Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Childline registered 476 complaints related to child abuse in the past year, which includes cases of physical abuse, child marriage, sexual abuse, child labour etc. Of these, 212 cases were related to violence against children, 41 cases of child marriage and 19 cases of sexual abuse.
In order to eliminate\reduce these cases, the women and child development department and child welfare committee are organising various workshops and seminars to sensitize the public and other stake-holders.
Another major problem is that of child labour. The Childline received over 500 calls related to child labour and beggary last year (April 2022 to May 2023), which is around 380 more when compared to the previous year.
WCD programme officer Ramniwas Budholiya said that the department recently organised camps of sarpanchs and secretaries to inform and sensitize them about various forms of child abuse.
The department also counsels parents of the victims because their role is also essential in ensuring that the child gets rehabilitated properly.
Childline coordinator Rahul Gothane said that though the rise in the number of cases of child abuse is marginal, but each point is important to us and all such cases should be eliminated. He said that the department also realises that a number of cases also go unreported.
“Childline has received about 500 calls related to child labour and each case is being investigated as per the requirements, the complaints against the protection against abuse has also been increasing,” said Gothane.