KARACHI: Sindh Child Protection Authority on the cards
KARACHI, May 15: Provision for a child protection authority, powerful enough to combat instances of child abuse and violation of child rights under different pretexts and varied circumstances, is on the cards in Sindh. This was stated by an official of Sindh Social Welfare Department, Shahnaz Afzal, also a focal person of Provincial Commission for Child Welfare and Development while participating in a panel discussion during a seminar organized by the Child Abuse Prevention Society with the support of Paediatrics Department of Civil Hospital Karachi and Dow University of Health Sciences.
According to her, the government taking into account the relevance as well as intensity of the issue had constituted the commission to come forward with concrete suggestions meant to ensure safe environment for children.
She explained that the child protection authority was in consonance with the concept of watch-dog with powers not only to maintain stringent vigilance but also to investigate all relevant instances. Cases of domestic violence, corporal punishment and abuse in any form would be under its domain of action, she elaborated mentioning that measures could also be adopted to address high risk factors and circumstances.
The commission comprising senior pediatricians, social workers, lawyers, economists, senior government officials besides representatives of UNICEF and different organizations for the cause of child protection had been expected to come forward with concrete recommendations catering different aspects of children’s right from their birth to attaining the age of puberty.
The commission after extensive deliberations has recommended constitution of the very “authority” ensuring that children pertaining to any social strata should be offered state protection against chances of being exploited.
The very recommendation is yet to be further discussed before final approval by the provincial government in a forthcoming meeting of the commission, she said.
“Sindh was the first province to introduce the country’s first Child Right Act 1954-55,” she reminded adding that implementation of the same was largely dependent on the society itself.
Mahmood Asghar of Save the Children Fund, another panellist from Lahore, mentioned that it was only in February this year a “Child Protection Committee” had been constituted at Lahore Children’s Hospital, a training-cum-tertiary care institutions for kids.
The initiative, a manifestation of collaborative efforts on part of Save the Child Fund, Pakistan Paediatrics Association, Punjab Government and the hospital administration and staff, was stated to be aimed at ensuring early and appropriate diagnosis of children subjected to any form of abuse. The cases once identified could be immediately referred to the Punjab Child Protection Bureau for necessary action, he said, mentioning that a training module is also being prepared enabling all relevant health care professionals to be trained and involved in the child protection strategy.
Earlier, the main speakers including Dr Ayesha Mehnaz (Paediatrics Department - CHK), Dr Habiba Hasan (Sobhraj Maternity Hospital), Farah Iqbal (Psychology Department of Karachi University) and well known paediatrician Prof Abdul Ghaffar Billoo underscored the dire need for due recognition and proper understanding of the problem and a pragmatic strategy to help the hapless kids.
They observed that while growing poverty was one of the major contributory factors towards the situation there also happened to be different social, political, medical and psychological connotations of the issue and that there was need for a multi-sectoral approach to address the situation.
Submitting that child abuse be it emotional, biological, social, physical or sexual could be registered at varying degrees and in any class of the society, the speakers urged that the tendency of denial with regard to sexual abuse of children must be curtailed and all conscious members of the society should be involved to protect the children without any distinction and discrimination.
It may be mentioned that the Child Abuse Prevention Society is a consortium of groups working for the cause of child protection. The groups comprise doctors, psychiatrists, journalists and sociologists who in their respective fields are attempting to initiate a strategy to help the children, vulnerable or already subjected to any form of abuse.
Recently suspected cases of child abuse identified at Civil Hospital were referred to medico-legal department, Dr Ayesha Mehnaz mentioned, adding that the procedure appeared to be quite cumbersome and lengthy discouraging parents to pursue it.
In her presentation, she discussed situation analysis with regard to child abuse incidence scenario under varied pretext and situations besides pointing out that who should take action.
According to her, while exact magnitude of child abuse is unknown and no official data exists on various types of it. Yet referring to the cases referred at Civil Hospital Karachi in 2004, and which were reported to Police Surgeon she mentioned that 310 cases were of assault, 48 of rape, 29 of sodomy, six of human bite, 21 of poisoning, 58 of firearm, 10 of public beating and 22 of police beating.
Dr Habiba Hasan, a human rights activist and a senior paediatrician, discussed the rehabilitation of child victim of abuses and reminded that there was need to develop linkages between different segments of society and people in general to help protect these kids and provide solace and support to those already victimized.
She discussed her experience of working with juvenile jail inmates where these extremely disturbed children were successfully attempted to be rehabilitated through concerted efforts of different NGOs and concerned citizens under the guidance of a respectable judge late Justice Z.A. Channa who was instrumental in getting the child jail actually converted into Reformatory School for Juvenile Offenders.
The activist also discussed plight of kids exposed to brutalities often due to poor economic status of their parents and sometimes due to presence of any psychopath member of their immediate family. It was regretted that no law existed in the country under which identified child victims could be legally removed from different circumstances under any official mechanism.
Dr Farah Iqbal associated with Karachi University’s psychology department, in her presentation on “Guidelines for interviewing abused children and their family: psychological perspective”, urged doctors and psychiatrists/ psychologists to adopt a humane attitude neither being too polite nor rigid.
Direct and straight questions could be asked very tactfully, she said adding that it should be taken into account that children were not intimidated and any realization that they may be hiding anything could open fresh ways of probe.
Following the presentations, a panel discussion was held during which representatives of UNICEF, Save the Children Fund, SOS Village, print and electronic media personnel and police surgeon responded to queries raised by the audience that included medical students, senior medical professionals, lawyers, human rights activists, teachers and others.—APP
