ABSTRACT

According to Article 1 of United Nation Child Right Convention, a child is a human being below the age of eighteen years is considered as a child unless under the applicable law to the child is considered as an adult^[1], there are different laws which gives different definition of a child according to their own understanding. Child Abuse is an event or a series of event which leaves a minor with mental stress and discomfort resulting into a traumatic memory of that particular abuse. Child Abuse leaves a minor with a traumatic memory of the past event, even sometimes with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) as an after effect. There are different types of child abuse observed across the globe. Child Abuse is a curse to our society, as it not only has a massive impact on psyche and physical being of the child but also impact the wellbeing of our society. This paper gives a broad explanation on child abuse, types of child abuse and how it impacts the personality of a child, the current situation of child abuse in India and different laws which are there to prevent child abuse in India. This paper also aims to discuss the upcoming methods to prevent the abuse of a child.

KEY WORDS: Child Rights, Society, India, Indian Laws, Laws, Child Abuse.

INRODUCTION

According to Article 1 of United Nation Child Right Convention, a child is a human being below the age of eighteen years is considered as a child unless under the applicable law to the child is considered as an adult^[2], whereas according to Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, a child is a person who has not completed the age of 14 years.^[3]  There are different law and different acts which define a child according to their understanding. Children are considered as another form of God, they are just like water, fill in any container it they will adapt its shape.

When any event leaves a mental stress and discomfort resulting into a traumatic memory of an incident on a child is known as child abuse. Child Abuse is very common in today’s modern and fast-moving world. It is something so common that people living their daily life won’t even notice. Child Abuse is something which doesn’t always need to be physical abuse. People often confuse that abuse only means

physical abuse. Abuse can be of different types. Abuse can be of different types, such as emotional or psychological, physical, verbal, or sexual. Child Abuse is a curse to our society as it has drastic impact on our upcoming, tomorrow’s generation. According to reports⁴, in the year 2017-2020, India reported 24 lakh case of child abuse. In these 3 years 80% of the cases of child abuse are of girls who are below the age of 14 years.

REASERCH METHODOLOGY 

This paper is purely based upon of the pre-existing documents and literature that are present on the online platforms.

This research paper is designed in a manner that it deals with the different aspects of the issue of child abuse, such as-

WHAT IS CHILD ABUSE?

TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE?

HOW CHILD ABUSE IMPACTS A CHILD

WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION OF CHILD ABUSE IN INDIA?

WHAT ARE THE LAWS CONCERNING ARELATED TO CHILD ABUSE IN INDIA?

SUGGESTIVE METHORDS TO DEAL WITH ISSUE OF CHILD ABUSE.

In this research paper most of the data is collected from various authentic sources available on the issue of Child Abuse, though an analysis it is understood that how child abuse is a curse to our society.

WHAT IS CHILD ABUSE?

Child Abuse is wrong not only in the eyes of law but are also wrong morally and ethically. Abuse something which leaves scars on anybody for years and leaves an impact on the child’s overall personality, similarly, abuse cannot be defined into one specific type or category, there are various kinds of abuse which are identified in our society. Few of them can be addressed as:

TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE

⁴ India reported over 24L online child abuses cases in 2017-19: Interpole, Business Standards, July 2^nd ,2023

,https://www.business–standard.com/article/current–affairs/india–reported–over–24l–online–child–abuse–cases–in–2017–20interpol–

121111701312_1.html#:~:text=India%20reported%20over%2024%20lakh,years%2C%20according%20to%20Interpol% 20data.

• Sexual Abuse

According to a website named as Prevent child abuse, sexual abuse is defined as – “sexual activity with a child by an adult, adolescent, or older child. If any adult engages in sexual activity with a child, that is sexual abuse. If another child or adolescent engages in sexual activity with a child, a grey area enters where some sexual behaviour is innocent exploration rather than abuse.”^[4] 

In other words, it can be explained as sexual abuse is when an adult or a grown person engages a child who is below 18 years of age into sexual activities can be regarded as sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is something which is faced by every age group of people.

