A study of child abuse

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
1.INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................4
AIMS AND OBJECTIVE...........................................................................................................5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...............................................................................................5
HYPOTHESIS.............................................................................................................................5
2.CHIlD ABUSE.............................................................................................................................6
2.1 CHILD ABUSE SCENARIO................................................................................................8
2.1.1 Child abuse across the globe...........................................................................................8
2.1.2 Child abuse in Asia.........................................................................................................9
2.1.3 Child abuse in India......................................................................................................10
3.SUBSETS OF CHILD ABUSE..................................................................................................14
3.1Physical Child Abuse............................................................................................................14
3.2 Sexual Child Abuse.............................................................................................................16
3.3Emotional Abuse and Child Neglect....................................................................................18
4. INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL POLICIES AND LEGISLATIONS ADDRESSING
CHILD ABUSE.............................................................................................................................21
4.1Constitution of India.............................................................................................................21
4.2 International Conventions and Declaration.........................................................................22
4.3National Policies and Legislation Addressing Child Rights.................................................23
4.3.1National policies............................................................................................................23
4.3.2National legislations......................................................................................................24
5. FILED WORK...........................................................................................................................30
7. CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................33
6.BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................35
 Textbook on Labour & Industrial Law, by Dr. H.K. Saharay, Universal Law Publishing...35
 Child Abuse: New Research, Stanley M. Sturt,  Nova Publishers, 23..................................35
Reports...........................................................................................................................................35
websites..........................................................................................................................................35
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1.INTRODUCTION

Traditionally in India, the responsibility of care and protection of children has been with families
and communities. A strong knit patriarchal family that is meant to look after its children well has
seldom had the realization that children are individuals with their own rights. While the
Constitution of India guarantees many fundamental rights to the children, the approach to ensure
the fulfillment of these rights was more needs based rather than rights based. The transition to
the rights based approach in the Government and civil society is still evolving.
Child abuse is a state of emotional, physical, economic and sexual maltreatment meted out to a
person below the age of eighteen and is a globally prevalent phenomenon. However, in India, as
in many other countries, there has been no understanding of the extent, magnitude and trends of
the problem. The growing complexities of life and the dramatic changes brought about by socio-
economic transitions in India have played a major role in increasing the vulnerability of children
to various and newer forms of abuse.
Child abuse has serious physical and psycho-social consequences which adversely affect the
health and overall well-being of a child. According to WHO: ''Child abuse or maltreatment
constitutes 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.''1
Child abuse is a violation of the basic human rights of a child and is an outcome of a set of inter-
related familial, social, psychological and economic factors. The problem of child abuse and
human rights violations is one of the most critical matters on the international human rights

1
World Health Organization (1999): Report of the Consultation on Child Abuse Prevention; Geneva,
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/neglect/en/
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agenda. In the Indian context, acceptance of child rights as primary inviolable rights is fairly
recent, as is the universal understanding of it.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE

 The aim of the study was to develop a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of child
abuse.

 To through lights on the evolving guidelines for the prevention and control of Child Abuse.

 To get a line of the policies and provisions made or recommended by the government, NGOs for
the care and protection of children

 This study may strengthen the existence of the grounds of separate legislations on child abuse
and policies, strategies and schemes which are made to tackle the problem of Child Abuse

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
I have gathered the information about this project by following the Doctrinal research which is
also known as Traditional or Non Empirical Legal Research. In this research I have carried out
my research on a legal proposition or propositions by the way of analyzing the existing statutory
provisions and case laws by applying the reasoning and analytical power. Ergo, I have taken help
from Library and Websites and have also dealt with the Relevant Statutes, Case laws and
Articles as far as possible.

HYPOTHESIS
Children from lower socio-economic level are much more likely to be abused. Because of parental
poverty, children are forced to work so that they can supplement the total earning of the family.
Education is still a dream for many kids in India. Another problem that the country faces is sexual abuses
against children. Even though the government and various welfare organizations are trying hard to help
the struggling kids and overcome their problems, but the count is not decreasing. 
5.Source of India
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For carrying out my project work I have taken help from secondary source of data. Library and
Internet are the main sources.

2.CHIlD ABUSE
The term 'Child Abuse' may have different connotations in different cultural milieu and socio-
economic situations. A universal definition of child abuse in the Indian context does not exist
and has yet to be defined. According to WHO2 :
Physical Abuse: Physical abuse is the inflicting of physical injury upon a child. This may
include burning, hitting, punching, shaking, kicking, beating or otherwise harming a child. The
parent or caretaker may not have intended to hurt the child. It may, however, be the result of
over-discipline or physical punishment that is inappropriate to the child's age.
Sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse is inappropriate sexual behaviour with a child. It includes fondling
a child's genitals, making the child fondle the adult's genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy,
exhibitionism and sexual exploitation. To be considered ‘child abuse’, these acts have to be
committed by a person responsible for the care of a child (for example a baby-sitter, a parent, or
a daycare provider), or related to the child. If a stranger commits these acts, it would be
considered sexual assault and handled solely by the police and criminal courts.
Emotional Abuse: Emotional abuse is also known as verbal abuse, mental abuse, and
psychological maltreatment. It includes acts or the failures to act by parents or caretakers that
have caused or could cause, serious behavioural, cognitive, emotional, or mental trauma. This
can include parents/caretakers using extreme and/or bizarre forms of punishment, such as
confinement in a closet or dark room or being tied to a chair for long periods of time or
threatening or terrorizing a child. Less severe acts, but no less damaging, are belittling or
rejecting treatment, using derogatory terms to describe the child, habitual tendency to blame the
child or make him/her a scapegoat.
Neglect: It is the failure to provide for the child's basic needs. Neglect can be physical,
educational, or emotional. Physical neglect can include not providing adequate food or clothing,
appropriate medical care, supervision, or proper weather protection (heat or cold). It may include
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abandonment. Educational neglect includes failure to provide appropriate schooling or special

educational needs, allowing excessive truancies. Psychological neglect includes the lack of any
emotional support and love, never attending to the child, substance abuse including allowing the
child to participate in drug and alcohol use.

