Following the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl living on Chennai’s pavements, when she went to a public toilet two weeks ago, child rights activists point out how vulnerable homeless children are to such crimes and want the strength of the Juvenile Aid Police Unit (JAPU) to be increased.
According to sources, the girl’s mother had gone for work. “The suspects had tracked the girl and knew she was alone, thus they assaulted her,” said an activist.
Activists and police claim that such abuse happens across the city, but are not reported often enough. “With the help of JAPU, a lot of awareness is created. As of now there are close to 20 personnel in the JAPU for the entire city and many of them are also being shifted to other duties. The strength has to be increased so that children can be safer,” the activist added.
Officials from the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNSCPCR) said that though there are night shelters, many children are still found sleeping on platforms.
“They are vulnerable to all kinds of crime. Hence we are taking measures to ensure that they are in shelters at the earliest. This will be done in co-ordination with various departments,” an official said.
Taking count
Meanwhile, the TNSCPCR has taken a census of homeless children in Ambedkar Colony and Ashok Nagar with the help of criminology students from the Agarsen College. “A majority of children here are school dropouts and are roped in to act in films by film agents twice a week,” an official from the commission said.
There are close to 100 children who are either dropouts or are irregular to school. “They are taken in the morning and dropped back home in the evening. They are paid ₹200 and food is also provided,” said Selvi (name changed), a resident of the locality. Children lose interest in school as they get good food and money.
“On days when they don’t have shooting, they bunk school,” she added. Many also stopped going to school due to the indifference shown by teachers.