Lok Sabha Question No. 119 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-02
Subject: Child Abuse Cases in Shelter Homes
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Thomas Chazhikadan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO.119

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2024

## CHILD ABUSE CASES IN SHELTER HOMES

## 119. SHRI THOMAS CHAZHIKADAN :

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of child abuse cases registered in shelter homes during the last five years in the country, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether the  Government has ascertained the reasons behind the sexual abuse of children in shelter homes;
- (c) if so, the details and the outcome thereof along with the action taken on such shelter homes during the said period; and
- (d) the other measures being taken to increase the number of on-site doctors available at such places and the efforts taken to decongest the overcrowded shelter homes?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (d) :  The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015) (as amended in 2021) (Section 109) provides the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) at National level and State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) at State level respectively to monitor the implementation of the Act.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is administering the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015) (as amended 2021), which is the primary legislation for ensuring safety, security, dignity and well-being of children including orphan girl child. It defines standards of care and protection to secure the best interest of child.

Under  the  JJ  Act  2015  (Sections  27-30),  the  Child  Welfare  Committees have  been empowered to take decisions with regard to the children in need of care and protection, keeping their best interest in mind. They are also mandated to monitor the function of the Child Care Institutions (CCIs). Similarly, the Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) are empowered to take decisions regarding the welfare of children in conflict with law (Sections 04-09).

The  Juvenile  Justice  (Care  and  Protection  of  Children)  Act,  2015  (JJ  Act,  2015)  (as amended in 2021) and Rules thereof provides for inspection of Child Care Institutions by State Level Inspection Committee and District Level Inspection Committee. The District Level Inspection Committee is constituted by the District Magistrate with Additional District Magistrate as Chairperson. The District Level Inspection Committee inspects all CCIs in the  district  and  submit  the  report  of  the  findings  to  the  District  Magistrate  or  the  State Government for improvement and development of CCIs in accordance with the provisions of the JJ Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021) and Rules thereof. The District Magistrate shall take followup action on the report of inspection committees and ensure corrective measures are taken in a time bound manner.

Section 41 of the JJ Act, 2015 mandates that all institutions in all States/UTs, which are meant, either wholly or partially,  for  housing  children  in  need  of  care  and  protection  or children in conflict with law, shall be registered irrespective  of whether they are receiving grants from the Central Government or the State Government. Any person or persons incharge of an institution failing to comply with such provision shall be punished under section 42 of the Act with imprisonment which may extend to one year or a fine of not less than one lakh rupees or both.

The  Government  of  India  has  enacted  the  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual  Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 to provide safe guards for children against sexual abuse. The Act define a  child  as  any  person  below  the  age  of  18  years.  The  POCSO  Act,  2012  provides  for establishment  of  Special  Courts  for  the  purpose  of  ensuring  speedy  trial.  The  Act  was amended  in  2019  to  introduce  more  stringent  punishment  including  death  penalty  for committing sexual crimes on children, with a view to deter the perpetrators & prevent such crimes against children. POCSO Act also prescribes provisions of mandatory report of crime under POCSO Act, as per Section-21 which provides punishment for failure to report or record a case.

Further,  the  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  is  also  implementing  Mission Vatsalya Scheme for care, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in difficult circumstances  on  predefined  cost  sharing  basis  between  the  Central  and  the  State Governments.  Under  Mission  Vatsalya  Scheme,  support  is  provided  for  setting  up  and maintenance of various types of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and funds for Non-Institutional Care.  Such  children  have  access  to  both  institutional  and  non-institutional  care  and rehabilitation as per Individual Care Plan (ICP) as mandated JJ Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021).  CCIs provide/support for boarding & lodging; age-appropriate education; access to vocational training; recreation; health care; counselling etc.

The Child Care Institutions are supported normally to accommodate 50 children; however, for  North  Eastern  States,  Himalayan  States  and  Hilly  areas  in  other  States,  CCIs  with capacity of 25 children are supported, as per the need of the States. All the CCIs may have similar  facilities  in  terms  of  infrastructure,  caregivers,  service  providers  or  any  other component as mandated under JJ Act and Rules thereof.

The Ministry regularly follows up with the State/ UT Governments and various advisories have been sent so as to ensure the effective implementation of Mission Vatsalya Scheme.

As informed by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), NCPCR has received 77 complaints of child abuse in the Child Care institutions (CCIs) including shelter homes across the country during the last five years i.e., 2018 -19 to 2022-23. The State/UTwise number of child abuse cases in CCIs including Shelter homes during the last five years are at Annexure- I.

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ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  119  FOR  ANSWER  ON  02.02.2024  BY  SHRI  THOMAS  CHAZHIKADAN REGARDING ABUSE OF CHILDREN IN SHELTER HOMES STATE/UT-WISE  NUMBER  OF  CHILD  ABUSE  IN  CHILD  CARE  INSTITUTIONS  INCLUDING SHELTER HOMES DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS

| Sl. No.   | States/UTs                           | 2018-19   | 2019-20   | 2020-21   | 2021-22   | 2022-23   |
|-----------|--------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1         | Andaman & Nicobar Islands            | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                       | 0         | 1         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh                    | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 4         | Assam                                | 1         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 5         | Bihar                                | 3         | 1         | 2         | 1         | 2         |
| 6         | Chandigarh                           | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh                         | 0         | 0         | 1         | 0         | 0         |
| 8         | Dadra and Nagar Haveli Daman and Diu | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 9         | Delhi                                | 4         | 1         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 10        | Goa                                  | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 11        | Gujarat                              | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 12        | Haryana                              | 3         | 0         | 0         | 3         | 1         |
| 13        | Himachal Pradesh                     | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 14        | Jammu and Kashmir                    | 1         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 15        | Ladakh*                              |           |           |           |           |           |
| 16        | Jharkhand                            | 0         | 0         | 2         | 1         | 0         |
| 17        | Karnataka                            | 0         | 1         | 1         | 0         | 0         |
| 18        | Kerala                               | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 19        | Lakshadweep                          | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh                       | 3         | 1         | 0         | 2         | 0         |
| 21        | Maharashtra                          | 1         | 1         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 22        | Manipur                              | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 23        | Meghalaya                            | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 24        | Mizoram                              | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 25        | Nagaland                             | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 26        | Orissa                               | 1         | 0         | 4         | 1         | 1         |
| 27        | Puducherry                           | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 28        | Punjab                               | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 29        | Rajasthan                            | 1         | 2         | 0         | 4         | 0         |
| 30        | Sikkim                               | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu                           | 0         | 0         | 3         | 5         | 0         |
| 32        | Telengana                            | 0         | 0         | 0         | 2         | 1         |
| 33        | Tripura                              | 0         | 0         | 0         | 1         | 0         |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh                        | 8         | 3         | 0         | 1         | 0         |
| 35        | Uttarakhand                          | 0         | 1         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| 36        | West Bengal                          | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         |
| Total     | Total                                | 26        | 12        | 13        | 21        | 5         |

*Included in Jammu and Kashmir

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