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Childline Guwahati intervenes in 378 cases involving distressed children

By ABINASH KALITA

GUWAHATI, Dec 14 - Childline Guwahati which provides support for child protection and child rights with its 24-hour helpline, has intervened in altogether 160 cases of child labour, child abuse and child marriage � out of the total 378 cases under different categories � in the city from January 1 to December 14 this year.

According to Childline Guwahati coordinator Nirmal Deka, the helpline had recorded altogether 586 cases in 2019 and 640 cases in 2018.

According to official data, among the total cases recorded per month, January recorded the highest 43 cases, while the lowest 10 cases were reported in April.

�Awareness among the people has been growing but has still not reached out to all. Child marriage is prevalent across communities and castes predominantly due to poverty and love affairs,� coordinator Deka said.

Out of the cases reported in January, seven cases were of restoration, three were missing cases, six cases were shelter-related, 21 cases were related to rescue or protection from abuse, three cases were referred by another childline service and three were related to the �others� category. The rescue or protection from abuse category of the helpline includes child labour, child abuse and child marriage.

Of the 39 cases reported in February, 11 were restoration cases, four were missing cases, five were shelter-related cases, 16 were rescue or protection from abuse cases, two were referred by another childline service and one case was under the �others� category.

In March altogether 40 cases were reported. Among those seven cases were related to restoration, three were missing cases, 10 cases were shelter-related, 14 cases were related to rescue or protection from abuse, two cases were referred by another childline service and four cases were related to the �others� category.

According to Deka, Childline introduced the �COVID category� across the nation from April, which includes providing food, shelter and medical assistance, etc., to the distressed children.

The number of cases recorded in April was 10 which was very low in comparison to other months due to the impact of COVID-19 situation. Of the ten cases, one was shelter-related, four cases were related to rescue or protection from abuse, four cases were COVID-related and one case was under the �others� category.

In May Childline Guwahati recorded altogether 38 cases. Among those, two were restoration cases, three were missing cases, six were shelter-related cases, 17 were rescue or protection from abuse cases, seven were COVID-related case and three cases were referred by another childline service.

Among the 22 cases reported in June, one was restoration case, one was missing case, two were shelter-related cases, 14 were rescue or protection from abuse cases and four cases were COVID-related.

In July altogether 32 cases were reported. Among those two cases were related to restoration, one was a missing case, eight cases were shelter-related, 17 cases were related to rescue or protection from abuse and four cases were under the �others� category.

According to official data, in August altogether 26 cases were reported to Childline Guwahati, which included two restoration cases, one missing case, six shelter-related cases, 13 rescue or protection from abuse cases and four cases were related to the �others� category.

In September, the number of reported cases was 33, including five restoration cases, four missing cases, nine shelter-related cases, 14 rescue and protection from abuse cases and one was a case related to the �others� category.

Among the 25 cases reported in October, three were restoration cases, six were missing cases, four were shelter-related cases and 12 were rescue or protection from abuse cases.

In November, the total number of reported cases was 25. Among those, four cases were related to missing, two were shelter-related cases, 18 were rescue or protection from abuse cases and one case was related to the �others� category.

Till December 14, altogether 25 cases were reported to Childline Guwahati. On Saturday the childline rescued a 13-year-old boy from a milk van in Geetanagar area.

After recovery, a child is sent to a child welfare committee (CWC) whose main function is to send the child to a children�s home while the inquiry into the case is conducted for protection of the child. The CWC meets and interviews the child to learn about his or her background and also understand the problem the child is facing. The purpose of the CWC is to determine the best interest of the child and find the child a safe home and environment either with his or her original parents or adoptive parents, foster care or in an institution.

Now, in view of the pandemic, rapid antigen test is mandatory after a child is rescued.

Meanwhile, Childline Guwahati will organise a programme here in January next year to provide psychosocial support to children.

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