 Child abuse refers to the intended, unintended and perceived maltreatment of the child,
whether habitual or not, including any of the following:
 Psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual and emotional maltreatment.
 Any act, deed or word which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and
dignity of a child as a human being.
 Unreasonable deprivation of his/her basic needs for survival such as food and shelter, or
failure to give timely medical treatment to an injured child resulting in serious
impairment of his/her growth and development or in his/her permanent incapacity or
death.
 Physical abuse is inflicting physical injury upon a child. This may include hitting,
shaking, kicking, beating, or otherwise harming a child physically.
 Emotional abuse (also known as verbal abuse, mental abuse, and psychological
maltreatment) includes acts or the failure to act by parents, caretakers, peers and others
that have caused or could cause serious behavioural, cognitive, emotional, or mental
distress/trauma.
 Sexual abuse is inappropriate sexual behaviour with a child. It includes fondling a child's
genitals, making the child fondle an adult's genitals, sexual assault (intercourse, incest,
rape and sodomy), exhibitionism and pornography. To be considered child abuse, these
acts have to be committed by a person responsible for the care of a child or related to the
child (for example a baby-sitter, parent, neighbour, relatives, extended family member,
peer, older child, friend, stranger, or a day-care provider).
 Child neglect is an act of omission or commission leading to the denial of a child's basic
needs. Neglect can be physical, educational, emotional or psychological. Physical neglect
entails denial of food, clothing, appropriate medical care or supervision. It may include
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abandonment. Educational neglect includes failure to provide appropriate schooling or

special educational needs. Psychological neglect includes lack of emotional support and
love.

2.1 CHILD ABUSE SCENARIO

2.1.1 Child abuse across the globe

The UN Secretary General's Study on Violence against Children3 has given the following
overview of the situation of abuse and violence against children across the globe.
 WHO estimates that almost 53,000 child deaths in 2002 were due to child homicide.
 In the Global School-Based Student Health Survey carried out in a wide range of
developing countries, between 20% and 65% of school going children reported having
been verbally or physically bullied in school in the previous 30 days. Similar rates of
bullying have been found in industrialised countries.
 An estimated 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 have experienced forced
sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence involving physical contact.
 UNICEF estimates that in sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt and Sudan, 3 million girls and
women are subjected to FGM every year.
 ILO estimates that 218 million children were involved in child labour in 2004, of whom
126 million were engaged in hazardous work. Estimates from 2000 suggest that 5.7
million were in forced or bonded labour, 1.8 million in prostitution and pornography and
1.2 million were victims of trafficking.
 Only 2.4% of the world's children are legally protected from corporal punishment in all
settings.
One of the major problems in understanding the scope of the subject of 'child abuse' is that it is
extremely difficult to get responses from children on such a sensitive subject because of their
inability to fully understand the different dimensions of child abuse and to talk about their
experiences. It is therefore difficult to gather data on abused children. Further, definitions of
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abuse are not yet consistent within countries, much less from country to country or region to
region. Yet governments do estimate that the number of abused and neglected children is
alarming, and unless governments get their act together and respond to the situation by way of
both prevention and treatment, we will be doing a grave injustice to our children and would be
denying them their basic rights.

2.1.2 Child abuse in Asia

While certain child abuse and neglect issues are common in almost all countries at the global
level such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, abandonment
and, increasingly, problems of street children, there are also many issues which are prevalent
only in certain regions of the world. For instance, in Asia where population density is high, the
issues of child labour and child sexual exploitation are also high. Political instability and other
internal disturbances, including conditions of insurgency in many countries in Asia are also
creating major problems, with increasing number of child soldiers, refugee children, trafficked
children and children on the streets.2
Prevention of child abuse and neglect is still an uncharted field in Asia. The largest population of
children in the world live in South Asia and majority of these children lack access to proper
health care, nutrition and education. This reflects the socio-economic reality of the developing
countries of the Asian region. The main factors that contribute to the magnitude of the problem
of child abuse are poverty, illiteracy, caste system and landlessness, lack of economic
opportunities, rural-urban migration, population growth, political instability and weak
implementation of legal provisions.
Mostly, the approaches for prevention and methods of treatment of child abuse do not cover the
entire gamut of abuse. Lack of reliable data on the incidence of child abuse and of knowledge of
methods of prevention and treatment has been recognized and is being addressed by sovereign
governments, national and international organizations e.g., UNICEF, Save the Children, Plan
International, ISPCAN, etc.

2
International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (2006): World Perspectives on Child
Abuse, Sixth Edition, http://www.ispcan.or
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2.1.3 Child abuse in India

Nineteen percent of the world's children live in India. According to the 2001 Census, some 440
million people in the country today are aged below eighteen years and constitute 42 percent of
India's total population i.e., four out of every ten persons. This is an enormous number of
children that the country has to take care of. While articulating its vision of progress,
development and equity, India has expressed its recognition of the fact that when its children are
educated, healthy, and happy and have access to opportunities, they are the country's greatest
human resource.
The National Policy for Children, 1974, declared children to be a 'supreme national asset'. It
pledged measures to secure and safeguard all their needs, declaring that this could be done by
making wise use of available national resources. Unfortunately, ten successive Five Year Plans
have not allocated adequate resources to meet the needs of children. An exercise on child
budgeting carried out by the Ministry of Women and Child Development revealed that total
expenditure on children in 2005-2006 in health, education, development and protection together
amounted to a mere 3.86%, rising to 4.91% in 2006-07. However, the share of resources for
child protection was abysmally low at 0.034% in 2005-06 and remained the same in 2006-07.
Available resources have also not been utilized effectively for achieving outcomes for children.
As a result, the status and condition of children have remained far from secure.
Harmful traditional practices like child marriage, caste system and discrimination against the girl
child, child labour and Devadasi tradition impact negatively on children and increase their
vulnerability to abuse and neglect. Lack of adequate nutrition, poor access to medical and
educational facilities, migration from rural to urban areas leading to rise in urban poverty,
children on the streets and child beggars, all result in breakdown of families. These increase the
vulnerabilities of children and expose them to situations of abuse and exploitation.
According to the report published in 2005 on 'Trafficking in Women and Children in India',
44,476 children were reported missing in India, out of which 11,008 children continued to
remain untraced. India, being a major source and destination country for trafficked children from
within India and adjoining countries has, by conservative estimates, three to five lakh girl
children in commercial sex and organized prostitution.3 Although there is a dearth of data on the