Sexual Abuse is one of the most common and easily identified in the society, but only few of them get fortunate enough to report against the abuse. According to reports, India is home for almost 19% of the total children in the world which is almost equivalent to one-third of India’s whole population, amongst them almost 50% of the children are in the need to care and protection against these abuse^[5].

The impact of sexual abuse leaves saviour scars one person’s personality, it even leaves scars on the thinking ability of the person. All these happing to a child at a tendour age leaves that child with a setback for his or her whole lifetime, sometime there are cases where the condition of the child is so bad that child gives up his or her life by own willing or dies is the process of abuse. Similarly, there are cases where child is harassed sexually by his or her own family members or neighbours. One such shocking case was seen in Maharashtra, where a 14-year-old girl takes her own life after being sexually abuse by her own father.^[6] Similarly the number of deaths is huge when the issue is looked upon a global level.  

• Physical Abuse

One of the most horrifying abuse a person can do to other person is any kind of abuse in any manner, if done in the childhood the scares remain through the lifetime. In India, the situation of physical abuse is chilling^[7] . It can be said that physical violence is one of those abuses, which is recorded in thousands

of numbers on daily basis. Out of majority of them are marital violence. According to reports, around 30% of the married women experiences physical violence through domestic violence.^[8]

“A National Family Health Survey (NFHS), 2019–2021, report reveals  that, “29.3 per cent of married Indian women between the ages of 18 and 49 have experienced domestic/sexual violence; 3.1 per cent of pregnant women aged 18 to 49 have suffered physical violence during their pregnancy.” ^[9]

The Health Ministry and the Indian Institute of Population Science collaborate to conduct the NFHS, one of the world’s largest household surveys. The study, supported by the central government and USAID, provides critical information on the social and economic determinants of health.”^[10]

The number of people who are the victim of physical abuse is absurd India, and most of them are young married couples aged between 18-49. There are even cases of deaths because of saviour physical abuse. There are several cases registered in India on daily basis. In 2022, over 6,900 cases of domestic violence were registered in India.^[11][12] On the basis of National Crime Records Bureau, most of these cases have been registered from the state like Assam, Odisha, Delhi, Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan.

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It is a great matter of concern where the physical abuse cases for adults, the situation for children is more delicate and worse. In today’s so called modern generation, mostly females and children are the one who become the target of physical abuse. The problem of physical abuse is so saviour that it has been claimed according to reports that- 90% of children have faced physical abuse before reaching to the age of 18 years^[13]. The percentage of children facing physical abuse throughout their lifetime is big, it hampers them at a very early stage of their lives at a deeper level which ultimately results its consequence later stage of these children.

• Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is an abuse which is done by most of the people, knowing or unknowing in daily life, but one thing that nobody takes into the consideration- what is the over all consequences of their action in somebody’s mind. According to very-well mind.com^[14], an emotional abuse can define as-

“Emotional abuse involves controlling another person by using emotions to criticize, embarrass, shame, blame, or otherwise manipulate them. While most common in dating and married relationships, mental or emotional abuse can occur in any relationship—including among friends, family members, and co-workers.”^[15]

In simple séance, emotional abuse is way of controlling other person’s behaviour or mind for their own personal benefit.  

“The National Commission for Women (NCW) reportedly received over 6,500 complaints under the

‘protection of women against domestic violence’ in 2022. Overall, it reportedly received nearly 31,000 complaints of crimes committed against women.”^[16]

The condition of women and children related to abuse are bad in whole world. Women are either made target in the male dominant society. Male dominant society still believes that male sovereign society where male child is often given all the privilege. At the same time, female child often becomes the victims of these emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is something which is not only limited to one’s physical harm but is a big scar to a person’s emotional thinking. Emotional abuse can be a situation where a person is playing mind games with his partner, or the other half to control any situation or manipulate the situation in his own favour. Manipulation is done for his own person benefit. In this emotional abuse, the blame of all the miss happenings is put on the victims, or the situations are manipulated in such a manner that victim feels bad and responsible for the situation. In the end after facing all the negativity, it over all hamper the mind of victims in a horrifying manner, even leading to depression or withdrawal from the society.

