ABOUT CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN
Children’s Rights
in Goa (CRG) is a programme of Vikas Adhyayan Kendra (VAK), Mumbai. CRG is dedicated to the goal of improving the status
of children in
Problems
faced by children in Goa
Although
â There are children in
â There are child labourers (including domestic
child workers), whose hours of work are long and unregulated.
â The number of minors entering prostitution in
the red-light areas of
â Some children are being forced to sell their
bodies and are victims of tourism related paedophilia.
â There are children who do not face economic
deprivation but who are physically, mentally and/or sexually abused.
â Many children who come from other states, so
that they can get two meals a day, are looked at unsympathetically as
‘outsiders’ or as ghatti in addition to facing economic hardship.
Objectives
of CRG
· To
empower children by making them aware of their rights and providing them with
information about how they can protect themselves from abuse.
· To
stop
· To
participate in the struggle to eradicate child labour
· To
conduct awareness campaigns among various sections of the population on child’s
rights issues.
· To
work on policy changes at the government level and serve as a pressure group
for the implementation of policies and laws that are in the best interest of
children.
· To
network with other organisations at the regional, state and international
level.
· To
document and disseminate information on issues concerning children’s rights.
· To
develop a resource centre having audio-visual material and teaching aids in
addition to printed matter, which can be utilised by all those working with
children.
Activities
of CRG
Running non-formal
schools for working children or children who have no access
to education, which also serve as centres for children to discuss the problems
they face at work or in their homes. Presently CRG has schools in Mapusa,
Calangute, and Curchorem. A school started by CRG in Candolim is now supported
by the Lions’ Club, however CRG continues to interact with the teacher and
children of this school.
Conducting sessions
in formal schools, spreading awareness among children about their
rights, alerting them to ways in which they can protect themselves from
different forms of abuse, and telling them who they can approach if they need
help. Every year residential camps are held which are attended by
representatives from these schools, following which peer support groups are
formed.
Conducting of the STOP campaign: (STOP is the acronym for Stop Tourism
related Paedophilia). We conduct an intensive campaign in the north coastal
belt of
Campaigns
are conducted urging the vulnerable children to protect themselves and alerting
their parents to the modus operandi of paedophiles.
Meetings
are held with those involved with the tourism industry emphasising that a
Pamphlets
are distributed to tourists at the airport, at beaches and at the Anjuna Flea
Market and posters are put up in shacks from Sinquerim to Arambol. Tourists are
often willing to help us by giving us information about anyone they suspect of
being a paedophile. CRG has been
trying to make tourists aware of the
problems created by giving gifts to individual children. The giving of gifts is
one of the ways in which paedophiles win the trust of children and it is very
difficult for the child to differentiate between a good-hearted tourist and a
paedophile. Instead we request them to give whatever they wish to the nearest
church, which could ensure that their gifts reach needy children in the area.
In the process of conducting these campaigns, CRG is building a co-ordinated
community response towards tourism related paedophilia.
Working
with the government by having programmes to sensitise those concerned with the
processes of enforcement of laws and imparting of justice. In the year 2001 we had
16 sensitisation programmes with the Goa Police ranging from the rank of
constables to investigating officers.
Having consultations with government
officials with a view to
formulating policy advantageous to all children. Senior government officials have
shown a positive response towards formulating a comprehensive law on sexual
offences against children.
Developing a Resource Centre: Documenting all reports in the print media
pertaining to child rights’ issues and developing a resource centre for all those
working with children.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Address: Children's Rights in
403001,
Tel: 91-832-2426518/2420141
EMail: mailto:crg@goatelecom.com