3
Sen, S & Nair P. M. (2005): Trafficking in Women and Children in India; Orient Longman Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi
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nature and magnitude of the incidence of child abuse in India, data on offences against children
reported by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is the only authentic source to estimate
the number of children in abusive situations. It is important to note here that the NCRB data is
only indicative in nature as it is based on the reported cases. It is also an accepted fact that the
majority of cases of child abuse go un-reported.

STATUS OF CHILDREN IN INDIA

“Child Survival and Child Health
2.5 million Children die in India every year, accounting for one in five deaths in the world, with
girls being 50% more likely to die . One out of 16 children die before they attain one year of age,
and one out of 11 die before they attain five years of age. India accounts for 35% of the
developing world's low birth weight babies and 40% of child malnutrition in developing
countries, one of the highest levels in the world. Although India's neo-natal mortality rate
declined in the 1990s from 69 per 1000 live births in 1980 to 53 per 1000 live births in 1990, it
remained static, dropping only four points from 48 to 44 per 1000 live births between 1995 and
2000. The 2001 Census data and other studies illustrate the terrible impact of sex selection in
India over the last few decades. The child sex ratio (0-6 years) declined from 945 girls to 1000
boys in 1991 to 927 in the 2001 Census. Around 80% of the total 577 districts in the country
registered a decline in the child sex ratio between 1991 and 2001. About 35% of the districts
registered child sex ratios below the national average of 927 females per 1000 males. In the 1991
Census, there was only one district with a sex ratio below 850, but in the 2001 Census, there
were 49 such districts. India has the second highest national total of persons living with
HIV/AIDS after the Republic of South Africa. According to National Aids Control Organization
(NACO), there were an estimated 0.55 lakh HIV infected 0-14 year old children in India in 2003.
UNAIDS, however, puts this figure at 0.16 million children.
According to the 2001 Census report, amongst all persons living with disabilities, 35.9% were
children and young adults in the 0-19 age group. Three out of five children in the age group of 0-
9 years have been reported to be visually impaired. Movement disability has the highest
proportion (33.2%) in the age group of 10-19 years. This is largely true of mental disability also.
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Child Development
The population of children aged 0-6 years is 16.4 crores as per the 2001 Census. According to a
UNESCO report, however, of the total child population, 2.07 crores (6%) are infants below one
year; 4.17 crores (12%) are toddlers in the age group 1-2 years; 7.73 crores (22.2%) are pre-
scholars in the age group 3-5 years. The report highlights that only 29% of pre-primary age
children are enrolled in educational institutions in India. Services under the ICDS scheme
covered only 3.41 crore children in the age group 0-6 years as in March 2004, which is around
22% of the total children in that age group. Supplementary nutrition too was being provided to
3.4 crore children, as against 16 crore children. Of these, 53% were reported to be under-
nourished.

Child Protection
While on the one hand girls are being killed even before they are born, on the other hand
children who are born and survive suffer from a number of violations. The world's highest
number of working children is in India. To add to this, India has the world's largest number of
sexually abused children, with a child below 16 years raped every 155th minute, a child below
10 every 13th hour and one in every 10 children sexually abused at any point of time. The
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported 14,975 cases of various crimes against
children in 2005.
Most subtle forms of violence against children such as child marriage, economic exploitation,
practices like the 'Devadasi' tradition of dedicating young girls to gods and goddesses, genital
mutilation in some parts of the country are often rationalized on grounds of culture and tradition.
Physical and psychological punishments take place in the name of disciplining children and are
culturally accepted. Forced evictions, displacement due to development projects, war and
conflict, communal riots, natural disasters - all of these take their own toll on children. Children
also stand worst affected by HIV/AIDS. Even those who have remained within the protective,
net stand at the risk of falling out of it.

Child Participation
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Children in most sections of Indian society are traditionally and conventionally not consulted
about matters and decisions affecting their lives. In the family and household, the neighbourhood
and wider community, in school or in work place, and across the settings of social and cultural
life, children's views are mostly not given much importance. If they do speak out, they are not
normally heard. The imposition of restrictive norms is especially true for girl children. This
limits children's access to information and to choice, and often to the possibility of seeking help
outside their immediate circle.”4

4
Ministry of Women and Child Development (2007): Working Group Report on Women and Children for the Eleventh Five
Year Plan (2007-2012)
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3.SUBSETS OF CHILD ABUSE