• Neglect Abuse

Neglect Abuse is one of the most common abuses observed in a society. Neglect is a situation when a person either though his actions or his body language makes a person feels neglected or ignored in a situation or throughout his lifetime. 

Neglect according to Washington State Department of Social and Health Services defines as- 

“Neglect occurs when a person, either through his/her action or inaction, deprives a vulnerable adult of the care necessary to maintain the vulnerable adult’s physical or mental health. Examples include not providing basic items such as food, water, clothing, a safe place to live, medicine, or health care.”^[17]

Neglect Abuse in its basic sense means, a situation when a person feels completely ignored either in his own home or around with others in public.

HOW CHILD ABUSE IMPACTS A CHILD?

“A child is the beauty of god, presented in the world, that greatest gift to a family.”^[18]

                                                                                                                                      –                                                                              Mother Teresa

Every child is the gift of God and deserves every right of being loved and protected. It becomes the responsibility of both the parents to look after their children needs, and it becomes the priority of the parents to save and protect their children from any such kinds of misshaping. A child is just like water, as water doesn’t have any specific shape and can be mould into shape by changing its container, similarly children can be mould into any shape by providing the right guidance and protection. It becomes a basic right of a child to avail love and protection from the world. 

Child Abuse is one of the nightmares for any child or a parent, therefore it becomes a responsibility the any person who is associated with a child who is being harassed on any part of the world. Child abuse leaves some nasty scare on not only on the child but also on the parents or the family of that child. Sometimes these scars often lead to some saviour issues like: Depression, Flashbacks, PTSD, and many more serious issues. 

UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE: LITRATURE REVIEW

Talking about Depression, it is one of the most controversial issues in itself. Depression can be defined in general terms as- “A group of conditions associated with the elevation or lowering of a person’s mood, such condition is known as depression”.^[19] In other words, it can understand as the change in the personality and overall thing of one person after a tragic event.  A child who has suffered abuse from any person or in any situation may fall under the trap of depression. In such particular case a child has to assured by his family or loved once that he or she is completely safe and loved. Depression is a clinical term and in such case parents or the family must consult a doctor against the battel of depression and the abuse.

Flashbacks can be defined as A flashback is when memories of a past trauma feel as if they are taking place in the current moment. That means it’s possible to feel like the experience of sexual violence is happening all over again.^[20] Similarly Flashbacks can be understood as a situation in which a person experiences the same tragic event as if it was happening at the current moment. 

Flashbacks happen at a random place at a random time which takes the victim to the same memory lane to experience a particular (impactful) incident all over again. At the time of the flashback, it becomes difficult for the victim to be aware of the present as the victim gets lost in experiencing the same tragic incident all over again. A child may face trauma for his or her lifetime as an abuse leaves a permanent mark on the memory of a child at a tendour age. For a child who has faced abuse in his or her childhood may reflect its consequences when the child grows up in the form of flashbacks, depression or even PTSDs.

Similarly, PTSD can be defined as “post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it.”^[21]  In other words it can be understood as a condition in which a person experiences an impact of a tragic incident on a mental level. It is not necessary that a child may experience only one of the issues it is possible that a child who is the victim of child abuse may suffer from multiple issues. There are many more issues which a child may suffer after getting abuse. From the above discussion it can be presumed that a childhood of a person reflects on his or her adulthood, similarly if a child who had experienced a rough childhood will be reflected to his adulthood.

CURRENT SITUATION OF CHILD ABUSE IN INDIA 

According to an article by The Hindu^[22], it has been reported that most of the data related to pornographic images or videos are of children who are of minor age. It has been reported in a global compliance report of child abuse material (CSAM), India ranks 1^st on the list of providing materials related to child. Whereas Pakistan ranks 2^nd followed Bangladesh.

