Fourth Sunday of Advent: The Dignity of Children in India

Today we hear from the gospel of Matthew, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us” (Mt 1: 23). As we pray on our final Sunday of Advent for the people of India around the world, may we pray for the way of transformation in India for dignity and respect for children.

We remember:

Children under the age of 18 comprise 37% of India’s population. Many of them experience deprivation such as lack of access to basic education, nutrition or health care. In addition, many are subjected to various forms of abuse, neglect, violence, and maltreatment which dominate their childhood experience.

Further violations of child rights, legitimized by cultural practices and customs deeply rooted in the male-dominant patriarchal society, involve child marriage, of which 326 incidences were reported in 2015-16, and gender discrimination, which has created significant gender disparity.

This is reflected in the preference for providing educational opportunities for the male child. The perception of girl children as a burden to the family also leads to sex selective abortion which has resulted in an unequal sex ratio in the country with 933 females per 1000 males (Census, 2011).

2015-2016: 32,973 cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act

19,765 cases of child rape
12,226 cases of sexual assault
934 cases of sexual harassment
47 cases of use of children for pornography

Additional abuse includes domestic abuse, child trafficking and child labor.

Linked to poverty and other social structures of the society, there are around 10.1 million working children between 5-14 years of age. This accounts for 3.9% of the total child population, and of these children,

0% used as peasants/cultivators,
9% as agricultural laborers,
2% as household industry workers,
8% as other workers (Census, 2011).

Under the Dominican Indian Center for Integrated Development, there are a number of programs helping youth.

A prime example of this is an initiative, Project Bloom, of Dominican friars in collaboration with Dominican Sisters of the Presentation and Dominican Laity in the Yuvajyothi Children’s Home of the Indian Centre for Integrated Development (ICID) in Nagpur.

This project strives to rescue children and female youth from exploitative, abusive and other disadvantaged situations such as street and pavement dwelling, work places, children begging, picking waste material and neglected children, and provide a protective environment where a child finds a safe, dignified and child-friendly atmosphere including their rehabilitation with their families.

This is done through various programs, such as street outreach, formation of children’s groups, counselling, life skill education, educational support and sponsorship, provision of safe shelter for children in need, organizing child right awareness and advocacy programs.

The Dominican Family of Friars, Sisters and Laity also work in collaboration with a team of social workers and volunteers in Nagpur district to assist with children who are already living on the streets with adequate and necessary support:

Providing street-based support, protection, rescue, rehabilitation and integration (with family), maintaining street presence through volunteers, and awareness creation among children about the risks and dangers on the streets.
Residential care (counselling, food, accommodation, education, life skill development, livelihood training and opportunity, and preparing them for family life). Children are referred to Yuvajyothi or other homes for children.

And to work with economically and socially disadvantaged families whose children may turn to the streets:

Sensitization visits to the families, life skill education to children in the families, child rights awareness in communities and schools, interventions at the school level in order to retain children in the schools, networking and advocacy.
Livelihood training and opportunities for women from disadvantaged families at community-based centers.

In addition, all the Dominican entities in India are developing a training project, Safe Childhood: Breaking the silence and preventing incidences of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), to equip sisters and brothers with skills in dealing with child sexual abuse through activities such as:

Children’s groups and training in safety lessons against CSE
Increasing the knowledge and life skills of children to understand CSE and appropriately report the same in time
Awareness and sensitization on CSE in communities
Strengthening families by assisting parents to understand their children’s issues and how to help them be free from sexual exploitation
Providing nurturing support by visiting at-risk families at home and ensure family counseling and parenting support
Training of teachers, counselors and others on child sexual exploitation and enhance their capacity to effectively protect children from sexual exploitation
Dialogue and networking with schools and Government and Civil Society Organizations

To show solidarity, Dominicans worldwide are urged to act and pray.

Pray each day for the Dominican Family in India and for the people who suffer and those who work to alleviate their pain.
According to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyrthi “Over $150 billion is earned annually in the trade (human trafficking). Over half of these are children.” Watch the Video Children for Sale: The Fight Against Child Trafficking in India

Fourth Sunday of Advent: The Dignity of Children in India

From Marcelline Koch, OP and the Springfield Dominicans