Sushri Sangita Puhan - Independent consultant, Odisha, India Professor Ravinder Barn - Royal Holloway University of London

1. 
Community Based Child
Protection Mechanism inRrural
India – A Case Study of Odisha
Sushri Sangita Puhan – Independent consultant, Odisha, India
&
Professor Ravinder Barn – Royal Holloway, University of London

3. India’s children
29% constitutes children of 0-5 years :
140 million
48% girls and 52% boys

4. India’s children…
19 out of every 100 children are out of school

5. Constitutional obligation
Constitution of India guarantees
 Right to Equality
 Right to life
 Free and compulsory education between the age of six
to fourteen years
• Protection from:
 Trafficking & forced labour
 Employment in factory or mine or any other hazardous
employment
 Abuse, exploitation & moral and material abandonment

6. International commitments to children
International Commitments
 Ratification of United Nation’s Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) – 1992
 2000- Optional Protocols on Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution & Child Pornography & the Involvement of
Children in Armed Conflict
 Ratification of Hague Convention on Protection of
Children & Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country
Adoption in 2003
 Other International Covenants & Regional agreements
(SAARC)

7. Legislations for protection of children
 Several issue specific legislations introduced –
Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation
Child Labour
 Gender biased sex selection
 Child marriage
 Adoption
 Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and its amendment act
2006
 To provide justice, & rehabilitation services for children in difficult circumstances
 Focus on non-institutional care for orphan, abandoned & surrendered children
 Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005
 Establishes Commissions for Protection of Child Rights at National & State level
 Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act, 2009
 Protection of children from Sexual Offences, Act 2012

8. Support services
 Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS)
 Child line services for children in distress, especially children in need
of care and protection
 Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for the Children of Working
Mothers in the age group of 0-6 years
 Scheme for Assistance to Homes for Children (Shishu Greha) to
Promote In-Country Adoption for care and protection of
orphans/abandoned/destitute infants or children up to 6 years
 Scheme for Working Children in Need of Care and Protection for
children kept as domestic child labour
 Pilot Project to Combat the Trafficking of women and Children for
Commercial Sexual Exploitation
 National Child Labour Project (NCLP) for rehabilitation of child
labourers

9. Community-based child protection
mechanisms (CBCPM)
 Formal groups that work at grassroots level to monitor,
respond to, and prevent child protection issues
 Have emerged as preventive and responsive approaches
to address diverse child protection threats that arise at
different levels in the community – used by NGOs &
community actors to safeguard children.
 In modern Indian society, such threats can range from
child abuse, child labour, child marriage, child trafficking,
preventing female foeticide and rescue of abandoned
children.

10. Study aims
 To identify conceptualisations of child protection and
safeguarding on the part of different actors.
 To establish understandings of existing child protection
mechanisms to determine help-seeking behaviour and
practices.
 To examine strengths and deficits of CBCPM and their
effectiveness & sustainability
 To understand children’s perspective and responsibility
for their own protection

11. Methodology
 A qualitative and
participatory methodological
approach – consultation,
focus group discussion and
individual interview.
 Thematic framework
analysis
Respondents Number
CBCPM members,
SHG members
30 ( 18 women
and 12 men)
CBCPM
Chairperson
2 (men)
PRI members 2 (1 men and 1
women)
Children/young
people
23 (16 girls and 7
boys)
Social Scientist 1 (woman)
Total 58

12. Key findings : Child protection concerns
 Child abuse,
 child labour,
 School drop out,
 child marriage,
 migration,
 abandoned children,
 teenage pregnancy (unwed mother)
 Female foeticide
 Eve teasing
 Alcoholism
 Use of mobile – a threat for sexual abuse and elopement

13. Intensity of concern- who is more affected
and why?
 Although the intensity of concern is same for both
boys and girls but girls are more affected because
of their status as ‘GIRL’.
 Discrimination - family and community
 Restricted movement
 No space for sharing opinion and expression

