Protect the child
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People are just beginning to accept that a problem like child abuse exists. SHALINI UMACHANDRAN talks to Andal Damodaran about the fight ahead.
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G.R.N.SOMASHEKAR
IN the Chennai office of the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), Tamil Nadu, general secretary Andal Damodaran takes a call from a concerned government officer. He reports that his neighbours might be abusing their domestic help, a child of 10 or 11. Damodaran takes down the details and calls in a colleague. They make a few phone calls to a police officer who has handled such cases and to find a person who can speak the same language as the child, among other things. The colleague then rushes off to rescue the child.
"Most people, even those who have some kind of authority, are not sure about where to report child abuse. At the conference," says Damodaran, referring to the first national Conference on Child Abuse for Multidisciplinary Professionals (COCAMP 2004), "we focussed on abuse and trauma and how different sections should work together to handle it."
The ICCW — Tamil Nadu is just tying up loose ends and relaxing after the conclusion of the three-day conference on child abuse organised in association with Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute. COCAMP brought together doctors, psychologists, police personnel, lawyers, paediatricians, public prosecutors, NGOs, administrators, social activists, welfare workers and professors concerned with cases of child abuse. The idea was to create protocols and figure out how these various people could work together to tackle the problem.
One of the speakers addressing the 110 delegates from various specialities and from across the country, was Professor Harendra de Silva, head of the National Child Protection Authority in Sri Lanka. This body reports directly to the President of Sri Lanka and works to integrate medical, social and legal services to combat child abuse. "In Sri Lanka, abuse is treated as a legal case from the moment it is reported," says Damodaran. She points out that even medical reports in India are not written clearly to differentiate between accidental and non-accidental injuries. "An iron mark on the leg is recorded as a burn injury. The doctor knows it's not an accident, but he can't record it any other way. By the time the case comes up in court, the wound has healed, the medical report is inadequate... "
Doctors from Sri Ramachandra Medical College explained that they were not sure of who to call in a case of suspected abuse and how they could not go against patient's wishes, while social workers discussed official apathy and societal attitudes. The Chennai police were present, and Damodaran says they had to take a lot of flak when complaints about police insensitivity and lethargy came up. The media was not a big part of the conference, only being present for the inauguration. Damodaran says a lot of the free speech was because of the absence of the media, which meant government officials as well as doctors and activists could discuss issues without restraint.
S.MANISHA
Lawyers, doctors and social workers wanted to know how to question children, how to treat them, and what to do after the child is rescued. "So we're looking at localised training for specialised groups," she says. "We are pushing for a multi-disciplinary approach because each of us is frustrated about working alone."
Lawyers have formed a working group to fight for stronger anti-child abuse legislation. "We have a legacy of British laws formulated in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when these problems were not even recognised. Most of the time, offenders get away," she says. The Goa Children's Act, 2003, is a landmark act that looks at child abuse comprehensively and can form the basis for an all-India legislation. "Paedophilia is a rising problem in Goa, Mahabalipuram and Kerala. The Goa Act is a guideline for other states to formulate their policies. Some state governments have taken the initiative but what is needed is a national level act," explains Damodaran.
COCAMP also saw the formulation of an action plan to sensitise child welfare communities about dealing with victims and parents as well as offenders, who need to go through intensive counselling. Damodaran says a child who has been abused cannot be sent straight to a rehab home where about a 100 other children live. The child will have to relive the misery and fear as the other children will want to know where it's from and what happened. A kind of halfway house has to be set up for victims to come to terms with their experience.
COCAMP 2004 took one year of planning. "We didn't look at the rural situation either. People are just beginning to accept that there IS abuse, so we're really at the beginning of the fight."
ICCW, Tamil Nadu is looking at making COCAMP a national annual event, as the average Indian is not yet sensitive enough to the issue and only a multi-disciplinary approach can awaken responsiveness.
Dr. Richard Krugman (Dean of the School of Medicine and Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Colorado Health Science Centre, who gave the keynote address) talked about a case he saw in 1967. There had been 27 instances when the abuse could have been detected — social workers, nurses, doctors and welfare workers had seen the child but refused to accept the possibility of abuse. "India is in this situation now," says Damodaran. "Greater public awareness about every child's right to be protected is necessary till we bring it to a stage where every child is looked at as a person."
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