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Anil Kumar Ranjan and Nitesh Singh Kushwaha, 2nd Year, IMS Unison University (School of Law), Dehradun Whenever the parent of any children goes behind the bars, often it leaves an adverse impact on the life of innocents. The children of imprisoned parents have expressed that a stigma leaves them prone to insensitivity, ridicule and harassments from near ones. It can be seen that those children become the hidden victims of the act caused by their parents, sudden disappearance of the roof of affection of parents results in a psychological change in juniors. Children of the incarcerated parents are often neglected and largely unrecognized victims. Being a victim, new challenges and difficulties are introduced to them which led to behavioral and anti-social changes. As it was said that children are the unsettled sculpture which got shaped by their parents, children younger than 6 years are often carried by the mother and reside with their mother in jail. But they should not be treated as the victims or the accused that’s why the Supreme court took some effective steps in the case-law of the R.D. Upadhyaya vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and others[1], citing some recommendation of the All-India committee on jail reforms[2] such as children of the convicts must not be treated as the convicts, every prison must have a creche and nursery facility, the physical growth of the children must be monitored periodically and such other facilities. This change in the environment of the jail for the children is a must because surroundings are the basic things that affect the psychological growth and cognitive development of the newly developing mind. In spite of bettering the environment then also children of incarcerated parents lack social skills which can be seen as a flaw after being issued guidelines (R.D. Upadhyaya vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and others) for their betterment. For welfare and development of children, Constitution of India recognizes several provisions which guarantees immunities against any sort discrimination and focuses on establishment of equality. There are several provisions majorly in the part III and part IV (Fundamental rights and Directive principle of state policy) besides these other provisions are also significant. Article 15 of the Constitution of India prohibits discrimination on the ground religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth, and same empowers the state to formulate special provisions for women and children. Article 21 grants the right to live a dignified life to everyone. Article 39(f) directs the state to check that children are provided with opportunities and facilities for the development in a healthy manner in the atmosphere of freedom and dignity, and state shall protect them against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment. Article 45 says that the State shall strive to ensure that every child must get early childhood care and early education until they reach the age of 6 years. Whereas Article 42 directs the state to make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief. In 2002, India attended the special session of the UN General assembly for the children, held in New York. India gave it a major importance and it was attended by several parliamentarians which are led by the minister of human resource development. The summit concerns for the protection and development of children and a way forward towards their enforcement and implementation. According to the report of the National crime record bureau, there are only 4% of women in jail of all over the prison population. Statistically denoting that as per NCRB there are around 19,913 women prisoners across the country, of which 8% have their children in prison with them. Currently, an estimated 19000 children are living with their mothers in prisons across the globe, as per the report of Penal reform international. Considering the last decade of India there are an average 9% of all women inmates have their children with them in jails and three out of four of these mothers were undertrial, as per the analysis of the NCRB data. Out of total prisons there are only 31 jails for women in 15 Indian states and union territories while other states and UTs have no separate jails for women. Of the total women undertrial in 2019 around one in every 10 were living with their children in jails. Aside the stats, concerning the problems, the Supreme Court of India laid down some golden rules for the welfare of the children of incarcerated parents and the women in the case of R.D. Upadhyaya vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and others, 2006. ● Pregnant women in prisons should be provided a facility to give birth outside the prisons, and the newborn must not have jail as the birth place in the birth certificate. A proper arrangement for the birth registration in the local office and must only the address of locality shall be mentioned. ● Children residing with their parents in jail must have access to proper nutritional food, shelter, medical assistance whenever required, educational and opportunity for extra curricular activity. ● Like outside, in jails children of inmates must be regularly examined by a lady medical officer to keep check on their physical growth and ensure timely vaccination. ● Children only under age of 6 can reside in jail with their mother. After attaining which the child must be handed over to surrogate as per wish of female inmate or child must be transferred to welfare institution in the same town/city and can reside until their mother is released or they become able to earn livelihood. ● There shall be a creche and a nursery near the prison compound for the women where women look after their children. ● Children staying outside the prisons away from the mother shall be allowed to meet them at least once a week and also state legal service authorities must take necessary measures to monitor the compliance with the instructions about children and female inmates. Finally, arriving at consequence: there are several observances made out of provisions and guidelines, as interpretation of the article 21 said that every person has the right to live a dignified life, despite strong concern of judiciary over the jail reforms then also somehow children of incarcerated parents were being missed from their concern. Criticizing management of jails, according to the stats of NCRB, only 31 women jails are not sufficient. As analyzed, the human rights of the children are violated and they have no idea about it therefore it becomes the duty of authorities to guarantee the rights in the ambit of the Constitution of India. Children are innocent and their innocence must be protected. There is no lack of rules and regulations issued by the Supreme Court of India but matter is that there must be vigilant implementation of laws and guidelines otherwise the goal to save these innocent languishing behind bars will remain an unachievable dream. References [1] R.D. Upadhyay vs. State of A.P. and Ors. Writ Petition (Civil) 559 of 1994. 2006. [2] Mulla AN, Sharma CY. Report of the All-India committee on jail reforms 1980-83. New Delhi, Government of India press; 1983. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

Ananya Manjunath, 2nd Year, BMS College of Law, Bengaluru The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 was introduced to act as a blanket law to protect children from the heinous offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography while keeping the best interests of the child as priority throughout the legal remedy process, but the recent judgement of the Bombay High Court has proved otherwise by delivering a strikingly controversial verdict in the case of Satish v. State of Maharashtra in January, 2021. The flabbergasting statement that “physical contact” under Section 7 of the POCSO Act is to be understood as “skin to skin contact” came as a part of the judgement delivered by Justice Pushpa. V. Ganediwala, a sitting judge of the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay HC, where the 39 year old male accused/appellant approached the High Court challenging the judgement of the Sessions Judge where he was convicted under sections 354 (outraging a woman’s modesty), 363 (kidnapping) and 342 (wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 8 of the POCSO Act. The accused was convicted by the Special Court based on the facts that, he lured the girl to his house on the pretext of giving her a guava and touched her breast and attempted to remove her salwar, at which point of time the girl’s mother based upon the information received by a neighbour, reached the spot and rescued her daughter, who the man had locked inside the room and immediately filed an FIR in the police station. The point of focus in the current judgement was whether the act of touching the breasts and attempt to remove the salwar of the child would qualify as sexual assault under Section 7 of the POCSO Act which reads as follows; Whoever, with sexual intent touches the vagina, penis, anus or breast of the child or makes the child touch the vagina, penis, anus or breast of such person or any other person, or does any other act with sexual intent which involves physical contact without penetration is said to commit sexual assault. and attract punishment for the same according to Section 8 of the POCSO Act which says; Whoever, commits sexual assault, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine. In her judgement, the honourable judge noted that the essential ingredients such as (i) sexual intent (ii) physical contact or touching of the breasts did occur but resorted to interpret “physical contact” as direct physical contact i.e., skin to skin contact” and further continued to acquit the man of the offence stating that the girl had clothes on when he touched her and therefore no “physical contact”, but convicted him under Section 354 of the IPC (outraging modesty of a woman). The judge also stated considering the stringent nature of the punishment (minimum 3 years of prison plus fine), it requires “stricter proof” and “serious allegations”. The judgement seems out rightly problematic in the first read and even more baffling and perplexing as you read further and put some more thought into it. Firstly, any common man hearing the incident would affirm the occurrence of sexual assault, clothes on or clothes off, a 39 year old man touching a 12 year old child’s breast is still ghastly and must qualify as sexual assault. Nowhere does the statute mention clothes acting as a barrier or lessening the intensity of the offence, by the same reasoning, if the man touched the child with the clothes off but wore a glove on his hand, he would still be acquitted considering how there was no “skin to skin” contact. Secondly, the court convicted the accused under Section 354 of the IPC which reads; Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty. – Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, with the intention to outrage her modesty, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine.” And granted him the minimum punishment of 1 year while stating, “It is the basic principle of criminal jurisprudence that the punishment for an offence shall be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime”. This not only reduces the grimness of the act in the present case by considering it not serious enough to be called sexual assault but also the granting of minimum punishment sends out the message that it was a minor crime, and in no circumstance should the violation of a child or rather even an adult’s physical boundaries be considered minor or insignificant. Thirdly, claiming there wasn’t enough or substantial proof