3.1Physical Child Abuse

The Indian society, like most societies across the world, is patriarchal in structure where the
chain of command is definite and inviolable. In such power structures parents, both fathers and
mothers, consider their children as their property and assume a freedom to treat them as they
like. Thus, not only do parents and teachers adopt harsh methods of disciplining children, there is
also little opposition to this harshness. The underlying belief is that physical punishment
encourages discipline in children and is for their betterment in the long-run. There is enough
scientific proof to the contrary and evidence suggests that sometimes it is parent's inability to
raise their children, and their frustrations find a manifestation in the form of beating them or
causing other physical harm.
Severe physical maltreatment also takes place outside family situations and the most common
and known forms of it are corporal punishment in schools and physical abuse at work place.
Working children have a high probability of being abused by their employer or supervisor. The
reasons could be dependence of the child on the employer and the vulnerability of the child, who
is a soft and available target for the anger and frustrations of the employer. The same goes with
teachers in schools and every other person resorting to physical abuse of children.
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Whether it is called disciplining or venting of personal frustrations, the fact is that it is a grave
violation of children's right to live with dignity and freedom from violence, their right to be
loved and cared for and their right to be nurtured with respect.
The World Health Organisation defines 'physical abuse' of a child as an incident resulting in
actual or potential physical harm from an interaction or lack of interaction, which is reasonably
within the control of a parent or person in a position of responsibility, power, or trust. There may
be single or repeated incidents.5Physical abuse has been defined as beating manifested as
kicking, slapping, punishing through corporal punishment, beating by family members and
others including peers, police, employer, caregivers, etc. It also includes beating which may
result in physical impairment or damage to the child.
Social scientists have developed certain indicators for identifying physical abuse as given below
Physical indicators in the Behavioural indicators in Parental/familial indicators
child the Child in abusive families

 bite marks  avoids physical contact  many personal and

 unusual bruises with others marital problems
 lacerations  apprehensive when  economic stress
 burns other children cry  parent(s) were abused
 high incidence of  wears clothing to as children themselves,
accidents or frequent purposely conceal were raised in homes
injuries injury, i.e. long sleeves where excessive
 fractures in unusual  refuses to undress for punishment was the
places gym or for required norm, and use harsh
 injuries, swellings to physical exams at discipline on own
face and extremities school children
 discoloration of skin  gives inconsistent  highly moralistic
versions about  history of alcohol or
occurrence of injuries, drug abuse
burns, etc.  are easily upset, have a
5
World Health Organization (1999): Report of the Consultation on Child Abuse Prevention; Geneva,
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/neglect/en/
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 seems frightened by low tolerance for

parents frustration are
 often late or absent antagonistic,
from school suspicious and fearful
 comes early to school, of other people
seems reluctant to go  social isolation, no
home afterwards supporting network of
 has difficulty getting relatives or friends
along with others,  see child as bad or evil.
 little respect for others  little or no interest in
child's wellbeing;

3.2 Sexual Child Abuse

The subject of child sexual abuse is still a taboo in India. There is a conspiracy of silence around
the subject and a very large percentage of people feel that this is a largely western problem and
that child sexual abuse does not happen in India. Part of the reason of course lies in a traditional
conservative family and community structure that does not talk about sex and sexuality at all.
Parents do not speak to children about sexuality as well as physical and emotional changes that
take place during their growing years. As a result of this, all forms of sexual abuse that a child
faces do not get reported to anyone. The girl, whose mother has not spoken to her even about a
basic issue like menstruation, is unable to tell her mother about the uncle or neighbour who has
made sexual advances towards her. This silence encourages the abuser so that he is emboldened
to continue the abuse and to press his advantage to subject the child to more severe forms of
sexual abuse. Very often children do not even realize that they are being abused
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Some deep seated fear has always moved Indian families to keep their girls and their 'virginity'
safe and many kinds of social and cultural practices have been built around ensuring this. This
shows that there is knowledge of the fact that a girl child is unsafe though nobody talks about it.
However this fear is only around girls and the safety net is generally not extended to boys. There
is evidence from this as well as other studies that boys are equally at risk.
As defined by the World Health Organization, child sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in
sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to,
or that violates the laws or social taboos of society. Child sexual abuse is evidenced by this
activity between a child and an adult or another child who by age or development is in a
relationship of responsibility, trust or power, the activity being intended to gratify or satisfy the
needs of the other person. This may include but is not limited to:
 The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful activity
 The exploitative use of a child in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices
 The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials
However, for the purpose of this study, sexual abuse is defined as severe forms of sexual abuse
and other forms of sexual abuse.

Severe forms of sexual abuse include:

a) Assault, including rape and sodomy
b) Touching or fondling a child
c) Exhibitionism- Forcing a child to exhibit his/her private body parts
d) Photographing a child in nude

Other forms of sexual abuse include:

a) Forcible kissing
b) Sexual advances towards a child during travel
c) Sexual advances towards a child during marriage situations
d) Exhibitionism- exhibiting before a child
e) Exposing a child to pornographic materials
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The WHO estimates that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 have experienced forced
sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence involving physical contact, though this is
certainly an underestimate. Much of this sexual violence is inflicted by family members or other
people residing in or visiting a child's family home-people normally trusted by children and often
responsible for their care. A review of epidemiological surveys from 21 countries, mainly high-
and middle- income countries, found thae at least 7% of females (ranging up to 36%) and 3% of
males (ranging up to 29%) reported sexual victimization during their childhood. According to
these studies, between 14% and 56% of the sexual abuse of girls, and up to 25% of the sexual
abuse of boys, was perpetrated by relatives or step parents. In many places, adults were
outspoken about the risk of sexual violence their children faced at school or at play in the
community, but rarely did adults speak of children's risk of sexual abuse within the home and
family context. The shame, secrecy and denial associated with familial sexual violence against
children foster a pervasive culture of silence, where children cannot speak about sexual violence
in the home, and where adults do not know what to do or say if they suspect someone they know
is sexually abusing a child.6

3.3Emotional Abuse and Child Neglect

Emotional and psychological maltreatment of children is the most complex type of abuse -
invisible and difficult to define. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined
emotional abuse as:
"Emotional abuse includes the failure to provide a developmentally appropriate, supportive
environment, including the availability of a primary attachment figure, so that the child can
develop a stable and full range of emotional and social competencies commensurate with her or
his personal potentials and in the context of the society in which the child dwells. There may also
be acts towards the child that cause or have a high probability of causing harm to the child's
health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. These acts must be reasonably
within the control of the parent or person in a relationship of responsibility, trust or power. Acts