In a report by National Centre of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) released various programmes to prevent such child sexual abuse by creating such platforms to report such offences, encourage people to spread awareness about the situation of child abuse on a platform known as CyberTipline.^[23]

LAWS CONCERNING TO CHILD ABUSE

India is famous for various things like its diversity, people, food, culture and many more such things. India is a vibrant country and a mixture of different kinds of people belonging to different cast, race etc… India is a developing country; it has been evolving one could ever trace back the history. There were many changes made in the country like India, to become what we know today. Law in India has always been an important part of the structure of the framework. There are several Acts which recognize and defines the child abuses. 

• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act recognizes and even defines several abuses related to children. Juvenile Justice defines abuses such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, exploitation, abandonment, and neglect abuse. This Act basically defines child abuse and divide them into two broad categories:

1. Children who need care and protection
2. Children who have committed an offence. 

These division help people categories and help children according to their own needs. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act also creates certain groups and committee to provide help and support to these children at ever extent possible. One such example of these committees is CWC. CWC stands for Child Welfare Committee, and it aims to provide support and care to as many

children as possible, it also aims to safeguard these children from the abuses caused by society and sometimes their own parents and family.

• CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

Constitution of India provides a legal framework and guarantees to provide security of these children and assure them their Fundamental Rights as all adults have. There are certain Article mentioned in the Constitution of India which provides security against the societal abuse:

Article 14: Article 14 of the Constitution states that, “A state shall not deny to nay person’s equality before law or the equal protection of law within the territory of India. Thus, ensuring children their right to being protected.

Article 21: Article 21 of Constitution of India states that, “Protection of life and Personal Liberty”. It basically states that, every human being within the territory of India has a right to life and feel protected.

• INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860

Section 75: Provides punishment against the cruelty to a child.

Section 76: Provides punishment to abetment of suicide of a child.

Section 317: Deals with the abandonment of a child below 12 years and the punishment for the abandonment is also dealt in this section.

Section 372: Deals with penalizing the act of buying and selling of minor girls for prostitution or immoral purposes.

Section 373: Provides punishment against the buying and selling of minor girls.

SUGGESTIVE IDEAS TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM ABUSE

• EDUCATION AND AWARNESS

“Be the change you want to see in the world”- a quote by Mahatma Gandhi could mean so much to the world. It also some wares mean that in order to bring change in the society we need to be first educated by ourselves then we can help others. Therefore, it is very important to educate people first then the process of change can be brought in action.

• STRENTHENING THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

By strengthening the legal framework, it will help the preexisting law to grasp a good grip on society and controlling the abuse caused to children. This strengthening in the legal framework will also somehow empower and promote children to stand against injustice and harassment faces by the and to their friends. 

CONCLUSION

Child Abuse is very common in today’s modern and fast-moving world. It is something so common that people living their daily life won’t even notice. Child Abuse is something which doesn’t always need to be physical abuse. People often confuse that abuse only means physical abuse. Abuse can be of different types. Abuse can be of different types, such as emotional or psychological, physical, verbal, or sexual. Child Abuse is wrong not only in the eyes of law but are also wrong morally and ethically.

Abuse something which leaves scars on anybody for years and leaves an impact on the child’s overall personality, similarly, abuse cannot be defined into one specific type or category, there are various kinds of abuse which are identified in our society. For example, Sexual Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Neglect Abuse and Physical Abuse. Child abuse leaves some nasty scare on not only on the child but also on the parents or the family of that child. Sometimes these scars often lead to some saviour issues like: Depression, Flashbacks, PTSD, and many more serious issues. Therefore, it becomes very important for the upcoming generation to be aware about their rights and remedies and protection provided by the government and NGOs. There are several laws which are made for the protection and safeguarding the lives of these children from the harsh society. It is also very important, to educate the children to fight back against these abuses by standing up against these abuses in the society. It becomes an important role for the parents and teachers to educate their children and empower them to counter child abuse in the society.

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[1] UNICEF: for every child,https://www.unicef.org/child–rights–convention/convention–text, July 2^nd, 2023.

[2] UNICEF: for every child, https://www.unicef.org/child–rights–convention/convention–text July 2^nd, 2023.

[3] SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR, who is a child,https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/who–is–a–child/article3528624.ece, July 2^nd, 2023.