or serious allegations would be shutting one’s eye to Section 29 of the POCSO Act which reads; Where a person is prosecuted for committing or abetting or attempting to commit any offence under sections 3, 5, 7 and section 9 of this Act, the Special Court shall presume, that such person has committed or abetted or attempted to commit the offence, as the case may be unless the contrary is proved. This part of the statute calls for presumption of guilt of the accused. Which does not seem to be what has occurred in the present case, instead the judge seems to have given the benefit of doubt to the accused even with the strongest proof – the victim’s word being present. Fourthly, prosecuting the accused under the IPC instead of the POCSO Act defeats the entire purpose for which the act was introduced. The victim was a child when the crime occurred and the perpetrator should be subjected to laws made for the sole purpose of protection of children from crimes of this manner. Fifthly, this judgement being delivered by the Bombay High Court will in the future definitely be used as precedent and will be binding on the lower courts such as the sessions courts, resulting in grave injustice being meted out to so many other victims. This setting of wrong precedent will have wide scale repercussions on so many other levels. Finally, the paramount ramification of this judgement would be the erroneous message that it would send out to the young children and even adults who have had to deal with similar episodes that would have left scarring impressions upon them, this judgement trivializes the painful experiences of these people. This attenuated interpretation of “sexual assault” leaves no hope of justice being served in the future and only diminishes the faith people have kept in the justice system of our country. The reasoning in this judgement is downright unacceptable and defeats the whole purpose of special laws being enacted. The National Commission for Women has decided to challenge this judgement in the Supreme Court. The final drops of oil that will keep the flame of hope of justice alight, now lies with the apex court who I, wholeheartedly hope overturns the judgement and performs their role rightfully in the protection of a child’s rights. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

About Child Rights Centre The Child Rights Centre (CRC) is a specialized research Centre of Chanakya National Law University, Patna. The Centre was established with a mission to improve access to justice for children and promote research, advanced learning, and advocacy to strengthen child rights laws, policies, and practices in Bihar. Child Rights Centre is established & running with technical support of UNICEF for effective implementation of children’s laws in Bihar. About the Blog This blog is initiated with the motive to provide a platform for students, academicians, and research scholars to share their thoughts and research on the issues related to women and children. This blog stands as a platform for hosting a wide range of articles that would provide better insights into the latest developments in the issues related to women and children of India and also provide a global perspective on the said matter. Eligibility The blog invites submissions from students, academicians, and research scholars of any stream. Theme Child Rights: Issues, Challenges, And Solutions Sub-Themes Child Rights Monitoring and Governance –National and International Perspectives Role of Judiciary in Protecting Child Rights Rights of Children in Cyber World and the digital space Personal Laws and Children Rights of special children Rights of children in armed conflict Socio-Economic and Cultural Issues with regard to the Protection of Children in India Rights for the Children under the Indian Constitution Laws related to the rights of children: Then and Now Children in conflict with the law Any other topic related to the main theme Guidelines Articles in the range of 1000-1500 words shall be accepted. The content of the article shall be original and must not be published anywhere else. Co-authorship is allowed for a maximum of 2 authors only. The submission shall be made in .doc/.docx format only. All the submissions shall be made to crccnlu@gmail.com with the subject “Submission of Article.” The following details shall be mentioned in the first page of the document containing the article: Name of the Author and Co-Author Year of Study of the Author and Co-Author College/University of the Author and Co-Author Email ids of the Author and Co-Author The submissions shall undergo a plagiarism screening process and it shall not exceed 10%, all articles with plagiarism of more than 10% shall be rejected. The author(s) shall follow a uniform style of citation. All the references from online sources shall be hyperlinked. Formatting Guidelines Body Font – Times New Roman Font Size – 12 Alignment – Justified Margin – Normal (1” or 2.54 cm on all sides) Line Spacing – 1.5 Footnotes Font – Times New Roman Font Size – 10 Alignment – Justified Line Spacing – 1 Submission Fee There is no registration or submission fee, all the selected articles shall be published for free. Last Date of Submission All the submissions shall be made by 20th February 2021, any submission made after 11:59 pm on 20th February 2021 shall not be accepted. Contact Details Email: crccnlu@gmail.com (In case of any query mail to this id with the subject “QUERY”) * The decision of Child Rights Centre shall be final regarding the publication of any blog and no contentions for the same shall be entertained.

Sanu Ranjan, 5th Year Student at Chanakya National Law University, Patna John Murungi, in her sublime remarks, puts out the Humanity Jurisprudence of the South African Constitution by stating that, “Each path of jurisprudence represents an attempt by human beings to tell a story about being human. Unless one discounts the humanity of others, one must admit that one has something in common with all other human beings. What is essential to law is what secures human beings in their being. The pursuit and the preservation of what is human and what is implicated by being human are what, in a particular understanding, is signified by African jurisprudence.” The South African Constitutional Court in M v The State[1], profoundly evolved the ‘rich jurisprudence of child rights’, with Sachs J. speaking for the court eloquently observed the Constitutional Rights of Child enshrined under Sec. 28 as, “Every child has his or her own dignity. If a child is to be constitutionally imagined as an individual with a distinctive personality, and not merely as a miniature adult waiting to reach full size, he or she cannot be treated as a mere extension of his or her parents, umbilically destined to sink or swim with them. The unusually comprehensive and emancipatory character of section 28 presupposes that in our new dispensation the sins and traumas of fathers and mothers should not be visited on their children. Individually and collectively all children have the right to express themselves as independent social beings, to have their own laughter as well as sorrow, to play, imagine and explore in their own way, to themselves get to understand their bodies, minds and emotions, and above all to learn as they grow how they should conduct themselves and make choices in the wide social and moral world of adulthood. And foundational to the enjoyment of the right to childhood is the promotion of the right as far as possible to live in a secure and nurturing environment free from violence, fear, want and avoidable trauma.” The Constitutional Court of South Africa in The Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development[2], infused the dignity of the child in sec. 10 of the Constitution, as the Court, speaking through Khampepe J.observed that, “Section 10 of the Constitution provides that “[e]veryone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected.” While dignity is a cornerstone of our Constitution, it is not easily defined, at least in legal terms. Suffice it to say that dignity recognises the inherent worth of all individuals (including children) as members of our society, as well as the value of the choices that they make. It comprises the deeply personal understanding we have of ourselves, our worth as individuals and our worth in our material and social context. This Court has found that children’s dignity rights are of special importance and are not dependent on the rights of their parents. Nor is the exercise by children of their dignity rights held in abeyance until they reach a certain age.” The Court further expounded the ‘jurisprudential nature of right’ and the ‘interpretive role of court’ with respect to the constitutional enumeration referring to Children in Sec. 28 by observing that, “The ambit of the provisions is undoubtedly wide. The comprehensive and emphatic language of section 28 indicates that just as law enforcement must always be gender-sensitive, so must it always be child-sensitive; that statutes must be interpreted and the common law developed in a manner which favours protecting and advancing the interests of children; and that courts must function in a manner which at all times shows due respect for children’s rights. These considerations reflect in a global way rights, protection, and entitlements that are specifically identified and accorded to children by section 28. They are extensive and unmistakable. Section 28(1) provides for a list of enforceable substantive rights that go well beyond anything catered for by the common law and statute in the pre-democratic era.”[3] Further explaining the “Best Interest of Child” Principle as mentioned in Sec. 28(2) of the Constitution, being ‘paramount importance’ in consideration of Child Rights observed that, “Section 28(2) requires that a child’s best interests have paramount importance in every matter concerning the child. The plain meaning of the words clearly indicates that the reach of s 28(2) cannot be limited to the rights enumerated in s 28(1) and 28(2) must be interpreted to extend beyond those provisions. It creates a right that is independent of those specified in s 28(1). [Therefore], it will be noted that [it is] a right, and not just a guiding principle. It was with this in mind that this Court in Sonderup referred to section 28(2) as “an expansive guarantee” that a child’s best interests will be paramount in every matter concerning the child”[4] The Court emphasised the duty of the state as pares parentis to take care of child in cases of breakdown of family, by observing that, “No constitutional injunction can in and of itself isolate children from the shocks and perils of harsh family and neighbourhood environments. What the law can do is create conditions to protect children from abuse and maximise opportunities for them to lead productive and happy lives. Thus, even if the State cannot itself repair disrupted family life, it can create positive conditions for repair to take place.”[5] Therefore, if it were to be seen of a Jurisprudence that serves the ‘progressive realization’ of Rights of ‘Constitutional Child’, the true ‘Constitutional Homage’ must be paid to the South African Jurisprudence which has recognized the ‘positive enumeration’ in constitution not merely as directive principles’ but as ‘a guaranteed and enforceable right’ of the Children, making it as ‘basic norm’ of its dignity jurisprudence in regard to the Child & its Childhood, that respect the “inherent worth of Child as a Child itself”. References [1] CCT 53/06 [2007] ZACC 18 [2] CCT 12/13 [2013] ZACC 35 [3] Supra, note 1 [4] Supra, Note 1 [5] Ibid. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

