India, 11
percent more girls die under the age of 5.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj Source: UNICEF Report

 (continued)
• Children from rural areas, slums and urban poor families, scheduled castes, tribal
communities, and other disadvantaged populations suffer from multiple
deprivations related to poverty, malnutrition, access to quality health services,
child marriage, poor school attendance, low learning outcomes, lack of sanitation
facilities, hygiene, and access to improved water.
• Children from rural areas are more likely to die before completing age five than
those living in urban areas.
• India has the largest adolescent population in the world, 253 million, and every
fifth person is between 10 to 19 years. India stands to benefit socially, politically,
and economically if this large number of adolescents are safe, healthy, educated,
and equipped with information and life skills to support the country’s continued
development.
• However, adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to poor nutritional status, early
marriage, and childbearing, affecting their ability to live empowered, healthy lives,
which in turn affects the next generation.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj Source: UNICEF Report

 (continued)
• India is home to the world’s most significant number of child brides.
India ranks fourth (after Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan) among
the eight South Asian countries regarding child marriage prevalence.
• More than half (54 percent) of adolescent girls have anemia compared
to 30 percent of boys, and the issue of low Body Mass Index in
adolescent girls coupled with challenges of child marriage and
adolescent pregnancies have an intergenerational impact.
• India has one of the highest rates of violence against women, and 60-
90 percent of girls face sexual harassment/violence in public spaces.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj Source: UNICEF Report

Defining Child Labour:
Child labour refers to;
1. work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and
harmful to children; and
2. interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity
to attend school;
3. by obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
4. by requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with
excessively long and heavy
work.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj Source: UNICEF Report

UNICEF has classified child work into
three different categories:
• Within the family in which children are engaged without pay in
domestic/household tasks, agricultural/pastoral work, handicrafts/cottage
industries etc.
• With the family but outside the home in which children do agricultural/pastoral
work which consists of (seasonal/full time) migrant labour, local agricultural
work, domestic services, construction work and informal occupations –e.g.,
laundry recycling of waste-employed by others and self-employed.
• Outside the family in which children are employed by others in bonded work,
apprenticeship, skilled trades (carpe, embroidery, brass / copper work),
industrial/unskilled occupations/mines, domestic work, commercial work in shops
and restaurants, begging, prostitution and pornography.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj Source: UNICEF Report

International Minimum Age Convention, 1973:

