The Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has drawn up an action plan, which it has submitted to the State government.
The commission’s main priorities include ensuring safety of the girl child, streamlining child care institutions, and finalising mental health policy for adolescents and children.
Advocate Sushma Mandrekar, the panel’s chairperson, spoke to The Hindu on Wednesday on the sidelines of a function. The commission has shifted its office from the third floor of a building without a lift in the city to an accessible, child-friendly, disabled-friendly premises on the outskirts.
Ms. Mandrekar said, “Our priorities include working on the vulnerabilities of children today, like obsessive mobile use, access to drugs, exploitation of girls of 11-12 age group, loitering on beaches after 7 p.m. Girls, especially from the lower strata of migrant communities, are prone to all kinds of abuse. We are taking on board child rights groups like Child Rights Goa, village panchayat and municipal child right committees.”
The commission is working towards accreditation of non-governmental organisations working within the State in the field of child welfare through accreditation guidelines. She said the purpose of providing accreditation to NGOs is to facilitate their access to work with government-run institutions. It will also enable them to collaborate and work voluntarily with other State departments and local bodies that require or seek their assistance in implementation of welfare schemes, projects or statutory day-to-day functions.
She said, “We have thousands of NGOs in Goa, but we do not know how many actually work for children. Many claim to work, but we do not know their agenda and competence to handle things like victim assistance units and counselling. This accreditation will streamline these aspects and bring standardisation and uniformity of practices.”
To ensure the safety of the girl child, the commission intends to form small committees of school girls to act as a communication bridges between students and the commission. Ms. Mandrekar said, “The school girls in distress can discuss their problems with the committee and the girls from that committee can contact us. There will be suggestion boxes placed in schools which will be cleared every Wednesday and Saturday.”
She has decided to review the existing guidelines of the State Education Department and they will be revised by the commission to include safety and security of girls. Referring to the commission’s advisories to education stakeholders from time to time, she said that it will also pay special attention to online threat games.
The action plan, for instance, says that the commission will put up posters in schools highlighting all the important sections of the Acts related to children, including a helpline number. The number can be used by children and adults to report any incident. Phone numbers of all the members of the commission and the contact numbers of the nearest police station and NGOs will also be included.
On the burning issue of child care institutions (CCI), Ms. Mandrekar said that the commission was active on that front as it was a unique problem in Goa. It will also ensure that State and District teams will inspect CCIs every quarter. Ms. Mandrekar, “You have to understand that this CCI issue is different in other parts of the country and in Goa. In other States they are registered under Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, whereas in Goa they are all registered under Goa Child Rights Act where you have a concept of Children Home. There is a provision that all the institutions having lodging and boarding facility for the children, all the children, not any specific category of children like CNCP (Children in Need of Care and Protection) as provided in the amended JJ Act. Goa has this unique Act. Which takes care of every need of all children, education, health, safety, over all development.”
Speaking about prioritising amendments to Goa Child Rights Act, 2003, the first and only Act in the country, she apprehended that this Act could get converted into a JJ Act. “The amending of the Act is a process going on for long. After compilation of all the suggestions and inputs from stakeholders over amendments, we find that this Act is getting converted into a JJ Act. it should not, it is much more comprehensive, covering rights of all children,” she says.
She said under the guidance of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights(NCPCR), Goa Commission was implementing several reforms. The commission members have been allotted permanent numbers, which will help the public get in touch even after the members complete their term and new members are brought in. This will enable the commission to maintain consistency.
The new premises of the commission has a special room for child counselling, which has been painted in bright colours to make children feel comfortable. The chairperson’s cabin too has been given a child-friendly ambience.