6
Pinheiro, P. S. (2006): World Report on Violence against Children; United Nations Secretary-General's
Study on Violence against Children; United Nations, New York http://www.violencestudy.org/r25
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include restriction of movement, patterns of belittling, denigrating, escape-goating, threatening,

scaring, discriminating, ridiculing or other non-physical forms of hostile or rejecting treatment".7
The recent UN Secretary General's Study on Violence against Children has also highlighted the
difficulties in defining emotional abuse. The Study says "Standard definitions are lacking, and
little is known about the global extent of this form of violence against children except that it
frequently accompanies other forms of abuse. For example, a strong coexistence between
psychological and physical violence against children in violent households has been
established".8
Basically the two major ways to abuse a child are as follows

Humiliation
Humiliation of a child refers to the degradation of the self esteem of a child by parents, care-
givers or any other persons, often in the presence of others. Instances of humiliation include
treating harshly, shouting, belittling, name calling and using abusive language while addressing
children.
Comparison
Parents and other caregivers often compare one sibling with the other or one child with the other
in terms of their physical appearance and other characteristics, thus affecting the social,
emotional, and intellectual development of a child.

As quoted in the UN Study on Violence against Children, psychological forms of punishment are
common across regions. A study across five countries conducted by the World Studies of Abuse
in the Family Environment (World SAFE) project indicated that shouting or screaming at
children was a punishment practiced by parents in all five countries, Chile, Egypt, India, the
Philippines, and the USA. The incidence of cursing children or threatening them was more

7
World Health Organization (1999): Report of the Consultation on Child Abuse Prevention; Geneva,
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/neglect/en/
8
Pinheiro, P. S. (2006): World Report on Violence against Children; United Nations Secretary-General's
Study on Violence against Children; United Nations, New York http://www.violencestudy.org/r25
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varied; for example, in the Philippines no mother was reported as cursing her child, but 48%
threatened abandonment; in Egypt 51% cursed the child, but only
10% threatened abandonment.9A research study conducted by Tulir and Save the Children
among Child Domestic Workers of West
Bengal also gathered data on emotional abuse. The study reported that the "problem of emotional
abuse of child domestic workers seems to be near universal in character, with 441 out of a total
of 513 participants saying that they have faced emotional abuse. The nature of the abuse faced by
them is mostly being shouted at and/or cursed at." The statistics from the study reveal that
children face emotional abuse in varied forms such as being shouted at (20.1%), cursed/verbally
abused (11.1%), threatened (1.9%), being called a mistake (3.3%), locked in a room (1.2%),
compared with other children (1.2%), blamed (0.4%) and a combination of all the above forms
(23.5%).10

4. INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL

POLICIES AND LEGISLATIONS
ADDRESSING CHILD ABUSE

4.1Constitution of India
The Constitution of India recognizes the vulnerable position of children and their right to
protection.
Following the doctrine of protective discrimination, it guarantees in Article 15 special attention
to children through necessary and special laws and policies that safeguard their rights. The right
to equality, protection of life and personal liberty and the right against exploitation are enshrined
in Articles 14, 15, 15(3), 19(1) (a), 21, 21(A), 23, 24, 39(e) 39(f) and reiterate India's

9
Supra 8
10
Save the Children and Tulir (2006): Abuse among Child Domestic Workers- A Research Study in West
Bengal
 A study of child abuse
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commitment to the protection, safety, security and well-being of all its people, including
children.11
Article 14: The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection
of the laws within the territory of India;
Article 15: The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, sex, place of birth or any of them;
Article 15 (3): Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision
for women and children;
Article 19(1) (a): All citizens shall have the right (a) to freedom of speech and expression;
Article 21: Protection of life and personal liberty-No person shall be deprived of his life or
personal liberty except according to procedure established by law;
Article 21A: Free and compulsory education for all children of the age of 6 to 14 years;
Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour-(1) Traffic in human beings
and beggars and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this
provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law;
Article 24: Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc. -No child below the age of
fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other
hazardous employment;
Article 39: The state shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing:
(e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are
not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter vocations unsuited to
their age or strength;
(f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in
conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against
exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

4.2 International Conventions and Declaration

11
Child Abuse: New Research, Stanley M. Sturt,  Nova Publishers, 23
 A study of child abuse
20

India is signatory to a number of international instruments and declarations pertaining to the

rights of children to protection, security and dignity. It acceded to the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) in 1992, reaffirming its earlier acceptance of the 1959 UN
Declaration on the Rights of the Child, and is fully committed to implementation of all
provisions of the UN CRC. In 2005, the Government of India accepted the two Optional
Protocols to the UN CRC, addressing the involvement of children in armed conflict and the sale
of children, child prostitution and child pornography. India is strengthening its national policy
and measures to protect children from these dangerous forms of violence and exploitation.
India is also a signatory to the International Conventions on Civil and Political Rights, and on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which apply to the human rights of children as much as
adults.
Three important International Instruments for the protection of Child Rights that India is
signatory to, are:
 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted by the UN General Assembly in
1989. It outlines the fundamental rights of children, including the right to be protected
from economic exploitation and harmful work, from all forms of sexual exploitation and
abuse and from physical or mental violence, as well as ensuring that children will not be
separated from their families against their will.
 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) is also applicable to girls under 18 years of age. Article 16.2 of the
Convention lays special emphasis on the prevention of child marriages and states that the
betrothal and marriage of a child shall have no legal effect and that legislative action shall
be taken by States to specify a minimum age for marriage.
 SAARC Convention on Prevention and Combating Trafficking in Women and
Children for Prostitution emphasizes that the evil of trafficking in women and children
for the purpose of prostitution is incompatible with the dignity and honour of human
beings and is a violation of basic human rights of women and children.12

12
http://assets-vinoba.blogspot.in/2012/03/prohibition-of-child-marriage-act-2006.html
 A study of child abuse
21

4.3National Policies and Legislation Addressing Child Rights

The Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution provide the
framework for child rights. Several laws and national policies have been framed
to implement the commitment to child rights.