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Constitutional Provisions in India:
The framers of the Constitutions deemed it necessary to make special provisions for the protection of
working children, as follows:
• Article 15 (3) enables the state to make special provisions for women and children. It empowers
the state to intervene and formulate special enactments that would uplift the social and legal status
of children.
• Article 21 guarantees to each child the protection of life and personal liberty.
• Article 24 prohibits the employment of children in factories etc. It emphatically states that no child
below the age of 14 years shall be employed in any factory or mine or be engaged in any other
hazardous employment. The provision in Article 24 is in the interest of the health and strength of
children and in keeping with the directive principle in Article 39 (e) which impose a duty on the
state to ensure that the health and strength of children are not abused and that children are not
forced by economic necessity to enter vocations unsuited to their age or strength.
• Article 32 requires the states to interfere and stop hazardous working conditions detrimental to the
health of child labour and look into their proper physical, mental and social development. It also
asks the states to legislate, fixing minimum age, working hours and conditions for the child
labourers, and at the same time to prohibit the employment of a child below the age of 14 years.
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
Legal Provisions in India
The Factories Act of 1948
The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 in any factory. The law also placed rules on
who, when and how long can pre-adults aged 15–18 years be employed in any factory.
The Mines Act of 1952
The Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in mines
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
This Act prohibits employment of children below 14 years in certain hazardous processes and regulates it in
other non-hazardous processes (Section 3). At present, 15 occupations and 57 processes are prohibited under the
Act for employment of children. The list was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008. Further, the Act regulates the
condition of employment of children in other occupations and processes that are not prohibited.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2015
This law made it a crime, punishable with a prison term, for any person who procures a child for hazardous
work, keeps him/her in bondage and withholds the child's earnings or uses them for his own purpose . This
person is liable for imprisonment up to 3 years and also a fine.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016
The amendment allows children below 14 years of age to work only in family
enterprises or the entertainment industry with certain conditions, while
completely banning their employment elsewhere.
The amendments also make it clear that children between 14 and 18 years
will also not be allowed to work in hazardous industries. While there is no
penalty provision for parents for the first offence, the employer would be
liable for punishment even for the first violation.
In case of parents, the repeat offenders may be penalized with a monetary fine
up to Rs 10,000. In case of first offence, the penalty for employers has been
increased up to two and half times from the existing up to Rs 20,000/- to up
to Rs 50,000 now and for subsequent offence, the minimum imprisonment
would be one year which may extend to three years.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Child Trafficking:
• Definition: Child trafficking is defined as the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt” of a child for
purpose of exploitation.
• Global Condition: Globally, one in every three victims of human trafficking detected is a child, but in low income countries,
children account for half of the victims detected, most of them trafficked for forced labour. Both girls and boys are
vulnerable to being trafficked. However, girls are disproportionally targeted and made to deal with the life-long effects of
gender inequality and gender-based violence.
• Indian Condition: Child Trafficking In India, disadvantaged communities are most vulnerable to trafficking. Parents of children
from these communities are either misled or lured due to their poor socio-economic condition which eventually compels
them to ‘send’ or ‘sell’ their children for ‘better livelihood options’. Traffickers promise daily wages to parents and transport
them to big cities where they are often treated as commodities.
• Purpose: Children are often trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation or for labor – such as domestic servitude,
agricultural work, factory work, and mining, or they are forced to fight in conflicts. The most vulnerable children,
particularly refugees and migrants, are often preyed upon and their hopes of education, a better job or a better life in a new
country are used as bait. Child trafficking in India also takes form when children are forcefully engaged in begging rackets
and other such activities.
• Cause & Consequences: Poverty is one of the main causes of child trafficking. Economically disadvantaged families
sometimes have no choice but to abandon or ‘sell’ their children, leaving them in the hands of traffickers. Child trafficking in
India is particularly prominent in areas struck by natural disasters. Illiteracy and lack of education make families more
vulnerable to traffickers. Some of the most threatened also include children whose births were never registered. Many a
times, the early marriage of children is also carried out as camouflage for child trafficking. Trafficked children experience
many types of abuse and neglect. Traffickers use physical, sexual and emotional abuse as a form of control. Children and
young people are also likely to be physically and emotionally neglected and may be sexually exploited. Children may feel
distressed and alienated if they’ve been separated from their families, friends, communities, and cultures. They have
virtually no access to education or opportunity for social andPrithvi
Faculty: emotional
Raj development.
• Numbers: Thousands of women and children are trafficked every day. Within the overall profile of trafficking in South Asia, India is a country
of both transit and destination. There is a considerable degree of internal trafficking as well as some trafficking from India to Gulf States and
to South East Asia. Sale of children and their movement across the state borders takes place within the country too. According to the National
Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were about 2,200 cases of child trafficking in 2019, of which 95 per cent accounted for internal
trafficking. As per official figures, 6,616 victims were reported to have been trafficked, including 2,914 children. However, activists say that the
actual figure could be much higher as many victims do not register cases with the police, largely because they do not know the law or fear
traffickers. According to a report by the National Human Rights Commission, 40,000 children are abducted each year in India, leaving 11,000
untraced. NGO’s estimate that between 12,000 and 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the country annually from neighbouring
nations as a part of a thriving sex trade.
• MP, Maharashtra, and UP have the highest crime rate against children as per NCRB 2021 Report.
• Indian laws do not have a legal definition of child trafficking. The Immoral traffic (Prevention) Child Trafficking Act deals only with trafficking of
minors for prostitution. However, other laws are present which can assist in taking action against child trafficking including the Juvenile Justice
Act 2000, Andhra Pradesh Devadasi’s (Prohibition of Dedication) Act, 1988, Bombay Prevention of Begging Act etc. The Immoral Traffic
(Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) is the premier legislation for prevention of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
• Criminal Law (amendment) Act 2013 has come into force wherein Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code has been substituted with Section
370 and 370A IPC which provides for comprehensive measures to counter the menace of human trafficking including trafficking of children
for exploitation in any form including physical exploitation or any form of sexual exploitation, slavery, servitude or forced removal of organs.
• Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, which has come into effect from November 14, 2012, is a special law to
protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. It provides precise definitions for different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative
and non-penetrative sexual assault, sexual harassment.
• There are other specific legislations enacted relating to trafficking in women and children Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, Bonded
Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, apart
from specific Sections in the IPC, e.g. Sections 372 and 373 dealing with selling and buying of girls for the purpose of prostitution.
• State Governments have also enacted specific legislations to deal with the issue. (e.g. The Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2012)

