The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : We hope to be the eyes and ears of child protection: Nina Nayak

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We hope to be the eyes and ears of child protection: Nina Nayak

Special Correspondent

Panel to mobilise civil society support for its activities
Rules of the commission are being finalised

Nina Nayak

Bangalore: “We hope to be the eyes and ears of child protection,” says Nina Nayak, the newly-appointed chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

A person with long experience in the area of child rights, she and her team of six members hope to mobilise civil society support for all their activities. The commission has a mandate to not only monitor cases of child rights abuse, but also constantly review child-oriented programmes and policies of the Government.

“Out job is to receive any complaints of violation of child rights and hold inquiries and prepare reports, given our powers which are on a par with the civil court,” Ms. Nayak told The Hindu.

The panel will be fully functional once the rules of the commission, which are in the process of being finalised, are notified.

Focus

Ms. Nayak says that the commission will particularly focus on children aged between 14 and 18 and 0 and 6 given that children in this group are the most neglected and there are hardly any laws and regulatory mechanisms in place to protect those in this vulnerable age group.

Of particular concern in Karnataka is the issue of child marriage. “Data shows that 41 per cent of girls in Karnataka marry below the age of 18,” she says.

Issues of out-of-school children, child labour and birth registration will also be taken up by the commission on a priority basis.

“We want to be on the field, work with people, be accessible always and get constant feed back,” Ms. Nayak says.

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