Child Protection in India: Issues and Policies

The current statistics of crimes against children and violation of child rights in India reflects poorly on the vulnerabilities of children. In India, the increasing trend of crimes especially against children exhibits the highest level of bestiality in the commission of a crime. Therefore, the protection of children from abuse is considered a priority by the world. Also, various initiatives were taken by the Indian Government to lower this increasing crime rate. This paper attempts to analyze and highlight some major legislative initiatives by the Indian Government for the protection of children. The paper discusses the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015, POCSO Act 2012, and CHILDLINE. Besides having the progressive legislation of child protection in India the key approach should be to educate, inform, and empower the families and communities about the existence of these services. Awareness of the legislations and information about the governmental assistance would ensure proper utilization of such schemes. While understanding that implementation of services is not enough, we argue that every member of the society through improved sensitization regarding the child protection policies have the potential to help in the reduction of child abuse.