Himanshu Raj, 3rd Year Student at Chanakya National Law University, Patna INTRODUCTION India is the second-most populous country in the world with rich cultural diversity is going through social and economical changes. Since the country is going through the development phase so certain things are changing and here for the law also. Law in India primarily evolved from customary practices and religious prescription to the modern well codified acts and laws based on a constitution. In India, we consider the child as minor until he/she crosses the age of 18. Under the majority act of 1875 certain limitations shall be there with children like they cannot enter into a contract, cannot legally separate from the parents. After attaining the age of majority they are allowed to live their life as they wish. For the last few years, there is constant discussion and debates held on this topic that whether children should be allowed living as per their choice or not. For that here we discuss the Emancipation, as per the Cambridge Dictionary meaning of this word is that to give people social or political freedom and rights. For example, in the US minors have some rights to consent to medical procedures without parental consent or emancipation, under the doctrine of the mature minor[1] POSSIBILITY OF MINOR EMANCIPATION AND ITS RELATED LAWS IN INDIA As already stated India is a country of cultural diversity and people living here are of a different mindset. The very rationale behind putting the children below the age of 18 under minor is they have not attained a sufficient level of maturity. This clearly signifies that the Indian legal system has the view that these children below the age of 18 years are not in the capacity to think what is right and what is wrong. The scenario is different in other foreign countries, their law gives the right to the children that they can legally separate from their parents, that is they can be divorce their parents. This means that many foreign countries recognize minor emancipation laws valid. We have seen that the durability of marriages in foreign countries is often less and due to this child equally suffers. Emancipation laws give them the right to choose their own life and avoid these unwanted situations. Indians are considered to be deeply rooted in their values and tradition. We show responsibilities towards our marriage, children, and other social causes. Children in India receive better parental care than most of the countries. In India the parents have some responsibilities over their child, they should provide them with good health, education, morality. This is indicative of the fact that the situation of children and their childhood is much better than in many countries. This is the primary reason why still India is not needed for emancipation laws. This law may create chaos in the country since people living here are of different mindsets and ideologies. Further, we have an ample number of laws that ensure freedom and give the right to live with dignity. Many jurists have pointed out that there is no need for Emancipation laws if we already have provisions like Article 21 and 19. POSITIVE ASPECTS OF MINOR EMANCIPATION AND ITS RELATED LAWS We have discussed how this type of law is not needed in India and creates a chaotic situation but we cannot ignore their positive aspects. Being a sovereign nation we have always promoted individual liberty and choice. The Constitution of India clearly lays some provision that ensures these things in society. Supreme Court has also in many judgments upheld the individual choice. At the time when the Emancipation becomes legal for the minor, they can make their own decisions irrespective of their parent's view, they can make their own decisions.[2] It is unfortunate that most of the legislations related to children are only in paper and never put into due and proper implementation. We have to understand that in certain cases emancipation laws are required. For example, the children of the prisoners are made to live in the prisons along with the father or mother. The condition of the children admitted in Homes is more pathetic since either the Authorities or the Superintendent of the Home misuse the children for perverse body requirements.[3] The Government is always under the apprehension that any changes in these legislations should not lead to easing human trafficking. Hence the date is too far for emancipation law coming to our country. Thank you for your interest in the children. In many cases, we have seen that due to extra pressure children at very young age gains sufficient level of maturity and understanding. We cannot ignore the fact that many children lost their parents or in any case forced to live under guardianship, aren't receiving good parental care. But due to the laws, they are forced to live under the guardianship. This minor law of emancipation will ensure their freedom and right to choose life as per their wish. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS After throughout the study we may come to the conclusion that In India emancipation laws are not required right now but we cannot disagree from the point that in certain cases it provides liberty, choice, and freedom. We have seen that in many cases where children are kept in guardianship or in prison along with his mother/father, they cannot receive good parental care. If emancipation law comes into force, this will provide the freedom to love the way of life as per their wish. From this, we may conclude that emancipation laws are required in certain cases and it will be provided only be testing the reasonableness of that child. In India where we always promote individual liberty, we should also come up with the provisions of minor emancipation laws for certain exceptional cases. References [1]Legal issues in pediatrics and adolescent medicine by Angela Roddey Holder, Yale University Press, 1985, page 133 [2]Knapp, Victor (1983). International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law, Chapter 3. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 42. ISBN 9024727871. Retrieved 11 February 2018. [3] J. Anderson, Sailing Alone: Teenage Autonomy and Regimes of Childhood, 31 L. PHIL, 522, 524 (2012). (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Shantanu Dixit, Student at National Law University, Nagpur “Our greatest glory is not in never falling – But in rising every time we fall” - Confucious INTRODUCTION With the world in lockdown, for the same, being at home is as dangerous as being outside. Along with its immediate health risks, COVID-19 has brought with it many uncertainties & some challenging lifestyle changes. The upsurge in the cases of domestic violence is being the most detrimental element. It does not discriminate. It takes place inside all ranges, ethnic backgrounds & monetary levels. Moreover, the shelter-in-place orders, loss of lives & market volatility have led to elevated anxiety levels for many of us. Amid the turmoil, however, this unexpected shelter-in-place lifestyle has also produced a silver lining. It has given many of us something we have lacked for years. With social activities on hold, student’s home from school & for many, a commute just down the hall to the office, COVID-19 offers a unique opportunity, the time to focus on our familial commitments, culture & vision, and at the same time to strengthen them. COVID-19: BLESSING IN DISGUISE While this time of shelter-in-place orders due to COVID-19 can pose challenges to families now confined together in closed quarters, this current crisis presents families with a unique opportunity: to slow down, spend quality time together & strengthen family bonds. Going from a scheduled jam-packed with practices, games, performances & playdates to a seemingly unending day, “stuck at home” in fact offers families a precious commodity; time to kids and even grandparents, are all under the same roof, round-the-clock. And this enforced togetherness can deepen the relationship for years to come. Further people & families when faced with a global crisis & especially one of this scale, tend to respond by orienting themselves in a less-centered way & in a more family-centric way. In the ‘Make Space for Life’ survey conducted by Godrej Interio, it was found that 56.7% of the respondents rated their work-life balance as terrible. But, the lockdown has slowly changed that, with more & more people making use of the time to improve their relationship with not just immediate family, but also re-establishing bonds with other relatives. An analysis by the economist conducted in 11 countries found that the average mother spent 104 minutes a day with their children while fathers spent an average of 59 minutes. The survey had pointed to 34% of respondents feeling guilty at not having enough time to dedicate to their children, citing their successful careers as a reason. However, staying-in at home has helped them refocus & indulge in several activities along with their children. The lockdown is also helping in breaking down gender roles: the roles have now been reversed in households- men are now venturing to the kitchen to make meals for their kids. WAYS TO CEMENT RELATIONSHIPS & BRING FAMILIES TOGETHER Create or revise your cornerstone statement. Help your children developing budgeting skills. Staying connected with others during physical distancing. Share your investing experience with family members. Talk about challenges & brainstorm ways to address them. Further, bringing back the family dinner, cooking together, reading together is also an easier means to foster healthy family relationships. PANDEMIC WITHIN A PANDEMIC Domestic Violence is violence or other abuse in a domestic setting, which includes marriage or cohabitation. Domestic Violence is frequently used as a synonym for intimate accomplice violence, which is committed by a partner or accomplice in an intimate relationship in opposition to the alternative partner or companion & can take place in heterosexual or same-intercourse relationships or among former spouses or partners. In its broadest sense, domestic violence also entails violence towards children, parents, or the elderly. The entire world is suffering from pandemic i.e. COVID-19 whereas there exists pandemic within a pandemic & it is though not much talked about & being covert is the Domestic Violence. It is on an upsurge, wrecking catastrophe in the lives of women. On one hand, healthcare & economy are being addressed while on the other side the other issue of domestic violence is going unaddressed. The lockdown has resulted in women fighting two battles i.e. one with the virus & other with their abusive spouses, and while the former may have the culmination eventually the gender-based atrocities seem ever-lasting. Recent statistics related through the NALSA endorse that the nationwide lockdown has caused an expeditious climb in cases of domestic violence. The data, which is categorized in step with instances in different states advocate that the Uttarakhand recorded the maximum number of domestic violence cases in the last two months of lockdown following Haryana & Delhi. Further National Commission for Women (NCW), which receives complaints of domestic violence cases from across the country, recorded a more than twofold rise in gender-based violence during the initial lockdown-period. According to the data on the official website of the NCW, 587 complaints are filed from 23/03/2020 to 16/04/2020. The situation of increase in cases of domestic violence is not restricted to only India. According to UN reports, in Lebanon & Malaysia have seen the number of calls to women helplines just double compared with the same month last year. In China, the number of calls is tripled to the number of calls before the lockdown. Domestic violence rates have surged in France & South Africa, as per the “Voice of America”. In South Africa, there are 90,000 