4.3.1National policies
The major policies and legislations formulated in the country to ensure child rights and
improvement in their status include: National Policy for Children, 1974, National Policy on
Education, 1986, National Policy on Child Labour, 1987, National Nutrition Policy, 1993,
Report of the Committee on Prostitution, Child Prostitutes and Children of Prostitutes and Plan
of Action to Combat Trafficking 45and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women and
Children, 1998, National Health Policy, 2002, National Charter for Children, 2004, National Plan
of Action for Children, 200513

4.3.2National legislations
National legislations for protection of child rights in the country are:
Guardian and Wards Act, 1890, Factories Act ,1954, Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act,
1956, Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, Orphanages
and Other Charitable Homes (Supervision and Control) Act, 1960, Bonded Labour System
(Abolition) Act, 1976, Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1986, Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act,1986, Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act, 1987, Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)
Act, 1994, Persons with Disabilities (Equal Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act,
2000, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, Commission for Protection
of the Rights of the Child Act, 2005, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006

13
Supra 12
 A study of child abuse
22

Some of the important legislations are discussed below. Under each Act relevant sections have
been enumerated:
(i) The Indian Penal Code
a) Foeticide (Sections 315 and 316)
b) Infanticide (Section 315)
c) Abetment of Suicide: Abetment to commit suicide of minor (Section 305)
d) Exposure and Abandonment: Crime against children by parents or others to expose or to leave
them with the intention of abandonment (Section 317)
e) Kidnapping and Abduction:
 Kidnapping for extortion (Section 360)
 Kidnapping from lawful guardianship (Section 361)
 Kidnapping for ransom (Section 363 read with Section 384),
 Kidnapping for camel racing etc. (Section 363)
 Kidnapping for begging (Section 363-A)
 Kidnapping to compel for marriage (Section 366)
 Kidnapping for slavery etc. (Section 367)
 Kidnapping for stealing from its person: under 10 years of age only (Section 369)
f) Procurement of minor girls by inducement or by force to seduce or have illicit intercourse
(Section 366-A)
g) Selling of girls for prostitution (Section 372)
h) Buying of girls for prostitution (Section 373)
i) Rape (Section 376)
j) Unnatural Sex (Section 377).
(ii) The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994
This is an Act for the regulation of the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purpose of
detecting genetic or metabolic disorders, chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital
malformations or sex-linked disorders, and for the prevention of misuse of such techniques for
the purpose of prenatal sex determination leading to female foeticide and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.
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(iii) The Juvenile Justice (Care and Prxotection of Children) Act, 2000
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 is a comprehensive legislation
that provides for proper care, protection and treatment of children in conflict with law and
children in need of care and protection by catering to their development needs, and by adopting a
child friendly approach in the adjudication and disposition of matters in the best interest of
children and for their ultimate rehabilitation through various institutions established under the
Act. It conforms to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Standard Minimum
Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules) 1985, the UN Rules for the
Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty and all other relevant national and international
instruments. It prescribes a uniform age of 18 years, below which both boys and girls are to be
treated as children. A clear distinction has been made in this Act between the juvenile offender
and the neglected child. It also aims to offer a juvenile or a child increased access to justice by
establishing Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees. The Act has laid special
emphasis on rehabilitation and social integration of the children and has provided for
institutional and non-institutional measures for care and protection of children. The non-
institutional alternatives include adoption, foster care, sponsorship, and after care.
The following sections of the Act deal with child abuse:
Section 23: Punishment for cruelty to juvenile or child, Section 24: Employment of Juvenile or
Child for Begging, Section 26: Exploitation of Juvenile or Child Employee14

(iv)The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956

In 1986, the Government of India amended the erstwhile Suppression of Immoral Traffic in
Women and Girls Act 1956 (SITA), and renamed it as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act
(ITPA) to widen the scope of the law to cover both the sexes exploited sexually for commercial
purposes and to provide enhanced.15 The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 has been
enacted to provide for the prevention of immoral traffic in pursuance of the International
Convention signed at New York on the 9th day of May, 1950. The Government of India has
ratified the International Convention in 1950 for the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Persons

14
http://www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/juvenilejusticeact/juvenilejusticeact.htm.
15
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and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of others. Article 23 of the Convention prohibits traffic in
human beings and any contravention of the prohibition is an offence punishable by law. Under
Article 35 such a law has to be passed by the Parliament. The purpose of Immoral Traffic
(Prevention) Act, 1956 is to provide a uniform law throughout the country for the suppression of
immoral traffic16

(v) Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

The Act was formulated to eliminate child labour and provides for punishments and penalties for
employing children below the age of 14 years in from various hazardous occupations and
processes. The Act provide power to State Governments to make Rules with reference to health
and safety of children, wherever their employment is permitted. It provides for regulation of
work conditions including fixing hours of work, weekly holidays, notice to inspectors, provision
for resolving disputes as to age, maintenance of registers etc. Through a recent notification, child
domestic workers up to 14 years of age working in hotels and dhabas have been brought within
the purview of the Act. It is one step towards the total elimination of child labour.17

(vi) The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

Section 3 and 12 – if a minor child is taken or enticed out of keeping of the lawfrul guardian and
by force compelled or by any deceitful means induced to go through a form of marriage, the said
marriage will be void-though Section 11, 12(c), and 13(2)(iv) of the Hindu Marriage Act will not
come to the rescue of the appellant/wife, she is protected under Section 3 of the Prohibition of
Child Marriage Act, 2006-Section 11, 12(c), and 13(2)(iv) of Hindu Marriage Act 1955 requires
am amendment by substituting the age 18 years to 15 years, so that in a voidable child marriage,
the child or her guardian can have an option either to invoke the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 or the
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006.

