In the same way as the southern city of Bangalore, a showcase of economic growth, the whole of India is often perceived as a booming country. However, under the surface, the picture is much more depressing than it appears at first sight. The inequality of wealth remains extremely significant and the majority of the dangers involving children are far from being eradicated with the economic development. In the Bengal region in the west, trafficking and sexual exploitation are still the most serious scourges faced by the Terre des hommes teams. At an interview given to the local paper Postnoon , Lopa Bhattacharjee, coordinator for child protection, spoke of Tdh's activities in India. Here is a resume of his interview, focussing on the efforts still to be made in the matter of implementing the child protection laws.
Allowing the youngster to reconstruct himself or herself
Historically, India is one of Terre des hommes' first countries of intervention. Present there since 1971, it has established numerous programmes for access to water and sanitation, for healthcare and nutrition. In 2006, Tdh set up a programme to fight against trafficking and child exploitation. In India, its daily work is done in close collaboration with local partners and the government, like the current project in the Bengal area, which is carried out together with its local partner Saanlap and financed jointly by the European Union and the Oak Foundation; Tdh has already been able to bring help to more than 700 youngsters. In practice, the teams on the ground accompany the children during their convalescence. They bring them physical and moral support to ensure their reintegration in a safe place where they can ?reconstruct' themselves. After a careful analysis of each individual case, the children are reintegrated into their families, or if this is not in the child's best interests, for example if a member of its own family was responsible for the exploitation, the Tdh teams work to find him a place to live where he can fulfil his social potential.
Implementing already existing policies
In India, the main limits to child protection are at the level of implementation. India has a relatively coherent arsenal of laws, but public policies are not strictly applied, encouraging the growth of trafficking and exploitation. The other main pitfall confronting Tdh's teams and their partners lies in the fact that India is an extremely rich and varied country, culturally and politically. Unfortunately, this diversity makes the work of coordination even more complicated, and impairs the exchange of resources between the parties involved. There is still a huge amount of work to be done to achieve a rapprochement between the various entities in charge of defending child rights in India (committees of public assistance, services for protection and care, legal systems and the authorities).
So as to tackle this lack of coordination, a selection of resources was established this year, including the responsibility of the various players linked to the protection of children in New Delhi. This database supplies precise information on the organizations working in the field. Already tested in 2012 in the Bengal area, and at the planning stage in Andhra Pradesh, these directories, set up by Dr. Shanta Sinha (President of the National Commission for Child Rights Protection), will enable faster and more specific responses in cases of abuse.
With a population composed of 40% of youngsters, India must make considerable efforts to improve the implementation of its policies for child protection. The work of Tdh will be carried out through support for child victims of abuse, but also by training local staff in protection and care, and by drawing up lists of resources and by improved cooperation between the various players. On the way to becoming the country with the largest number of under-15's in the world, India will henceforth have to take its fate into its own hands.
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