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Defining child abuse:
The physical, psychological or sexual maltreatment or neglect
of a child is termed as child abuse.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines child

abuse and child maltreatment as "all forms of physical and/or
emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent
treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in
actual or potential harm to the child's health, survival,
development or dignity in the context of a relationship of
responsibility, trust or power.”
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
Types of Abuse:
Physical
Abuse

Sexual Child Emotional

Abuse Abuse Abuse

Neglect
E.g. Physical,
Emotional and
Educational
Neglect
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
Physical Abuse: Acts of commission that result in physical harm,
including death, to a child.

Sexual Abuse: Acts of commission including intrusion or penetration,

molestation with genital contact or other forms of sexual acts in which
children are used to provide sexual gratification for a perpetrator.

Emotional Abuse: Acts of commission that include confinement, verbal

or emotional abuse or other types of abuse such as withholding sleep,
food or shelter.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Physical Neglect: Acts of omission that involve refusal to provide
health care, delay in providing health care, abandonment, expulsion of a
child from a home, inadequate supervision, failure to meet food and
clothing needs, and conspicuous failure to protect a child from hazards
or danger.

Educational Neglect: Acts of omission and commission that include

permitting chronic truancy, failure to enroll a child in school and
inattention to specific education needs.

Emotional Neglect: Acts of omission that involve failing to meet the

nurturing and affection needs of a child, exposing a child to chronic or
severe spouse abuse, allowing or permitting a child to use alcohol or
controlled substances, encouraging the child to engage in maladaptive
behavior, refusal to provide psychological care, delays in providing
psychological care and other inattention to the child’s developmental
needs. Faculty: Prithvi Raj
 IPC Crimes against Children, 2020:

Murder Murder with Rape Abetment of Suicide of Child

Exposure and Abandonment Kidnapping Rape
Human Trafficking

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

 Number of Child Victims- 2020
West Bengal
Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh
Tripura
Telangana
Tamil Nadu
Sikkim
Rajasthan
Punjab
Odisha
Nagaland
Mizoram
Meghalaya
Manipur
Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh
Kerela
Karnataka
Jharkhand
Himachal Pradesh
Haryana
Gujarat
Goa
Chhattisgarh
Bihar
Assam
Arunachal Pradesh
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
Number of Victims
Physical Abuse:
• An act of commission by a parent or other person that may or may not be accidental
and that results in physical injury.
• Injuries caused by physical abuse can result from punching, biting, shaking, throwing,
stabbing, choking or kicking a child. Injuries include fractures, burns, severe bruises,
welts, cuts and/or internal injuries. In the most severe cases, the injuries result in death.
• Internal traumas such as abdominal injuries, though serious, are not immediately
apparent.
• Physical abuse is often accompanied by emotional maltreatment, such as extremely
negative and/or threatening verbal comments made to the child.
• Reason of Physical Abuse: Abusive parents feel caught in a negative spiral of poverty
and hopelessness; ignorance and immaturity, for example, some young parents may
have little knowledge about child development; parents with early childhood abuse
assumes that physical violence is accepted; intoxication etc.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Psychological Abuse:
• Acts that caused or may have caused conduct, cognitive, affective or other mental
disorders.
• Psychological maltreatment involves a pattern of destructive behavior—not a single
incident—on the part of an adult.
• Child who are repeatedly subjected to abuse may suffer permanent psychological or
intellectual damage.
• Psychological abuse includes emotional neglect, psychological abuse and mental injury.
An example of an act of psychological abuse would be a pattern of frequently telling a
child that he or she is stupid, evil or hated by the parent.
• Bullying one’s peers in childhood and adolescence may be considered as a form of
psychological abuse.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Sexual Abuse:
Child sexual abuse includes:
▪ any sexual act between an adult and a minor, or between two minors, when one exerts
power over the other.
▪ forcing, coercing or persuading a child to engage in any type of sexual act.
▪ non-contact acts such as exhibitionism, exposure to pornography, voyeurism, and
communicating in a sexual manner by phone or Internet.
▪ Magnitude of problem: 1 out of 10 children are the victim of sexual abuse.
▪ Risk Factors: Dysfunctional/ broken family, socio-economical condition etc. Children
who are passive, quite, troubled and lonely generally become the easy victims of
sexual abuse for perpetrator.
▪ Consequences: PTSD, anxiety, depression, suicidal tendencies, distressed adulthood,
sexual behavior problems etc.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Neglect:
• A serious failure, usually on the part of the parent or other custodial caregiver, to
meet the minimal standards of a child’s nutritional, clothing, shelter, medical,
educational and safety needs.
• Neglect also encompasses the failure to act on the child’s behalf, such as allowing
or encouraging a child to use alcohol or drugs.
• Types: Medical neglect, safety neglect, considering abandonment, educational
neglect.
• Signs of Neglect: Irregular school attendance, poor heath condition, severe body
odor, alcoholism and substance use etc.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Laws for Crime against Children:
Crime against Children under Indian Penal Code.
(i) Murder (Section 302 IPC)
(ii) Attempt to commit murder (Section 307 IPC)
(iii) Infanticide (Section 315 IPC)
(iv) Rape (Section 376 IPC)
(v) Unnatural Offence (Section 377 IPC)
(vi) Assault on Women (Girl Child) with Intent to Outrage her Modesty (section 354 IPC)*
• Sexual Harassment (Section 354A IPC)
• Assault or Use of Criminal Force to Women (Girl Child) with Intent to Disrobes (Section
354B IPC)
• Voyeurism (Section 354C IPC)
• Stalking (Section 354D IPC)
(vii) Insult to the Modesty of Women (Girl Child) (Section 509 IPC)
(viii) Kidnapping & Abduction (Section 363, 364,364A, 365, 366, 367, 368 & 369 IPC).
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
(ix) Foeticide (Section 315 and 316 IPC).
(x) Abetment of Suicide of Child (Section 305 IPC)
(xi) Exposure and Abandonment (section 317 IPC)
(xii) Procuration of Minor Girls (section 366-A IPC)
(xiii) Importation of Girls from Foreign Country (Section 366-B IPC) (under 18 years of age)
(xiv) Buying of Minors for Prostitution (Section 373 IPC)
(xv) Selling of Minors for Prostitution (Section 372 IPC)

2) Crime against Children under Special and Local Laws(SLL)

i) Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006
ii) Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994(for persons below 18 years of age)
iii) Child labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986
iv) Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956
v) Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2000
vi) Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Effects of child abuse:
The harm experienced in childhood can have significant and lasting effects and children can respond
differently to what has occurred.
Children may experience a range of emotional, psychological and physical problems as a result of
being harmed, including:
• low self-esteem
• increased fear, guilt and self-blame
• distrust of adults or difficulty forming relationships with others
• disrupted attachments with those who are meant to keep them safe
• mental health disorders such as anxiety, attachment, post-traumatic stress, and depression
disorders
• self-harming or suicidal thoughts
• learning disorders, including poor language and cognitive development
• developmental delay, eating disorders, and physical ailments
• permanent physical injuries or death
• violent, aggressive or criminal behavior or other behavioral problems
• drug and alcohol abuse and high-risk sexual behavior.
It should be noted that for some children who have been abused, the impacts will not be evident in
their behavior.
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
Child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome:
Child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (CSAAS) is a syndrome proposed
by Roland C. Summit in 1983 to describe how he believed sexually abused
children responded to ongoing sexual abuse. He said children "learn to accept the situation
and to survive. There is no way out, no place to run. The healthy, normal emotionally
resilient child will learn to accommodate to the reality of continuing sexual abuse.”

