If police do not take a complaint about a missing child, child marriage or trafficking, one can approach the child rights commission, child helpline or even the child welfare committee, the state commission for protection of child rights said during a “public hearing” in South 24-Parganas.
Every victim is entitled to free legal help, the commission said at the hearing.
The state commission has information that “a huge number of child marriages are happening in South 24-Parganas” and the commission invited complaints at the hearing on Saturday afternoon.
“This was a forum where all stakeholders were present — district administration, police, district court judges, child welfare committee and the victims or their families — and we discussed cases specific to child marriages and trafficking,” said Sudeshna Roy, chairperson, West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR).
“We told the girls and their families and even NGO workers that if for any reason or in any case of child rights violation, the police are not taking a complaint for redress they can approach us, the child helpline or even the child welfare committee (an authority for child care and protection),” the chairperson said.
“Call the child helpline number at 1098, send a WhatsApp message to the commission at 9836300300 or physically visit the child welfare committee in the district,” she added.
The chairperson said that on many occasions the families do not know that the children who are victims of child marriage or trafficking are entitled to “free legal help”.
“They should not be scared about lodging a complaint. They should be open to taking help from the commission or the administration,” said Roy.
The public hearing was held at Rajpur in South 24-Parganas. “The commission has information that a huge number of child marriages are happening in South 24-Parganas, despite the commission holding awareness programmes at the district level as well as in schools. In order to curb this menace, and protect the rights of children, the commission has invited complaints from the people of South 24-Parganas through the district administration to be heard at the public hearing,” the commission said in a statement.
The sensitisation has to be at all levels, that should include even the family members, said Roy.
“When rescued girls are brought back, they are kept at child care institutes where they are taught skills and counselled but the families get impatient and want them out of the institutes,” said Roy.
Not all families can protect them (rescued girls) when they are back in their neighbourhoods.
The commission plans to hold such a public hearing once in three months in South 24-Parganas and other districts .
“When a complaint comes at a hearing like this some problems can be sorted on the spot,” said Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti, an adviser to the commission.