(vii) The Commissions for the Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005

16
Sen, S & Nair P. M. (2005): Trafficking in Women and Children in India; Orient Longman Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
17
Textbook on Labour & Industrial Law, by Dr. H.K. Saharay, Universal Law Publishing
 A study of child abuse
25

The Act provides for the Constitution of a National and State Commissions for protection of
Child Rights in every State and Union Territory. The functions and powers of the National and
State Commissions will be to:
 Examine and review the legal safeguards provided by or under any law for the protection
of child rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation;
 Prepare and present annual and periodic reports upon the working of these safeguards;
 Inquire into violations of child rights and recommend initiation of proceedings where
necessary;
 Undertake periodic review of policies, programmes and other activities related to child
rights in reference to the treaties and other international instruments;
 Spread awareness about child rights among various sections of society;
 Children's Courts for speedy trial of offences against children or of violation of Child
Rights;
 State Governments and UT Administrations to appoint a Special Public
 Prosecutor for every Child’s Court.
Apart from these laws mainly concerning children, there are a host of related social legislations
and criminal laws which have some beneficial provisions for the care, protection and
rehabilitation of children. The laws relating to commerce, industry and trade have some
provisions for children, but they hardly provide any protection or cater to their developmental
needs.
Some states have formulated state specific legislation to deal with child abuse e.g. Goa &
Tamil Nadu Despite the above mentioned legislations, there are still major gaps in the legal
provisions relating to child abuse in myriad situations, particularly in cases of trafficking, sexual
and forced labour, child pornography, sex tourism and sexual assault on male children. The
Ministry of Women and Child Development is therefore formulating a comprehensive legislation
on Offences against Children.

3.4 SCHEMES AND PROGRAMMES ON CHILD PROTECTION

Some of the existing child protection schemes and programmes include:
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 A Programme for Juvenile Justice: it is for children in need of care and protection and
children in conflict with law. The Government of India provides financial assistance to
the State Governments/UT Administrations for establishment and maintenance of various
homes, salary of staff, food, clothing, etc for children in need of care and protection and
juveniles in conflict with law. Financial assistance is based on proposals submitted by
States on a 50-50 cost sharing basis.
 An Integrated Programme for Street Children without homes and family ties. Under
the scheme NGOs are supported to run 24 hours drop-in shelters and provide food,
clothing, shelter, non-formal education, recreation, counselling, guidance and referral
services for children. The other components of the scheme include enrolment in schools,
vocational training, occupational placement, mobilizing preventive health services and
reducing the incidence of drug and substance abuse, HIV/AIDS etc.
 CHILDLINE Service: for children in distress, especially children in need of care and
protection so as to provide them medical services, shelter, rescue from abuse, counseling,
repatriation and rehabilitation. Under this initiative, a telephone helpline, number 1098,
runs in 74 urban and semi-urban centres in the country.
 Shishu Greha Scheme for care and protection of orphans/abandoned/destitute infants or
children up to 6 years and promote in-country adoption for rehabilitating them.
 Scheme for Working Children in Need of Care and Protection for children working
as domestic workers, at roadside dhabas, mechanic shops, etc. The scheme provides for
bridge education and vocational training, medicine, food, recreation and sports
equipments.
 Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers: in the
age group of 0-6 years. The scheme provides for comprehensive day-care services
including facilities like food, shelter, medical, recreation, etc. to children below 6 years of
age.
 Pilot Project to Combat the Trafficking of women and Children for Commercial
Sexual
 Exploitation in Source and Destination Areas for providing care and protection to
trafficked and sexually abused women and children. Components of the scheme include
 A study of child abuse
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networking with law enforcement agencies, rescue operation, temporary shelter for the
victims, repatriation to hometown and legal services.
 National Child Labour Project (NCLP): for the rehabilitation of child labour. Under
the scheme, Project Societies at the district level are fully funded for opening up of
Special Schools/Rehabilitation Centres for the rehabilitation of child labourers. These
Special Schools/Rehabilitation Centers provide non-formal education, vocational
training, supplementary nutrition and stipend to children withdrawn from employment.
 INDO-US Child Labour Project (INDUS): The Ministry of Labour, Government of
India and the US Department of Labour have initiated a project aimed at eliminating
child labour in 10 hazardous sectors across 21 districts in five States namely,
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi.18

5. FILED WORK

I will now deal with some of the prominent incidents of child abuse that took place in Uttar
Pradesh.
Incident 1

18
www.savethechildren.in/
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Sita a young girl aged 16 years belonging to Bareli had been working for the past 3 years in a
hotel as a cleaner. She also helped her parents in their domestic work. Due to the poor financial
condition of the family she was not able to pursue her studies even she wishes to do so. In her
workplace she suffered many problems. In the initial stage she was used as an object of ridicule
and later on this takes the form of sexual harassment. When the level of tolerance escaped she
informed her parents about her pathetic situation. A case was then registered in Bareli police
station. But due to the very miserable economic condition no fruitful progress has been shown
still by the concerned authorities.
Incident 2
Radhika, daughter of Girdharilal, aged 18 years belonging to Mohan Lal Ganj in Uttar Pradesh
lived in a family comprising of one brother, mother and father. The family condition was very
miserable as the father was not able to support his family financially in spite of his best efforts
.This frustrated him and in turn forced him to take the decision of leaving the home. The burden
was then shifted to the rest of the members. The brother of radhika was not a responsible person
and thus tried to evade from the family responsibilies. Her brother did not care much for her.
When she tried to look for a hope from the mother side, she told her that when her son did n’t
care for her why she will take care for her. This reaction motivated her to live with her maternal
uncle. There she used to work in a factory for 10 -12 hours in packaging tasmarind packets. She
used to get very low wage there in proportion to her efforts. Even the wage she got was taken by
her maternal uncle family .She was then left with no economy. She still dnt know how to deal
with this pathetic situation as no one in the society dared to help her.