Summit described how he claimed that children try to resolve the experience of sexual abuse
in relation to the effects of disclosure in real life. He posited five stages:
[Link]
[Link]
[Link] and accommodation
[Link] disclosure
[Link]
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
Abusive Head Trauma
• Abusive head trauma is a head or neck injury from physical child abuse. It happens when
someone shakes a baby or hits the baby against something hard.
• Most cases happen when a parent or caregiver is angry, tired, or upset because a
baby won't stop crying or the child can't do something they expect, like toilet train.
• These injuries can cause permanent brain damage or death.
• Risk Population: Most cases of abusive head trauma (also called shaken baby syndrome)
happen to babies and toddlers younger than 2 years old. Rarely, it can happen in children
up to 5 years old. It can happen to boys or girls in any family.
Things like gently bouncing a baby on a knee or riding in a bumpy car won't cause the
problems seen in abusive head trauma.
Abusive head trauma happens when someone:
1. uses force to shake a child
2. uses force to throw or drop a child on purpose
3. hits the child's head or neck against an object, like the floor or furniture, or hits the child's
head or neck with an object
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
Child in Conflict with Law
• “Child in Conflict with Law” has been defined under Section 2 (l3) of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection
of Children) Act, 2015 as a child who is alleged or found to have committed an offense and has not
completed eighteen years of age on the date of commission of such offense.
• Offences Alleged to be committed by Children: The Juvenile Justice System assumes that a child offender is
a product of an unfavorable environment and is entitled to a fresh chance to begin his life. The offenses
may have been committed without any criminal intent on certain occasions. The child probably lacks
foresight on the repercussions/consequences of his actions. It is accepted that a child offender should not
be given punishment based on the kind of offense he /she has committed but should be given an
individual treatment that is reformative in nature and which is based on his /her need, psychological and
social background.
• Various types of offenses committed by children in conflict with the law have been defined under the JJ
Act, 2015 as follows:
1. Petty offense: Petty offences include the offenses for which the maximum punishment under the Indian
Penal Code or any other law for the time being in force is imprisonment of up to three years.
2. Serious Offences: Serious offenses include offenses for which the punishment under the Indian Penal Code
or any other law for the time being in force is imprisonment between three to seven years.
3. Heinous Offences: Heinous offenses committed by children in conflict with the law include the offenses for
which the minimum punishment under the Indian Penal Code or any other law for the time being in force
is imprisonment for seven years or more. Faculty: Prithvi Raj
(continued)
• Delinquency exhibits a variety of styles of conduct or forms of behavior. Each of the patterns has its own social
context, the causes that are alleged to bring it about, and the forms of prevention or treatment most often suggested
as appropriate for the pattern in question. Howard Becker (1966) has referred to four types of delinquencies:
• individual delinquency
• group-supported delinquency
• organized delinquency
• situational delinquency
Individual delinquency
• This refers to delinquency in which only one individual is involved in committing a delinquent act and its cause is
located within the individual delinquent. Most of the explanations for this delinquent behavior come from
psychiatrists. Their argument is that delinquency is caused by psychological problems that primarily stem from
defective/faulty/pathological family interaction patterns.
Group-supported delinquency
• In this type, delinquencies are committed to companionship with others and the cause is located not in the
personality of the individual or in the delinquent's family but in the culture of the individual's home and
neighborhood. The studies of Thrasher and Shaw and McKay talk of this type of delinquency. Research findings
suggest that most young children who became delinquent were because of their association and companionship with
others who were already delinquent. Unlike the psychogenic explanations, this set of ideas focuses on what is learned
and whom it is learned from rather than on the problems that might produce motivation to commit delinquencies.
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
(continued)
Organized delinquency
• This type refers to delinquencies that are committed by formally organized groups. These delinquencies
were analyzed in the United States in the 1950s and the concept of “delinquent subculture” was
developed. This concept refers to the set of values and norms that guide the behavior of group members to
encourage the commission of delinquencies, award status on the basis of such acts, and, specify typical
relationships to persons who fail outside the groupings governed by group norms.
Situational delinquency
• The above-mentioned three types of delinquencies have one thing in common. In all of them, delinquency
is viewed as having deep roots. In individual delinquency (according to the psychogenic explanation), the
roots of delinquency lie primarily within the individual. In group-supported and organized delinquencies (the
sociogenic explanation), the roots (of delinquency) lie in the structure of the society with emphasis either on
the ecological areas where delinquency prevails or on the systematic way in which social structure places
some individuals in a poor position to compete for success.
• Situational delinquency provides a different perspective. Here the assumption is that delinquency is not
deeply rooted, and motives for delinquency and means for controlling it are often relatively simple. A young
man indulges in a delinquent act without having a deep commitment to delinquency because of less
developed impulse - control and/or because of weaker reinforcement of family restraints, and because he
has relatively little to lose even if caught. David Matza (Delinquency & Drift Theory) is one scholar who
refers to this type of delinquency.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