14. Reporting child protection concerns
 Main sources of referrals include children, neighbours and
other community members.
 Parents – incase of missing child, abuses in school
 Growing awareness of child protection but low levels of
referrals
 “Abuses (Physical, emotional) at home is not reported as it
has been accepted as part of cultural practice. Issues
related to girl child abuse, ill behaviour, exploitation does
not get reported and suppressed due to social taboo and
unfavorable response from family. ”

15. Issues addressed by CBCPMs
 Child labour and bonded labour
 Girl child marriage
 School drop out
 Missing child
 Abandoned girl child
 Child abuse – physical
 Trafficking

16. Capacity building and outreach work
 Training and orientation to children’s group
 Training and refreshers for CPCs.
 Street plays and puppet show,
 Village meetings,
 Meetings with children's group,
 Rallies
 Campaigns

17. Positive impact
 A space has been created for issues affecting children ad steps
taken to address
 Gradual changes in practice and attitude towards girls
 Significant decline in the rate of girl child marriage
 Increased no. of institutional delivery
 All children of 6-14 years are in school
 No child is engaged in livestock sector and as child labour in
community
 Increased no. of women participation in the meetings and
orientation program on child protection
 CBCPM members have been selected as resource persons to
capacitate Panchayat level Child Protection Committees
formed by Govt.

18. Challenges
 Non-cooperation from families – competing perspectives eg child labour, trafficking,
girl child marriage
 Reluctance in reporting and seeking help in case of sexual abuse, female foeticide
 Threaten by the abuser
 Poor participation of men in sensitization and awareness program
 Non-cooperation from local police due to lack of sensitization and understanding on
child protection
 Recognition and support by Govt. stakeholders without legal identity
 “The committee gets threatened by illicit people in the community those who have
been involved in child abuse and exploitation. There are cases of child trafficking
which identified by the committee. While investigating further the middle man warn
to the committee members not to interfere. At times parents also do not support as
they give importance to the financial benefit incase of children are employed.
Similarly it is difficult to get support from local Police unless there is intervention from
District level

19. Factors contributed to the effectiveness
 Responsibility of the CBCPMs and informed community
members
 Involvement of PRI members
 Génuine child participation
 Timeliness of facilitation to address the issue
 Resourcing—ongoing training/capacity building
 Linkages—engagement with Govt. structures and
support from the stakeholders

20. Policy and practice implication
 Legal identity of the committees for better
acceptance at all levels.
 Strengthen linkage with Government structures for
access to timely and effective support
 More awareness program is still required to
educate people on child protection issues,
consequences and need of reporting.
 Educating children with adequate information for
their own protection.

21. Voices of children
 Protection from abuse, drugs (taking, making and
selling) and discrimination has been emerged as
top three rights of children. (out of top 5 rights)
 Parents should be more sensitized on
discrimination (between boys and girls),
importance of girls’ education, consequences of
alcoholism and abuses.
 All children should be trained and oriented on
child protection issues, expected behaviour from
adults and reporting mechanisms.
 CBCPMs should be formed in all communities.

22. Voices from field
 ’I wish I was a boy. So that I would have lived a better life
without any restriction’ - Unanimously that was the response
of all girls present in a consultation’.
 ‘Our brothers should be sensitized to share our responsibilities
in household work. That would be more effective then
sensitizing our parents.’ Renu, (G) 14 yr, child club member
 ‘Selling and consuming alcohol should be stopped in our
village if we want a better life for our children.’ Kavita, (W) 38 yr,
SHG member
 ‘Acceptance and support of community has been gradually
increased towards Child protection committee and so the
perception of people towards children. We can expect a better
future for children of our community.’ ‘Chairperson, CBCPM (M),
58 yr

23. Conclusion
 Growing awareness of child rights and child protection
 Need for greater availability of CBCPM structures in all
villages
 Continuing and more engaging outreach work
 Facilitating positive social change
 Better and more engaging partnerships with local police, and
communities to enhance confidence in identifying and
reporting harm, and working together to safeguard children.

24. THANK YOU