Kacker committee recommends fresh guidelines to restrict child abuse

child abuse guidelines

The UPA government is looking firm to give the humanitarian protection to the victims of child abuse. From now, the victims can only be examined when a trusted person and parents would be there with the victims. Only a female doctor will medically examine the girl child victim.

All these guidelines are the part of the drafted proposal prepared by a high-level committee. Earlier, Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Renuka Chowdhury had set up a high-level committee headed by WCD joint secretary Loveleen Kacker to recommend some fresh guidelines in this matter.

Renuka Chowdhury said:

There is ambiguity at present on how to treat child abuse cases. These guidelines will provide a yardstick for states.

The cases of child sexual abuse have increased in the country. According to a recent survey, which was conducted by the ministry, among 12,500 children interviewed by the survey team, 53.22% of the respondent children said that they faced at least one form of sexual abuse in their life. The worst part of the story is that 49.92% children said they had become the abuse victim in their schools.

The new guidelines say that a prior written consent of parents would be needed for any medical check-ups if happened in schools by school authorities. There is also a suggestion regarding the setting up of a complaints mechanism in the form of a children’s committee. The students could express themselves freely to the children’s committee.

The guidelines say that the school management should conduct police verification of their staff. The management should monitor visitors, screen and register them before their entry to the campus. Schools may allow after-hours use of the premises by outsiders or school staff but this should be allowed only after the verification.

Every school must have a trained counselor who would guide children and parents to cope up with situations any kind of abuse. The guidelines say that the parents should take care of their kids and should note seriously any sudden behavioral changed physical signs such as disturbance in appetite, continuous nightmares and their return to childish behavior like bedwetting, thumb sucking and extreme weeping.


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