cases of domestic violence in the first week of lockdown. In Spain, the emergency helpline number for domestic violence received 18% more calls. PROBABLE CAUSES FOR THE UPTHRUST IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES There are numerous aspects to this sudden rise in the number. Some of them are: Disparate Workload: There is curtailment within the workload for working males because of the “work from home” system & subsequently the workload on females has increased. They need to control all the household work & professional work. It frequently results in an elevated level of strain among females & subsequently ends in more arguments & fights between spouses. Lack of Income: This is one of the critical elements for eagerness & depression among men. This pandemic has cost people their jobs. Mostly the workers indulged in small scale industries & private workers have lost their jobs. The detrimental economic condition leads to agitation & frustration, of which women & children become the victim. Lack of resources: Because of the lockdown, there are uncounted cases which are not even reported like if a woman from the rural area where she doesn’t know about the NCW or if they are aware of this but they don’t know how to deal with the procedure & they are still surviving with the infected opportunistic virus (domestic violence) without informing to anyone. CHECKS & BALANCES BY THE GOVERNMENT To curb the brunt of this turmoil inside the houses following measures has been taken: One-Stop center scheme: Ministry of Women and Child Development have created one-stop centers in various states to safeguard the women undergoing abuse, torture, or any form of physical or mental harassment. The sufferers can also contact the authorities through toll-free-number. “181”. The NCW has also recently launched a WhatsApp Number “7217735372” apart from a helpline & email option. Suppress Corona not your voice: This is initiated by the U.P. government to spread the awareness that wearing masks is of paramount importance but, it is equally important to raise your voice against any injustice. Victims can dial the helpline number “112” in case of any complaints. Mpower 1on1: This is a helpline in Mumbai to report domestic abuse. The government of Maharashtra has tied up with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to launch a toll-free helpline number. CONCLUSION To sum up, there are many factors due to which domestic violence has increased. These factors have pestered the common Indian men to the core. They opted out to vent their irritation & frustration in the form of domestic violence. The scare of domestic violence has increased because of the lockdown & above-mentioned factors. But, the lockdown has only engraved the issue which has already very prevalent in our country because of the patriarchal society in which we live & the entitlement that men feel they have over women. The fight with coronavirus is a tough one & so is the fight with patriarchy. But at the same time, this can act as a blessing in disguise as the virus is slowing us all down & hence we should use this time wisely with our family. Indulging in conversations with parents and sharing things with them. Provide engaging age-appropriate activities. Daily reading time can be a time for parents & kids to both have quiet time to read & relax. Be sure to PLAY & have FUN! & as a result not only this would strengthen the bond but also act as a weapon for all sorts of violence. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Asma Praveen, 4th Year Student at Glocal Law School, Glocal University, Saharanpur In this article, the author will discuss the rights of a child in different jurisdictions along with the implementation of International Treaties relating to children and the domestic laws for safeguarding the rights of children in Australia, China, Japan, and India. INTRODUCTION Australia The Constitution of Australia is federal in nature. The power is divided amongst the legislative, executive, and judiciary and distributed between the federal government and 6 states and 2 internal self-governing territories and some external territories. Apart from the self internal governing territories, external territories are governed by the federal government. Age of majority- The age of majority under Australian law is 18 years as per the Age of Majority Act, 1980. China China is a socialist country. The ruling government in China is the People’s Republic of China(PRC). The PRC Constitution provides for the state protection of children and provides for the state protection of children and prohibits the maltreatment of children. Age of majority- Under the law of the People’s Republic of China on Protection of minors, “minors” are defined as citizens less than eighteen years old. Japan Japan has a constitutional monarchy system. There is also a separation of power between legislative, executive, and judiciary. Japan has many legislative concerning children's rights, including child health and social welfare, child education, child labour and exploitation, the sale and trafficking of children, and juvenile justice. India India has a quasi-federal Constitution and the Constitution of India provides numerous rights for the children. Other than the constitutional provisions, India adopted a National Policy for Children in 1974, declaring children to be the nation’s most precious asset. Hence, from the Fourth Five-Year Plan onwards, perhaps a little earlier than that, children have certainly found mention in national development plans, but insufficient attention in terms of investment. In the wake of the 1990 World Summit for Children, the Government of India adopted a National Plan of Action for Children in 1992, with goals for the decade. In the year 1992 itself, it also ratified the CRC and thereafter in its Periodic Country Reports submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has dwelled at length about the measures taken for ensuring children’s rights. RECOGNITION OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES SPECIFICALLY DEALING WITH CHILDREN Australia Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1987. Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption (The Hague, 29 May 1993). [1998] ATS 21. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations. [2002] ATS 2 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict [2006] ATS 12. Protocol to Amend the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children of 30 September 1921, and the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women of Full Age, 1933, [1947] ATS 17. Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in respect to Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (under the auspices of the Hague Convention) [2003] ATS 19. International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children, 1921. [1922] ATS 10. Convention on the Rights of the Child [1991] ATS 4. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography [2007] ATS 6. Protocol To Prevent, Suppress And Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women And Children, Supplementing The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime 2000 [2005] ATS 27. The aforementioned International Treaties throw light upon the International Obligations which Australia has taken for protection of interests of child. These International Conventions serve as the guiding light for the Australian Judicial System in interpreting laws in consonance with the rights of the child. China U.N. Convention on Rights of the Child 1989 (CRC). It came into force in China from April 1, 1992 onwards. Optional Protocol to the Convention on Rights of Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography 2000. It Came into force in China from January 3, 2003 onwards. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966. It was notified to be applicable in China on June 27, 2001. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 1979 (CEDAW). It is applicable in China since December 3, 1981. The Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. This convention is also known as Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, it was adopted by the International Labour Organization in 1999 as ILO Convention No 182. It is one of eight ILO fundamental conventions and it applicable in China from August 8, 2003. The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption 1993. Receipt of Instrument: September 16, 2005. Japan Japan has ratified the following conventions: The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (CRC).[1] The Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.[2] The Optional Protocol to the CRC on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.[3] The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[4] The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.[5] The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.[6] The Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.[7] The Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment.[8] India Conventions on the Rights of the child, 1989. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 1979. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, 2007. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[9] The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.[10] DOMESTIC LAWS Australia Family law- In Australia, family law courts consider the “best interests of the child”, while deciding cases relating to children. General access to health care- Children may be able to give consent to medical procedures. Children have a right to access health care via Australian’s Universal health insurance programme. Education- Governing education legislations are as follows- Education Act, 2004; Education Regulations, 2005. No child can be discriminated against on the basis of disability under the Disability Discrimination Act, 1992. Employment of Children- In Australia, the minimum age of employment of child is varied across the laws of state and territory. Children within Australian Defence Force (ADF)- 17 years is the minimum age for the recruitment of ADF. Juvenile Justice- Standard age for criminal responsibility in all Australian jurisdictions is 10 years of age. Between the age of 10-14 years, the crime done by any child will be considered as a doli incapax ( unable to form any criminal intent necessary to be guilty of crime). Sale and trafficking of children- Offences against children are crime by both federal and state and territory laws. China PRC Law on Maternal and Infant Health Care- Primary law governing child health in china is the PRC Law on Maternal and Infant Health (effective from June 1, 1995). According to Article 2 of the Maternal and Infant Health Law 1994, it is the duty of the State to provide all the necessary aid to the mother in order to ensure infant health. Education- Education is compulsory in China as per the Compulsory Education Law. It codified the right to free and compulsory education until the age of nine years of children. Special education for disabled children- PRC law on Compulsory Education, article 19 provide special education for disabled children, it is the duty of the state to provide and promote such an institution. Correctional Education and work-study schools- Article 21 and 22 of the PRC, directs state government to establish special schools for children “who perpetrate serious misbehaviours” as specified in The Law on Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Prevention Law) as a part of the compulsory education. Child labour and exploitation- Child labour is prohibited in China and the minimum age of working is sixteen in China. Article 15 of labour laws prohibit an employer to recruit minors under the age of sixteen. Sale and Trafficking of children- The PRC Criminal