(continued)
What is to be done
• Parents, teachers, schools, community, and law enforcement agencies need to understand, prevent and
reduce risk factors that may push children towards adopting behaviors that may harm them and the wider
society and are defined as being in conflict with the law. There is enough evidence to prove that with the
right kind of prevention and rehabilitation most children adjust, reform, and return to the maturity of
adulthood.
• Thus, it becomes important to identify risk factors, i.e. factors whose presence and early exposure enhance
the likelihood of engaging in delinquency and other behavior problems.
• Protective factors are those which mitigate the influence of risk factors. In recent years, studies of juvenile
delinquency and the justice system have increasingly examined the impact of these strengths (protective
factors) on youth's ability to overcome challenges and thrive.
• Generally, protective factors – such as positive school attendance, positive social orientation, or the ability
to discuss problems with parents - are a buffer to minimize or moderate the effect of risk factors and their
ability to bring about delinquent behavior.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Children affected by emergencies and disasters:
• Children are the worst affected during disasters due to physical, psychological, and social vulnerabilities.
• The major impact remains due to physical vulnerability as children bear the brunt of shock due to any
disaster. Be it natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, cyclones, heat, and cold waves or man-made
disasters like Fire, epidemics, civil strife, etc. children are the worst sufferers as they are doubly hit.
• Firstly, at the time of the disaster, due to the inability to escape or fend for themselves, especially for very
young children at high risk of injury. Secondly, post-disaster due to separation or loss of their families and
their homes.
• They are psychologically vulnerable due to their tender age and little experience with disaster situations.
• Children show a high level of post-traumatic stress disorder for which there are several reasons such as
shock due to chaos and panic caused in the neighborhood during disasters, seeing their loved ones dying or
getting injured, damage to their houses, losing their belongings, having to live with hunger and thirst, self-
injury, separation from their parents and siblings.
• Children unable to cope with post-traumatic stress show certain symptoms- becoming quiet, loss of
appetite, continuous sobbing, revisiting the episode, loss of sleep, anxiety, depression, etc. The longer-
lasting impact of traumatic conditions on their personality with episodes of violent behavior.
• The social vulnerability is due to the role of children specified in society which is low in terms of gaining
information/experiencing disasters or coping with them. Activation of anti-social elements during disasters
leads to exploitation, abuse, and trafficking of children. The loss a of support system puts the children at
risk as they roam around unattended. Eg. Post floods, there are a number of drowning cases of children as
they play in flood waters.
• Be it physical, psychological, or social, vulnerability surmounts the disaster risk to children which is further
aggravated due to the intensity of the disaster and low
Faculty: coping
Prithvi Raj capacity.
Factors that Influence the Emotional Impact on Children in Emergencies:
• The amount of damage caused by a disaster can be overwhelming. The destruction of homes and separation from school, family, and
friends can create a great amount of stress and anxiety for children.
• The emotional impact of an emergency on a child depends on a child’s characteristics and experiences, the social and economic
circumstances of the family and community, and the availability of local resources. Not all children respond in the same ways. Some
might have more severe, longer-lasting reactions. The following specific factors may affect a child’s emotional response:
➢ Direct involvement with the emergency
➢ Previous traumatic or stressful event
➢ Belief that the child or a loved one may die
➢ Loss of a family member, close friend, or pet
➢ Separation from caregivers
➢ Physical injury
➢ How parents and caregivers respond
➢ Family Resources
➢ Relationships and communication among family members
➢ Repeated exposure to mass media coverage of the emergency and aftermath
➢ Ongoing stress due to the change in familiar routines and living conditions
➢ Cultural differences
➢ Community resilience (Community resilience is the sustained ability of a community to use available resources to respond to,
withstand, and recover from adverse situations. This allows for the adaptation and growth of a community after disaster
strikes).

