“Wish to adopt a child?
If it’s not too much trouble, contact this mobile number.
Three-year-old and six-year-old, lost their folks to COVID-19″.
What Is The Issue?
This is one illustration of the numerous messages as of now doing the rounds of online media, probably looking for help for ‘Coronavirus orphans’ – children who have lost both/all guardians to the feared sickness.
The messages may appear to be overflowing with generosity, yet specialists caution that the interest for ‘selection’ may open up a business opportunity for illegal exploitation, with ‘Coronavirus orphans’ being, just as the most recent, casualties of this wrongdoing.
Child Rights specialists have voiced worry against such web-based media messages and asserted that they could be deceived by dealing traffickers to extend their pool of customers and targets, and subject clueless children to brutality and misuse, along these lines infringing upon their essential rights.
What Is Being Done To Resolve It?
A week ago, the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development (WCD) told the Health Ministry that guardians tainted with COVID-19 ought to announce in a structure, to whom their children ought to be given over to on the off chance that the two of them capitulate to the infection.
Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, too, cautioned in a tweet that, “If you come to know of any child who has lost both parents to COVID-19 and has no one to take care of her/him, inform the Police or Child Welfare Committee of your district or contact Childline 1098. It is your legal responsibility”.
Any lawful appropriation of such a child needs to occur through Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) under the Juvenile Justice Act. There are CWCs in 600 areas across the nation.
“Not all children who lose parents to COVID-19 are automatically orphans. Many of such children have relatives and extended families who will come forward to take care of such children. Such relatives and the general public however need to be made aware of the law and legal processes which they need to follow,” said Anant Kumar Asthana, Child Rights Lawyer.
“Guaranteeing those legitimate techniques for the selection and asserting guardianship are followed is the principal obligation of the state, in such cases.
State governments must ensure that awareness campaigns are held on laws and legal processes on how these children can be helped.
NGOs working in the field of child rights, special juvenile police units, and CWCs are more accessible than before and there are sufficient human and infrastructural resources available in the child protection system at the district level,” he added.
What Do Data Reports Explain?
With a developing number of children stranded in the pandemic, governments, and law authorization offices are additionally mounting cautiousness to put a check on dealing.
The information delivered by Childline India Foundation a year ago showed a sharp ascent in youngster dealing cases during the lockdown.
The rights association got 27 lakh distress calls between March and August and made 1.92 lakh mediations on the ground. Childline authorities say the number has seen another 15% flood between April and May this year.
“We have seen a flood of 15% in trouble calls this year,” said a senior authority at Childline, on the state of obscurity.
“In any case, this year, things have turned for the most exceedingly terrible. For example, the kids’ contact numbers and age are out via web-based media. The protection of a stranded kid is critical,” he added.
“Famous people running [trafficking] rackets may wind up taking [illegal custody] of the children, given the web-based media notices,” he iterated.
“These are unprecedented times, many children have lost their parents, we need to function as responsible citizens, imagine the trauma of such a child ending up with traffickers or with someone who isn’t mentally or physically fit to give them a proper upbringing”.
Also Read: Are We Talking Enough About The Plight Of Minors And Children Due To The Pandemic?
There is greater alertness around any family seeing children (that) have been affected get reported. While there isn’t enough data yet, we can see that various illegal adoption pleas have surfaced on social media, making these orphans vulnerable to trafficking and abuse.
Traffickers see their victims as commodities without regard for human dignity and rights. They sell fellow human beings for a large price, with large criminal organizations making the highest incomes.
Traffickers have integrated technology into their business model at every stage of the process, from recruiting to exploiting victims.
Many children are approached by traffickers on social media and they are an easy target in their search for acceptance, attention, or friendship.
Image Credit: Google Images
Sources: NewsUN,UNODC,DesiBlitz,PrintIndia
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This post is tagged under: Children, Lives, Child Lives Matter, Child, Families, COVID-19 Orphans, Orphans, Prostitution, Trafficking, Labour, Child Labour, Injustice, Save Children, India’s Youth, Indian Children, Fraud, Social Media, Crime, Ministry, Child And Women Development, Health Ministry, Government, Chaos, Rise to Crime, United Nations, United Nations Child Welfare Association, Help
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