Child Protection

Background

The Indian census of 200Article 32(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) calls for the recognition of the right of the children to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their education, or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.1 reported that nearly 13 million children were working as child labourers in India. Over 800,000 of those children were identified as being engaged in child labour in the West Bengal region alone. It is widely believed that that this figure is understated and that in reality the figure may be closer to 30 million.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 138 (1973) and 182 (1999) define child labourers as "all children younger than 12 years working in any economic activity; children 12 to 14 years old engaged in more than light work and all children engaged in the worst forms of child labour in which they are enslaved, forcibly recruited, prostituted, trafficked, forced into illegal activities or exposed to hazards."

Article 32(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) calls for "recognition of the right of the children to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their education, or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development."

1.  Statistics on Child Labour in India
   
   -  There are 253 million children aged between 5 years and 14 years in India - of whom at least 12.6 million are thought to be engaged in child labour.
   -  According to a recent global estimate by the International Labour Organization (ILO), of these 12.6 million, 1.39 million are involved in forced, commercial, sexual exploitation
   -  20% of children under the age of 14 years are in domestic service i.e. engaged to perform domestic services in the home of a third party or employer.
   -  According to the Indian Government there are 2 million children working in hazardous industries e.g. brick manufacturing, stone-quarrying, firework manufacturing, glassware production and lock-making.
   -  Millions of children work to help their families earn money, because the adults do not have sufficient employment or income.
   -  Large numbers of children work simply because there is no alternative. Many do not have access to education.
   -  Poor and bonded families often "sell" their children to contractors who promise lucrative jobs in the cities. The children mostly end up being employed in brothels, hotels and domestic work. Many run away, to  live as best they can on the streets.
   -  There are approximately 2 million child commercial sex workers between the age of 5 and 15 years and about 3.3 million between 15 and 18 years.
   -  Factors that contribute to child trafficking include poverty, unsafe migration, weak law enforcement, insufficient household income, ill treatment and physical abuse at home and in the community, parental alcoholism, lack of food and forced marriages.

Too many children are caught up in the vicious cycle of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy. They are sent out into the workforce at a young age to help support their families, doing agricultural labour or working in homes or hazardous industries. They often end up being commercial sex workers and bonded labourers. They constantly battle hunger and disease, are denied basic education and healthcare and face an unrelenting struggle to lead a life of dignity.

Industries such as hand-knotted carpet manufacturing, gemstone polishing, brassware production, glassware manufacturing, footwear manufacturing, construction, textiles, silk and firework production are especially guilty of using child labour. They prefer children because they have deft fingers, are not unionised, can be bullied easily and are cheap to employ. The working conditions these children endure often result in debilitating mental and physical diseases.

The Indian Government bans employment of children below the age of fourteen years in factories, mines and hazardous employment and regulates the working conditions of children in other employment under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulations) Act 1986. There are penalties for the employment of children but these are not always or widely enforced.

The GFF's Work on Child Protection 

The Glenn Family Foundation, in partnership with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, has a pilot project to help the exploited children of Kalimpong. Seeing the growing numbers of these child victims, the Cluny Sisters took the initiative in November 2006. Backed by the new Indian Government Act, they headed into the Kalimpong area to find and rescue children forced into labour.

Within a year they had rescued over 80 children. The GFF got behind the Sisters' work, donating land and providing funds to build a new hostel which houses up to 130 rescued children.

BalSuraksha Abhiyan (which means Child Protection Movement) is the name of an organisation in India which works to prevent child abuse - www.bsachildrights.org.

It is also the name of the GFF's hostel in Kalimpong. Here the Cluny Sisters provide a rehabilitation service for the rescued children, creating a loving, child-friendly environment. They not only provide a roof over the children’s heads but also give them education, counselling, medical attention, clothing and food. It costs as little as $1 a day to meet the needs of one child - but it makes a huge difference to that one, small, life.

EMU Lines has donated computers and also make-up kits to the Hostel. After classes and on weekends, the students have the opportunity to ltake courses to learn earn to use the computers as well as those to develop their beautician skills, avenues that provide alternative paths for employment in the future.

The participation of the GFF in the fight to stop child labour does not stop here. The Foundation’s bold and ultimate aim is to eradicate child labour entirely in the Kalimpong and Darjeeling districts.

 This has to start at the "grass roots" level. If the villagers can become financially sustainable and if the communities become healthy places, where children can readily access education and healthcare, the pressures which drive people to traffic these children will be reduced.

To demonstrate the Glenn Family Foundation’s commitment to this cause, the GFF has located its headquarters, offices and accommodation within the BSA hostel complex, which is alongside the GFF's Special Care Clinic for AIDS patients. This visibly demonstrates our support for the children of the region. The GFF will continue to fight for the freedom of local children threatened by any kind of exploitation.