Incident 3
Divya, daughter of Anil Kumar aged 15 years belong to a very influential family of Gomti Nagar
in Lucknow. Her father is a business man and her mother is an accountant .The schedule of both
of them is so busy that hardly they got 15 min in a day to interact with their daughter. Thus there
exists a communication gap between them. Sujit , a neighbor used to come their house almost
daily as he was very familiar. Later on his visiting became frequent especially when both the
 A study of child abuse
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parents were out for the work. He tried to establish friendly relations with Divya. As divya lived
in a state of isolation she was happy enough to spend time with him and this soothed her also.
But she was unaware of the malafide intention of the Sujit. He slowly and gradually tried to
establish physical relations with her against her wishes. She opposed this but he didn’t pay any
heed. She then tried to bought this in her parent’s notice but was unsuccessful as she was not
open enough with her parents and also she feared of them.

Incidence 4
Roshana, a Muslim believer. Her mother got married and gave birth to two daughters. Shortly,
their father died which lead to begin the series of miseries. After the death of her man the mother
had to go through a lot of troubles. At last she went to Gulf as a house made. She spent that small
earnings in marring her 5 sisters and children’s survival. One day she lost her job in gulf, came
back home with no money in hand. In those days one Hindu man influenced her by offering her a
helping hand. And slowly and gradually the relationship got strengthen. Her mother and her
sister started residing at his place. Time passes away, the daughter attained the puberty. Roshana
tried to escape from the sexual advantages made by the man. She also made many tragic
attempts but all of them proved in vein. But one day she approached to Aangan Wadi Worker .
She helped her to admit in refugee centre. Now Roshana’s elder sister stop her studies and came
to live with her mother. The mother is very confused as to how to save her daughter from the
clinches of the man as he has no support.
Analysis
The major causes of child abuse are adaptational failure or environmental maladjustment mostly
on the part of the adult perpetrators but to some extent on the part of adults responsible for
family socialization as well. The dominant causes of battering children found in a study were
children disobeying parents, quarrels between the parents and the child beaten as scapegoat,
child not taking interest in studies, child spending time away from home, child refusing to hand
over his total earnings to his parents/guardians and child indulging in deviant behavior like theft
and smoking etc.The main causes for sexual abuse given are adjustment problems of the
perpetrators, family disorganization, victim’s characteristics and the psychological disorders of
the abusers. Four important causes of emotional abuse can be identified are poverty, deficient
 A study of child abuse
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parental control and non cordial relations within family, maltreatment faced by parents in their
own childhood or intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment and alcoholism of
parents.

7. CONCLUSION
The term child abuse here is violent acts done to a child on purpose by an adult (or sometimes
another child). This encompasses physical violence, molestation, and emotional/verbal violence.
To understand child abuse policy we must also add child neglect, a slippery category
encompassing just about everything a parent can do that a person with political or social power
 A study of child abuse
31

over the parent contends is wrong (or the lack of parental action that said person contends is
necessary). In the interests of time, most of my examples will be from one kind of abuse, sexual
abuse

In modern popular conceptions, child abuse is the violent act of deviant adults against powerless
children Under this conception, the goal of society, therefore, is to ferret out such abuse
whenever it is found and punish (or treat) the offenders. Because the perpetrators are deviant
(from mental instability, criminal tendencies, lack of sexual control) they are routinely
condemned and are (or should be) removed from the presence of their victims and potential
victims.

With help of the research work this can be clearly concluded that although children belonging to
socio-economically backward class are more likely to suffer from child abuse, upper class
children also suffer from the same. In Milan, social worker Vassallo said: "Contrary to
common belief, child-abuse cases are not all from the lower-class families, but can be found in
middle-class social strata, too. Whereas the lower-class family is less likely to keep a bruised
child out of school, because there is no room at home, an upper-class family will hide the injured
child at home until he's presentable again.” We know that child abuse affects all classes. The
main difference is that in the affluent classes everything is taken care of within the family. The
abused child is sent to an uncle, an aunt or grandparents. When hospitalization is necessary, the
abused child is generally sent to a private clinic, which often fails to report the case to the
authorities. But cases of abused children from working-class families are widely known in the
neighborhood. If hospitalized, the victims are generally sent to a public hospital, where the case
is more likely to be reported to the police or a social worker.

The primary responsibility of protecting children from abuse and neglect lies with the families or
the primary caregivers. However, communities and civil society and all other stakeholders are
also responsible for the care and protection of children. The overarching responsibility is that of
the state and it is the state that has to create a protective environment and provide a safety net for
children who fall into vulnerable and exploitative situations.
 A study of child abuse
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6.BIBLIOGRAPHY
books
 Sen, S & Nair P. M. (2005): Trafficking in Women and Children in India; Orient
Longman Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
 Textbook on Labour & Industrial Law, by Dr. H.K. Saharay, Universal Law Publishing
 Sen, S & Nair P. M. (2005): Trafficking in Women and Children in India; Orient
Longman Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
 A study of child abuse
33

 Ministry of Women and Child Development (2007): Working Group Report on Women
and Children for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)
 Save the Children and Tulir (2006): Abuse among Child Domestic Workers- A Research Study in West

Bengal
 Child Abuse: New Research, Stanley M. Sturt,  Nova Publishers, 23
Reports
 Study on Violence against Children; United Nations, New York
http://www.violencestudy.org/r25
 Pinheiro, P. S. (2006): World Report on Violence against Children; United Nations
Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children; United Nations, New York
http://www.violencestudy.org/r25
 World Health Organization (1999): Report of the Consultation on Child Abuse
Prevention; Geneva, http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/neglect/en/
websites
 International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (2006): World
Perspectives on Child Abuse, Sixth Edition, http://www.ispcan.or
 http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/neglect/en/
 http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/neglect/en/
 http://assets-vinoba.blogspot.in/2012/03/prohibition-of-child-marriage-act-2006.html

 http://www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/juvenilejusticeact/juvenilejusticeact.htm.
 www.savethechildren.in/