[4] Prevent child abuse, North Carolina, About Child sexual abuse, https://www.preventchildabusenc.org/resourcehub/about–child–sexual–abuse/, July 2^nd, 2023.

[5] Priti Raj, Child sexual abuse in India, Clear IAS, JULY 2^ND, https://www.clearias.com/child–sexual–abuse/.

[6] Palghar, Maharashtra teen girl hangs herself to death, her ‘suicide note’ talks about sexual abuse by Father, The Tribune India, July 2^nd, 2023, https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/maharashtra-teen-girl-hangs-self-to-death-her-suicidenote-talks-of-sexual-abuse-by-father-484777.

[7] Prachi Arya, The Indian domestic violence scenario is chilling, The LEAFEAT, https://theleaflet.in/the-indian-domesticviolence-scenario-is-chilling/.

[8] Pragati Parihar, around 30% of married Indian Women have experienced gender-based violence: Study, Feminism in India, https://feminisminindia.com/2023/05/30/30-married-indian-women-experienced-gender-based-violence/

[9] Pragati Parihar, around 30% of married Indian Women have experienced gender-based violence: Study, Feminism in India, https://feminisminindia.com/2023/05/30/30-married-indian-women-experienced-gender-based-violence/.

[10] Pragati Parihar, around 30% of married Indian Women have experienced gender-based violence: Study, Feminism in India, https://feminisminindia.com/2023/05/30/30-married-indian-women-experienced-gender-based-violence/.

[11] Ambika Pandit, over 6,900 domestic violence plaints have been filed by women in 2022, Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/over–6900–domestic–violence–plaints–filed–by–women–in2022/articleshow/96839600.cms.

[12] Ambika Pandit, over 6,900 domestic violence plaints have been filed by women in 2022, Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/over-6900-domestic-violence-plaints-filed-by-women-in2022/articleshow/96839600.cms.

[13] Suhaib Rafi Mir, Protecting our children: A look at current Indian Laws on Child Abuse, Reader’s Blog, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/personal-blog-of-suhaib-rafi-mir/protecting-our-children-a-look-atcurrent-indian-laws-on-child-abuse-50378/.

[14] Sherri Gordon, what is emotional abuse, Very well mind. com, https://www.verywellmind.com/identify-and-cope-withemotional-abuse-4156673

[15] Sherri Gordon, what is emotional abuse, Very well mind. com, https://www.verywellmind.com/identify-and-cope-withemotional-abuse-4156673

[16] Gursharan Bhalla, Emotional abuse top list as crime against women go up by 30% in 2020, UP records worst, It.com https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/complaints-of-crime-against-women-rise-in-2022-589753.html

[17] Washington State Department of Social and Health Service, abuse#:~:text=Neglect%20occurs%20when%20a%20person,%2C%20medicine%2C%20or%20health%20care, July 2^nd 2023.

[18] AZ Quortes, https://www.azquotes.com/quote/918482, July 2^nd 2023.

[19] Depression definition, https://www.google.com/search?q=depression+definition&rlz=1C1YTUH_enIN1008IN1008&oq=de&aqs=chrome.0.69i 59l3j0i67j69i61j69i60j69i61j69i60.3051j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF–8, July 2^nd, 2023.

[20] Rainn.org, https://www.rainn.org/articles/flashbacks#:~:text=A%20flashback%20is%20when%20memories,place%20in%20the%20 current%20moment. July 2^nd,2023.

[21] Mayo Clinic.org, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases–conditions/post–traumatic–stress–disorder/symptomscauses/syc–20355967#:~:text=Overview,uncontrollable%20thoughts%20about%20the%20event, July 2^nd, 2023.

[22] RAMAYA KHANNA, Most of the online content on child sexual abuse is from India, The Hindu, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/most–online–content–on–child–sexual–abuse–from–india/article31377784.ece.

[23] RAMAYA KHANNA, Most of the online content on child sexual abuse is from India, The Hindu, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/most–online–content–on–child–sexual–abuse–from–india/article31377784.ece.