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Children With HIV and AIDS:

• Up to 3.7 million kids (under age 19) are infected with HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS. The vast majority of
cases are in sub-Saharan Africa; in fact, it's the leading cause of death among preteens and teens there. HIV damages
your immune system, so you can't fight infections and some cancers well.
• But with the right combination of drugs and loving support, kids with HIV can grow up to live long, fulfilling lives.
Causes
• Most children who have HIV got it from their mothers when they were pregnant, during the birth process, or
from breastfeeding. Women who are tested, and then stick with treatment if they're positive, greatly lower the chance
of passing the virus to their babies. This is the best way to prevent HIV in children.
• Kids in communities affected by AIDS who have lost parents and family members are also more vulnerable to HIV
infection. They may lack caregivers, access to school, or the ability to stand up for their rights.
• Children can be infected through sexual abuse or rape. In some countries, child marriages are culturally accepted, and
a young girl could get HIV from their older husband, and then pass it to their babies, too. The younger a child is when
they first have sex, the higher their chances of getting HIV are.
• In central and Eastern Europe, injected drug use spreads HIV among young people living on the streets. In one study
in Ukraine, high-risk behaviors, including sharing needles, were common among kids as young as 10.
• Transfusions of HIV-positive blood or injections with unsterilized needles could infect children in poorer countries.
The U.S. and Western European countries have medical safeguards to prevent this problem.
Faculty: Prithvi Raj
Symptoms: Not all children with HIV will have symptoms, and those that do won't have exactly the same ones. Symptoms can
vary by age.
Some of the more common are:
•Failure to thrive, which means not gaining weight or growing as doctors expect
•Not having the skills or doing the things doctors expect a child that age would (not reaching developmental milestones)
•Brain or nervous system problems such as seizures, trouble walking, or doing poorly in school
•Being sick often with childhood illnesses such as an ear infection, a cold, an upset stomach, or diarrhea
As with adults, when an HIV infection advances, kids start to develop infections that rarely affect healthy people but can
be deadly for someone whose immune system isn't working well. These "opportunistic infections" include:
•Pneumocystis pneumonia, a fungal infection of the lungs
•Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
•A kind of lung scarring called lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis (LIP)
•Oral thrush or severe diaper rash from a yeast infection

Treatments
• Children get pretty much the same treatment as adults: a combination of medications called ART (antiretroviral
therapy). But it isn't that simple, because some HIV drugs don't come in a liquid form that babies and small children
can swallow. And some drugs cause serious side effects for kids.
• Without ART, one-third of HIV-positive infants worldwide won't make it to their first birthday, and half will die
before they're 2. Older kids who don't have symptoms can take ART to help keep them healthy.
• With ART, complications from HIV or opportunistic infections -- like loss of appetite, diarrhea,
and coughs and colds -- can be treated like typical childhood illnesses.

Faculty: Prithvi Raj

Growing Up With HIV
• Adults should talk to children about the disease in a way that fits their age to help make it less scary. Kids need to know that it's not
their fault they're sick and have to take medicine every day and that they won't be left alone. Social, financial, and emotional support
for the whole family is important, especially in communities without a lot of resources.
• Kids with HIV and AIDS can safely go to school. But they may face bullying and discrimination unless the other students and
teachers understand how HIV spreads. Awareness and education programs help break down the stigma around HIV so that children
can have friends and feel normal growing up.
• People living with HIV/AIDS face discrimination, especially in the villages, where they are often treated as outcasts. Their children
also suffer – whether they have HIV/AIDS or not – as they are treated with contempt in schools and the community. When the
parents of these children die, no one comes forward to take responsibility, not even their relatives.
• The rights of children affected by HIV/AIDS are violated in many ways. They are discriminated against by the community; they are
deprived of opportunities of education and development; they are not able to avail proper services, remedies, and assistance; they are
made to sit separately in schools and sometimes even denied admission in schools. They are left to fend for themselves.
What the law says about children affected by HIV/AIDS
• The Indian government has developed policies that work as solutions for children affected by HIV/AIDS. National Aids Control
Organisation (NACO) is working towards the prevention and cure of HIV/AIDS. While a specific law to protect the rights of HIV-
positive people is in the process of being formulated, there are certain basic rights that the constitution of India guarantees to all
citizens and stand applicable even if a person is HIV positive like, the right to informed consent, right to confidentiality, right against
discrimination, etc.
Role of panchayat members in addressing the issue
• It is important that panchayat members are themselves aware of the rights of children affected by HIV/AIDS. This information
should be shared with other residents of the village through gram sabhas. If a case of HIV/AIDS comes up in the village, the
panchayat members should seek assistance from the government for the protection of the affected children.
Faculty: Prithvi Raj