Law is an active law related to the sales and trafficking of children and contain a heavier penalty for committing such offence. Child pornography- There is no specific law in China regulating child pornography only distributing pornography to minors is punishable. Juvenile Justice- The age for criminal liability under the PRC Criminal is sixteen years. The Minor Protection Law requires the judiciary to protect Minors’ right during judicial proceedings. Japan Child health and social welfare- There are various laws governing the child health and social welfare and these are, National Health Insurance Law (Law no. 192 of 1958), Employee Health Insurance law (Law no. 70 of 1922), and Mother and Child Law (Law no. 141 of 1965). Education- Article 26 of the Constitution of Japan guarantees children’s’ right to an education. The right to education is also guaranteed for children with disabilities. Child Labour and Exploitation- Japan Constitution prohibits child exploitation. The labour standards law has provided to protect child labour. No child below 13 years of age can allow working in any factory or industry. Sales and trafficking of children- There are several laws that punish or provide measures to prevent the sexual exploitation of children and trafficking of the children. Juvenile Justice- If an offence is committed by any person below the age of 20 years, he/she will be treated under Juvenile law and not as per Criminal Procedure law. There is a separate procedure for children punishable of any offence. India Child health and social welfare- India has many domestic laws on child health and social welfare and these are the Women’s and Children’s (Licensing) Act, 1956, National Policy for Children, 1974, Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, Child Marriage (Restraint) Act, 1929 (Amended 1979 and National Health Policy, 2002. Education- The Constitution of India guarantees free and compulsory education to six to fourteen years children apart from it India has National Policy on Education, 1986. (New Policy on Education drafted in 2020). Child Labour and Exploitation- Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, National Policy on Child Labour, 1987, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 are some of the laws in India against child labour and exploitation. Sales and Trafficking of children- Immoral Traffic (Prevention)Act (Amended in 1986), 1956. is the regulating law in India related to the sales and trafficking of children. Juvenile Justice- Juveniles have a different procedure in India they are regulated under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. CONCLUSION If we compare all the four countries' child-specific laws than we can say that all the countries have concern for children as can be seen from their International Obligations and the domestic laws, but despite that, the countries are facing serious issues in the implementation of the same. However, there are also examples of how this international law and its domestic counterparts have also helped in gradually improving the conditions of the children, for example, youngsters in Australia have access to high-quality college education and health services. Most of them sleep in safe and nurturing homes. The community and society also take active steps to improve the opportunities for youngsters. Nevertheless 20 years after Australia signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, there is still a significant number of vulnerable youngsters and children who don’t have access to the same set of facilities. Children experiencing condition or psychological state problems, youngsters with disabilities, youngsters living in out-of-home care, youngsters in immigration detention, and youngsters need explicit help to create positive the area of their rights unit protected. But it appears that Japan maintains a comprehensive system to protect children’s rights. If we come to China, Chinese children do not fully enjoy their rights as the country doesn’t have substantive democracy where people are able to enjoy civil liberties, even though progress has been made in recent years. The trafficking of children in Japan is much high, there are differences between different regions in health and education facilities for children, many areas still remain problematic. When we talk about India, it has also a comprehensive law to deal with the children’s right, but the reality is something different, and proper implementation of laws is required and more efforts by the Governments to create better infrastructure. The New Education Policy of India can also help in making better and informed children in their formative years by making more use of mother tongue in teaching and giving more choices to students to study as per their interests during teenage. References [1] Convention on the Rights of the Child, Treaty No. 2 of 1994 [2] Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Treaty No. 2 of 2005. [3] Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, Treaty No. 10 of 2004 [4] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Treaty No. 7 of 1979. [5] International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Treaty No. 6 of 1979 [6] Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, Treaty No. 26 of 1985. [7] Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, Treaty No 182 of 2001. [8] Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, Treaty No. 5 of 2000. [9] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Treaty No. 7 of 1979. [10] International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Treaty No. 6 of 1979 (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Sakshi Kathuria, 2nd Year, Student at School of Law, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Bengaluru and Dhriti Bole, 2nd Year, Student at School of Law, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Bengaluru INTRODUCTION Child custody alludes to the legitimate connection between parents, and their child. Custody entitles the parent the right to raise, care for, and settle on choices concerning the child. The issue of 'Child Custody' manifests during divorce procedures or judicial separation; it turns into a significant problem to be decided upon by the courts. It alludes towards controlling, mindful, and upkeep of the child under 18 years old by the custodial parent under set boundaries, such as monetary security, understanding with the child, way of life, and so forth. In India, at present, the custody of children is determined by one secular law and various other religious laws - the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, and the Hindu Law.[1] Guardianship implies abundant rights and powers that an adult has concerning the individual and the property of a minor, while custody is a smaller idea regarding the upkeep, and everyday care, and control of the minor. The term "custody" is not elucidated in any Indian statutes. TYPES OF CHILD CUSTODY Physical Custody: Physical custody signifies to the right of one parent to reside and take care of the child. Sole Custody: Sole custody is a child custody arrangement, whereby one parent has the legal and physical custody of a child, while the other parent has only visitation rights. Joint Custody: In the case of joint custody,[2] both the parents get the physical custody of the child in periodic intervals. Thus, both the parents, have equal rights to the child, and they also share equal parenting time. Legal Custody: Legal custody differs from physical custody in the sense that one parent is given the right to take important decisions of the child, such as education, medical facilities, etc. However, both the parents can be given the legal custody of the child. Interim Custody / Temporary Custody: The court by the virtue of section 12 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, can pass orders for temporary custody and protection of the person or property of the minor. The paramount condition of deciding on child custody cases is the welfare of the child and the same holds true in the temporary custody or interim custody cases the section 12 of the aforesaid act empowers the court to pronounce any orders as it may deem fit. WHY MEDIATION? The introduction of Section 89 (1) of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, conferred the Indian Judicial system the framework to use several alternative modes of dispute resolution, amongst it is mediation. S.89(1) states that “Where it appears to the court that there exist elements of a settlement which may be acceptable to the parties, the court shall formulate the terms of the settlement and give them to the parties for their observations and after receiving the observations of the parties, the court may reformulate the terms of a possible settlement and refer the same for arbitration; conciliation; judicial settlement including settlement through Lok Adalat; mediation.” The laws, because of being poorly drafted raised many questions on its constitutional validity but in Salem Advocate Bar Association v. Union of India,[3] the Supreme Court held that S.89 was constitutionally valid and established a committee which was mainly involved in drafting rules on mediation. Later, on 9th April 2005, the CJI R. C. Lahoti J. initiated the establishment of the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC) for the cordial resolution of the disputes pending in the matter of section 89 of the aforenamed act. The mediator simplifies negotiations and communications between the parties and untangles their underlying interests while helping them reach a zone of viable agreement. An essential feature of mediation is, it is confidential, which implies any particulars of the mediation process can not be used in the judicial or quasi-judicial forums, they also cannot unravel any information, documentation, proposals, and anything conferred with the mediator or the other side. Mediation is emphasized upon, to these disputes because the parents can minutely orchestrate their child’s life post-separation. MEDIATION IN CHILD CUSTODY Section 9 of the Family Court Act, 1984, makes it obligatory for the parties to first resolve their marital dispute through mediation. In the case of K. Srinivas Rao vs. D.A. Deepa[4], the apex court held that mediation is the sine qua non before filing for divorce. It was reasoned that: The marital dispute matters are sometimes trivial and can be resolved through mediation. The court based its reasoning on the fact that it has earlier referred various cases to mediation and about 10 to 15% of the marital disputes got settled by this form of dispute resolution. They, therefore, made it mandatory for the Family Courts or the courts of the first instance to refer such disputes to mediation at their preliminary stages, particularly those relating to child custody, maintenance, etc. Section 9 of the Family Court Act urges the courts to try to settle these disputes and, in their efforts, they are assisted by the counselors and mediators who are specifically trained to settle such disputes. Mediated agreements are valuable to children as it reduces clashes and creates an understanding explicitly favoring a child’s needs. It circumvents resentment between the parents as both would be heard and will form a common ground. THE PREDICAMENT OF CHILD DURING CUSTODY BATTLES Parental child abduction: Indian courts have shown noteworthy irregularity in upholding foreign court orders in childcare matters. The purpose of this is India comes up short on an enactment to direct parental child expulsion. The Government tried to fill this legitimate space by impractically presenting the Protection of Children (Inter-country Removal and Retention) Bill, 2016 that has lapsed. Parental child abduction[5] alludes to the child kidnapping by a parent from other parent's consideration. Parental child abduction happens during the course or after separation procedures. A parent expels or holds the child from the other trying to increase a bit of leeway in expected or pending child custody procedures, or because that parent fears losing the child in those uncertain child authority procedures. An individual submits to child kidnapping when they purposefully disregard any terms of a legitimate court request giving sole or joint care to another, hiding or keeping the child or expelling the child from the ward of court. Children may feel compelled to choose sides or may hear one parent speaking disparagingly about the other parent, creating turmoil and dread. Emotional stress: In India, the marriage is not merely between two individuals, it’s between two families, and the most noticeably awful influenced casualties of separation are presumably the children. The ruinous circumstance for a child is observing the separation of their parents. Witnessing the conflicts and unrest between the parents is an appalling condition for the child. The child, when asked for choosing among his parents, he often ends up feeling guilty and confused. Eventually, children sometimes endure agony while being in the middle of a loyalty contest a.k.a. Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). This syndrome was first recognized in India in Vivek Singh vs. Romani Singh.[6] Parental Alienation Syndrome is generally characterized by a sense of hatred, guilt, and antagonism towards the alienated parent. CONCLUSION Now it is the need of the hour that a more child-focused approach to child custody determination is required. The concept of the child custody system is changing all around the globe. To ascertain the custody, the well-being of the child is of supreme regard. In foreign countries the notion of a shared parenting system is ubiquitous. In this concept both the parents will participate in the upbringing of the child and the child will be nourished and raised with the love and care of both the parents and will not have to suffer the emotional mayhem. There is no straitjacket formula that can be applied universally to all cases of custody, India needs a new law in this regard. The 257th Law Commission of Report appraised the issue of adopting a shared parenting system in India. There is too much left to the discretion and wisdom of the court to determine the best interest of the child in each case relating to custody of the child. Accordingly, the Law Commission of India rightly observed that joint custody must be provided as an option that a decision-maker can award if the decision-maker is convinced that it shall further the welfare of the child along with the proposed amendment. References [1]Ramesh Tukaram Gadhwe v. Sumanbai Wamanrao Gondkar, 2007 SCC OnLine Bom 975 [2]KM Vinaya v. B Srinivas, MFA No. 1729/2011 [3]AIR 2003 SC 189 [4](2013) 5 SCC 226 [5]Nithya Anand Raghavan v. State (NCT of Delhi) (2017) 8 SCC 454. [6](2017) 3 SCC 231 (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Shashank Kumar Kashyap, a 3rd Year B.A.Ll.B.(H) student at University Law College, Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh -825301 INTRODUCTION The plight of women and children is one of the major issues of the nation. The growth of a nation sans development of women and children is nothing but a myth. Especially when it comes to those children who are indigent and have no family to look after them, it becomes essential to bring them in the mainstream to settle their precious life that shall ultimately contribute towards the nation’s growth. The women face umpteen problems in their life. The women are left abandoned because they are harshly stigmatised by society and many more reasons that could ever be imagined. Once they are brought in mainstream and given an opportunity, they would also get a chance to prove their capabilities. Women and children are the elixirs of society, but unfortunately, they have suffered for ages, and they still are. Being extremely vulnerable to violence, exploitation, and abuse, they are required to be protected with the utmost care. PROBLEMS RELATED TO WOMEN AND CHILDREN The protection of women and children is one of the cardinal tasks of a nation. And, India is a country that has taken effective steps towards attaining this object. Undoubtedly, there are numerous issues related to this. Before dealing with those issues, it is significant to understand the importance of the protection of children and women. All children are vulnerable by virtue of their age and so can be easily exposed to harm, injuries, violence, and exploitation. Child Protection is any measure or initiative that addresses or prevents children from situations of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Child Protection must ensure that no child falls out of the social security and safety net, and those who do, receive necessary care and protection to be brought back into the safety net.[1] It must be taken in the note that a child is protected when he is taken care of and not when left neglected. He must not encounter any discrimination that may have a long-lasting effect on his mental as well as physical health. If such things happen, then that would be counterproductive in his formative years. Moreover, there are undesirable issues that an orphan kid is exposed to; he is faced with irreparable tangible damages. It is extremely challenging to provide a house to an orphan kid for parental care that too suitably and in accordance with the wish of a child. Taking steps towards the benefit of an orphan kid, it is the concept of “Welfare of child is paramount” that prevails and is of prime consideration. Though, there are apprehensions that the child may react in hostility if not given in the family of his wish, notwithstanding the fact that the family is most suitable for his welfare. It may be said that there is no straight-jacket formula for the welfare of a child as human psychology differs and so their reactions towards different situations of life. This may lead the child to go out of the socially accepted ways and incur delinquency. So, this must be dealt with very carefully. There is a rampant increase in the number of cases of child abuse lately. This issue is major because of the fact that a child does not have that standard of understanding during his/her early age and, in the absence of proper parental care and negligence, may fall prey to physical, mental, or sexual abuse.[2] Furthermore, a child with special abilities may get ill-treated by the people and remains deprived of liberty and is at high risk of getting hurt, eventually. This disparity is so disastrous that could mould and shape the mindset of the child on a very negative note. The other issue related thereto is lack of education. There are children completely bereft of education and primary care. Every child has a right to an education that is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of India under Article 21A. The problems of women are quite disconsolate and exasperating and so must be addressed and discussed extensively. They have been into unending suffering since ages, irrespective of the fact that they have played a vital role in the development of the nation. They are the ones who have always been taken for granted by the society assuming the work done by them as a mere duty or tasks of no importance and so never got acknowledged for the same. There are endless reasons behind such thought processes, but a patriarchal mindset is a significant reason amongst all. The mindset of people have gone obsolete and requires to undergo a complete metamorphosis. Evidently, women are faced with discrimination based on gender even at their workplace, where they are provided with remuneration according to their capabilities and caliber and are still doubted on. Besides, women face myriad challenges in every walk of life. Under IPC, crimes against women include rape, molestation, kidnapping, abduction, dowry deaths, sexual harassment, etc. The issue is that the punishment of such heinous crimes must be adequate and commensurate to have a deterrent effect on the public at large. The cases of these gruesome offences must be tried apace so as to deliver justice as earliest as possible. But most of these cases go unreported, getting the culprit acquitted due to lack of evidence resulting in low conviction rate.[3] There are incidents of domestic violence and dowry deaths that is increasing at an alarming rate. These incidents are needed to be curbed and could be only curbed with the joint and collective efforts of the people. STEPS TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT FOR PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN It will not be out of place to mention that in India to shield the interest of women and children, there are numerous legislations in consonance with it. It has firmly been assured through these laws that the interests of women and children remain intact. Moreover, there are laws so stringent for the very same purpose. It ensures that no man or body assumes an unbridled authority over women or children. Neither are they left upon on the benevolence of the society that is with it because these uncertainties are the critical cause of the exploitation of women and children. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has been administering various special laws relating to women such as ‘The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005’, ‘The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961’, ‘The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986’, ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013’, and ‘The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006’. India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Right of Child (UNCRC) since 1992. In adherence to its commitment to ensuring child rights, the Government has framed the National Policy for Children 2013 and National Plan of Action 2016. It has also framed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and The Commissions for Protection of Child Right (CPCR) Act, 2005.[4] It must be taken note that there stand many reasons for the enactment of these laws, but enforcement of these laws requires strict compliance from the public at large. The change has to be brought in the thought process of the people at ground level. The cognitive faculties of the people must be enlightened with the lessons of righteousness and universal acceptance that is the concept propounded by India itself. This enlightenment should be done so much so that the people themselves start standing against the atrocities against women and children. And, once the conscience of the people gets moved in that way, then major impediments would automatically get eradicated. Moreover, the Supreme Court of India has passed a significant judgment that is, of course, expedient in reducing the gender inequality wherein it is held that a daughter will have a share after the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, irrespective of whether her father was alive or not at the time of the amendment.[5] This is a landmark judgment that has paved way towards equality. CONCLUSION The government aims to curb arbitrariness towards women and children and eliminate disparities. And, the necessary steps have been prompted towards achieving the same. Moreover, the need of the hour is to instill the significance of awareness in people so that it helps them growing up as an individual. The idea is to have a sound implementation mechanism to curb the problems and that it is possible only when the people are willing to bring about a change in that regard. The modus operandi of dealing with such matters must get updated periodically to assuage the current demands. Hence, working on the problems positively shall give a healthy outcome. References [1] Child Protection. [2] Meaning of abuse. [3] Crimes against women. [4] Protection of women and child rights. [5] Rights of daughters. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By - Vinayak Uniyal, a 3rd year BA LLB student at Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies INTRODUCTION According to the 2011 population census of India, the total 'child' population, i.e., a person who has not completed his fourteen years of age[1], was registered 259.6 million. Of these, approximately 3.9% of the total child population was part of the working force in India[2]. Shocking as it sounds, even after 70 years of independence, India still faces the problem of Child Labour, which has been defined by the International Labour Organization as "work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development." CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA Child Labour can be considered as one of the most ignored social wrongs in India. Children of varied ages are seen begging, working as waiters and dishwashers, or unwillingly helping their family in the business. Article 24 of the Constitution of India states that "No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engage in any other hazardous employment." While it does aim at ensuring the child's safety, their mental health is mostly ignored in our country. Thus, let's first examine the reasons for child labour in India. REASONS FOR CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA Poverty Even though India is the fastest developing economy in the world, poverty forces a lot of evils on the children. The poor parents send their children to work instead of schools to add a little more money to the jar. Extreme poverty, lack of opportunity for gainful employment, and intermittency of income, and low standards of living are the main reasons for the wide prevalence of child labour, depriving them of proper wholesome development and education. This, in turn, causes lifelong poverty to the child. According to the data released by the RBI in the year 2018, the total percentage of people below the poverty line, when the base MRP consumption was taken of the year 2011-12, was 21.92%[3]. Population Just like India's poverty, India's population is something that isn't hidden from the world at large. Out of the two, only one is going down. While large families pose a responsibility, contrary to popular belief, incidents of child labour are higher in nuclear families. Given the fact, the information has been gathered through respondent child workers and observed that nuclear families are producing higher numbers of children to supplement the income of the family. Illiteracy Education, crucial to eliminate any evil, and child labour have an inverse relationship with each other. The higher the literacy rate of a place, the lesser child labourers are found there. The results of the 2011 census reveal that Bihar, with a literacy rate of 63.82%, ranks last in the country, preceded by Arunachal Pradesh (66.95%) and Rajasthan (67.06%).5 While 45% of child labourers in Bihar are illiterate, in Rajasthan and Jharkhand the figure stands at 40%. Cheap Labour No matter how much one tries to ignore the fact, but the truth is that child labour is indeed demanded. According to a report published by the ILO, "the decline was more visible in rural areas, while the number of child workers has increased in urban areas, indicating the growing demand for child workers in menial jobs." [4] When asked the reason why it is merely because child labour is cheaper. FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR Child Labour is usually employed for agricultural work, construction, domestic works, factories, brick knells, organized begging, and in the worst-case scenarios, even for slavery and forced prostitution. The International Labour Organization in its 87th session which was held in the year 1999, in Geneva. Adopted Resolution No 182, 'Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999' [5]. Resolution 182 gives a list of activities that have been branded as the worst form of child labour. These include Slavery, Trafficking, Debt Bondage, Serfdom, Sexual Exploitation and trafficking of Drugs, Organized Beggary, Organ Trade, etc.[6] CHILD LABOUR AND THE CONSTITUTION The constitution has numerous provisions for children and their well-being, from Fundamental rights to DPSPs, even Fundamental Duties. During the initial stages of Constitution-making, child labour was a sub-clause of the art. 23 (forced labour). At the Advisory Committee stage, child labour was made into a separate Article of the Constitution – art. 24. The constitution doesn't just provide rights to children; the state has been given guidelines for child welfare under the Directive Principals of State Policy, mentioned in articles 39(e) and (f). Not only just rights and guidelines, but the constitution also states a duty concerning children under Article 51A(k) of the fundamental duties. CHILD LABOUR AND THE LEGISLATION When it comes to legislation prohibiting child labour, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, holds the highest position. This Act repeals the earlier existing, The Employment of Children Act, 1938. The Act regulates the working of children in different fields of work and sets the hours of work that a child is allowed to work for, guidelines as to the health and safety of the children. The Act also contains penal provisions as to the violation of any set rules and guidelines in the Act. Besides the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, there are many other statues having laws related to child labour in India; these are: The Guardian and Wards Act, 1890; (Act No. 8 of 1890) The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933; (Act No. 2 of 1933) The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956; (Act No. 104 of 1956) The Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956; (Act No. 93 of 1956) The Children Act, 1960; (Act No. 60 of 1960) The Apprentice's Act, 1961; (Act No. 52 of 1961) Juvenile Justice Act, 2015; (Act No. 56 of 2015) CHILD LABOUR AND THE JUDICIARY Over the years, the Supreme Court of India has given various judgments on child labour. Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) v. Union of India [7] Unni Krishnan, J.P., And Ors. v. State Of Andhra Pradesh And Ors. [8] M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu [9] M. C. Mehta filed a PIL in the Supreme Court of India, alleging that many children were being employed in several hazardous industries, particularly in the firecracker and matchstick industries in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. The PIL stated, "As of December 1, 1985, there were 221 registered match factories in Sivakasi; these factories employed 27,338 workmen of which 2,941 were children." a bench of Kuldip Singh, B.L. Hansaria, S.B. Majmudar observed, "Taking advice from there, we are of the vision that the affront employer must be the demand to pay compensation for every child employed in violation of the provisions of the Act a sum of Rs. 20,000 and the inspectors, whose arrangement is envisioned by Section 17 to secure consent with provisions of the Act, should do this task. Under Section 17 inspector scheduled to examine that each child employed under violation of this Act, each concerned employer will pay Rs. 20,000 given amount will be deposited in a fund to be known as the "Child Labour Rehabilitation-cum-Welfare Fund."[10] INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS ON CHILD LABOUR Child Labour is a matter of concern for humanity at large. The International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF, along with the governments of the different countries and International NGOs, are continually working to eliminate it. Apart from the UDHR, the United Nations passed the International Convention on the Rights of the Children. [11] Even though India Ratified the CRC on December 11, 1992, India kept individual reservations regarding the provisions relating to Child Labour. India gave a declaration stating, "being aware that it is not practical immediately to prescribe minimum ages for admission to every area of employment in India - the Government of India undertakes to take measures to progressively implement the provisions of article 32, particularly paragraph 2 (a), following its national legislation and relevant international instruments to which it is a State Party." [12] Besides it, India has also ratified ILO Conventions No. 138, The Minimum Age Convention, 1973 and Conventions No. 182, Worst Form of Child Labour Convention 1999. CONCLUSION Child Labour is that social evil, the elimination of which is a necessary step forward for the advancement of the human race, and this could be achieved only through education and awareness. "Today, we know that the number of child labourers has decreased from more than 250 million to 152 million. So a lot has been achieved, but it is not enough. If the world can reach out to Mars, why can't we reach out to every single child who is in danger?" says Kailash Satyarthi. Every child has the right to live his/her life with liberty and peace; every child has the potential to become the next Tendulkar, or Tagore, or Kalam, taking humanity towards a better and brighter future. References [1] S.2 cl.(ii), The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 [2] Fact Sheet: Child Labour in India; by the International labour Organisation [3] Annual Handbook on Statistics of Indian Economy released by RBI [4] Supra Note 2 [5] C-182, Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 1999 [6] Ibid [7] Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) v. Union of India [(1982) 3 SCC 235; AIR 1982 SC 1473] [8] Unni Krishnan, J.P., And Ors. v. State Of Andhra Pradesh And Ors [1993 AIR 2178, 1993 SCR (1) 594] [9] M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu [(1996) 6 SCC 756.] [10] Judicial View on Child Labour [11] General Assembly resolution 44/25 of November 20, 1989 [12] India's accession to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Adrita Bhuyan, a 5th-year B.A.LL.B (Hons) student at National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam. INTRODUCTION Crimes against women and children have increased rapidly despite the presence of legislative precedents. Several attempts have been made to understand and thereby consecutively reduce the increasing rates of crime, but the number of cases reported has not reduced. Though the prime concern is not on the basis of the reported number of crimes because of the fact that cases are reported means that people have an opportunity to avail legal advice, unlike previous instances. As per the crime rate, both heinous and petty have been highest in Delhi, but this data does not cover the crimes conducted by children. With the change in economic structure, family relations, and growing poverty, crimes conducted by children have also increased rapidly. It is often difficult to explain the probable reason behind crimes conducted by children but the best possible reason would be survival. Recently, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO, 2012) was amended with the introduction of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (POCSO), 2019 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on the month of July with several amendments. Most of the amendments were a process to increase the punishments awarded with several offences attached in the previous act especially with the enforcement of the death penalty. It was very pertinently stated by Vivek K. Tankha, Leader of Congress that he is overwhelmed and welcomes the bill but also highlights that stringent provisions will not reduce the incidents. DISCUSSIONS AND DELIBERATIONS After the Nirbhaya case, which questioned the integrity and safety of women around the country, that resulted in various alterations to the criminal laws in India but despite such alterations, the rates of crime have not reduced. Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani had stated that the prime reason for the introduction of the bill is to ensure that justice is delivered to every single child in the country.[1] Though the legislature and the judiciary have attempted to make the justice delivery system systematic and child friendly but at the end of the road, the term justice depends on the interpretation of the parties concerned. The 2019 amendment act has increased punishments for several offences with special importance with the introduction of the death penalty for the utilization of child pornographic that results in aggravated penetrative sexual assault.[2] Apart from this particular provision, there are no provisions which announce the death penalty for any particular offence. Through observations, it can be deduced that the 2019 amendment bill will mainly increase the punishments for offences such as usage of children for pornographic purposes, penetrative sexual assault, sexual assault, and aggravated sexual assault with minimal alterations in the primary text of the document. The legislative discussions on justice delivery could be observed in this particular provision, but it has to noted that the delivery of justice can not be successfully achieved by an increase in punishment awarded. It is necessary that not only the punishment is stringent in the legislation but the basic development of the affected child should be a major concern. A very important aspect that has not been addressed in the legislation is the rehabilitation of affected the child in society after the offence is proved in the court of law. Even after punishment is awarded, the delivery of justice might not be complete as the child has undergone severe mental and physical stress after the incident. Thereby, it is very necessary for the legislators to introduce provisions of rehabilitation of children into society. CHILD PORNOGRAPHIC With the accessibility of internet facilities, the world community has been subjected to heinous crimes against children. In most cases, the victim child is unaware of the impact or the situation at hand. While some countries consider pornography as mere freedom to expression of speech but child pornography is considered illegal in nature. This is mainly related to the age of a minority of a child to be not sensible enough to take a decision on their sexuality. Apart from POCSO, 2012, and 2019 amendment bill, the Information Technology Act, 2000 also deals with child pornography which awards imprisonment up to three years with a fine of five lakh rupees in the first conviction.[3] The punishment increases in the subsequent conviction of the same offence under the provision. In a recent study by the National Human Rights Commission, it was observed that teenage girls are preferred for the purpose of child pornography by the traffickers. Bihar is also on the list of states which has a considerable rate of child pornography. Thereby, while the internet has made livelihood easy for mankind, o the other hand traffickers have been using it for criminal activities. The enactment of legislation with strict punishment might curtain such activities by the traffickers but as per previous observations even after the presence of stringent punishments, the rates o0f crimes against children have not reduced. The 2019 amendment bill introduces the penalisation of the storage of pornographic material for commercial purposes with punishment for 3 years or fine or both in some instances.[4] The bill also added two particular offences in relation to child pornography. Firstly, as per Section 15(1) a person must not fail to delete or destroy or report to the authorities of pornographic material and secondly, there should be an absence of transmission of such material. ANALYSIS Foremost, the definition of development alters according to the convenience and understanding of the parties. Often development differs according to the income and other essential factors such as social structure, legal reformations, etc. Change is the only constant matter in the fast-moving world. Change is the road to development in most cases, though in certain cases change may not be synonymous with development. The POCSO, 2019 suggests several alterations in the punishments for several offences. As per observations, there is no indirect relation between increasing stringent punishments and a decrease in crime rates related to children. The discussion on the functioning and effectiveness of retributive justice has been prevalent since time immemorial. Thereby, as this the accepted form of justice adopted in the majority, our prime responsibility is to ensure that it is a practice to deliver justice to the maximum number of people concerned, so as to reduce the number of offenders in the future. Childhood is the best part of human life. Thereby, legislators have to ensure while formulating legislation that rather it is punishments or reformations should preserve the essence of childhood. References [1]POCSO (Amendment) Bill approved with death penalty provision, News Services Division, All India Radio, 1st August, 2019. [2]Section 6(1), POCSO Bill, 2019 [3]Section 67 of Information, Techonology Act, 2000 [4]Supra 1 (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Hetvi Manoj Gajjar, Student at KES’ Shri. Jayantilal H. Patel Law College Violence is a threat to everyone, but women and children are particularly prone to victimization. It is because they lack proper protection and their rights are often overlooked. Violence has become a grave concern for people at large with costs at multiple levels of society. Some people accept certain types of violence socially or legally which contributes a lot of risk and danger to women and children. Violence dates back to the history of mankind. Several kinds of abuse against women have been described in the ancient epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. India is a patriarchal country, the violence against women and children committed typically by a man. In order to be considered violence against women and children, the act must be committed solely because the victim is female or child. Mostly these acts are committed by men as a result of the constant existence of gender inequalities present in the country. Violence against women in India is more deep-rooted than it may seem, as many expressions of violence are not considered as crimes due to cultural values and beliefs. This shows gender inequality and systematic gender-based discrimination and these reasons contribute in placing India on 122nd rank in Gender Inequality Index with rating of 0.501 in year 2018. The effects of violence can remain with them for a lifetime, and might pass to the next generation. Research shows that children who have witnessed violence probably become victims or abusers. Over the decade, research has documented the growth in such violence yet gaps in the data still remain. Victims of violence have fear of being treated unfairly and publicly disapproved or accused socially and thus they’re often are hesitant to report crimes. The question that come to our mind is, are women and children in India today less safe than they were 10 years ago and where do we stand now, compared a decade ago? Crimes against women almost doubled over the last decade. These crimes were as many as 378,277 in 2018 as compared to 203,804 in 2009. A crime against woman is committed every two minutes in India. The cases categorised as crimes against women include murder, rape, cruelty by husband or his relatives, dowry death, acid attack, suicide abetment, kidnapping and abduction among others. Crime Records Bureau data recorded a jump increase of 85.61% in crime. Crimes against women almost doubled over the last decade. These crimes were as many as 378,277 in 2018 as compared to 203,804 in 2009. A crime against woman is committed every two minutes in India. The cases categorised as crimes against women include murder, rape, cruelty by husband or his relatives, dowry death, acid attack, suicide abetment, kidnapping and abduction among others. Crime Records Bureau data recorded a jump increase of 85.61% in crime. Crimes against children increased almost six times over the last decade. These crimes were 141,764 in 2018 as compared to 24,201 in 2009. As many as 350 crimes are committed every day against children in the country. Crime Records Bureau data revealed a large number of increase in crimes against children over 2009-2018. State-wise details of crime against women and children of 2018 as compared to 2009 as recorded by NCRB are here. Women and children were more vulnerable to crime in 2018. While the overall crime rate in India decreased in 2018, the crime rate against women increased. When the overall crime rate dropped, the rate of crimes against women rose from 17.4 to 58.8 (2009 to 2018), and crime rate against children from 2.1 to 31.8 (2009 to 2018). Crime rate is a better indicator since it takes the size of the population into account. Like, the state of Uttar Pradesh would always have a higher number of crimes likewise its rate of crime is low because of the high population. A higher crime rate may not always indicate poor law and order. There were 3,78,277 cases of crimes against women in 2018, up by 85.61% from 203,804 in 2009. The highest number was in Uttar Pradesh (59,445) followed by Maharashtra (35,497) and West Bengal (30,394) whereas the highest rate of crime against women was in Assam (166) followed by Delhi (149). The majority of crimes against women were under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ (31.9%) followed by ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (27.6%), ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (22.5%) and ‘Rape’ (10.3%). In terms of percentage, crime against children, major crime heads during 2018 were Kidnapping & Abduction (44.2%) and cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (34.7%) including child rape. In India, there is Huge pendency & relatively very low conviction rate in crime against women and children. As per the latest record, in 2016, 18.9% was the lowest conviction rate of the decade rate of crimes against women. Hence, preventing violence against women and children has become a topic of grave importance. Women and children have the right to live violence free and it depends on the protection of their human rights and a strong justicial system. Whilst trying to curb violence, it is important to consider the prime caucses of gender inequality and discrimination. There is proof that conveys that the inequality is substantial in various areas such as women's health, participation in the economy, education levels and representation in politics. There is a desperate need of well ordered and extensive approach that identifies and ensures that the welfare of the women and children is given upmost priority and they are given equal human rights. A culture of equality is to be prioritized for all genders through various reforms, awareness programmes, etc. Thus, there are many laws and guidelines but those do not ensure complete protection of women and children. We should be careful and aware of the fact that women and children are at risk and in danger with gaps in the infrastructure, process and the system as well as people. We together as a nation need to commit to developing a culture of zero tolerance for violence against women and children. #women #children #violenceagainstwomen (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)