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INDIA-ASSAULT-CHILDREN-CRIME
India orders children’s home checks after sex abuse scandals
NEW DELHI, Aug 8, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – India has ordered the inspection of at
least 9,000 shelters for abandoned and orphaned children after a wave of sex
abuse scandals shocked the country, a minister reportedly said.
Maneka Gandhi, the country’s women and child development minister, told the
Indian Express newspaper in an interview published Wednesday that the probe
would include background checks on the owners and managers of homes.
Authorities have been jolted into action after reports this month uncovered
the sexual abuse of more than 30 girls at a state-funded shelter in Bihar
state.
Police this week detained five people over alleged abuse at a shelter in
Uttar Pradesh state where 24 girls were rescued after one escaped to tell
investigators of mistreatment at the home.
“I have asked the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR) to ensure that the social audit is completed for all childcare
institutions within the next 60 days,” Gandhi said, according to the
newspaper.
The inspections will look at basic amenities and living conditions for
children, she added. A 2017 government study revealed that half of the
estimated 9,000 childcare institutions in India were unregistered. The
minister acknowledged there may be other unrecorded homes and called for the
creation of central shelters for women and children in each state.
“That’s the only way we can keep them safe,” she told the Indian Express,
adding that government funds could be given for new homes.
The ministry did not immediately respond to AFP’s questions about the abuse
cases.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1628 hrs