DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

VISAKHAPATNAM, A.P., INDIA

VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA

SOCIOLOGY

SUBMITTED TO

MR. LAKSHMIPATI RAJU

SHATKSHI ARYA

2019081

SEM 1 (SEC B)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Mr. Lakshmipati Raju
Sir who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic
(VULNERABLE CHILDREN), which also helped me in doing a lot of Research and I came
to know about so many new things.

In the preparation of my project, I had to take the help and guidance of some respected
persons, who deserve my deepest gratitude. As the completion of this project gave me much
pleasure, I would like to show my gratitude to my Professor, for giving me a good guidance
throughout numerous consultations. I would also like to expand my gratitude to all those who
have directly and indirectly helped me in completion of this project.

In addition, a thank you to all my friends and seniors, for their valuable suggestions on my
project which gave me an inspiration to improve the quality of the project.I would like to
thank my friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the limited time frame.

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LITERATURE REVIEW
Sources have been taken from various books, journals, case laws and web sources

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to understand :-

 WHO IS A VULNERABLE CHILD

 WHAT IS VULNERABILITY
 WHAT IS THE CONDITION IN INDIA
 HOW DO WE PROTECT SUCH CHILDREN
 WHAT ARE THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND GROUPS
 WHAT IS THEIR CONDITION AND RELATIONSHIP IN THE SOCIETY

AIMS OF THE STUDY/SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The aim of our study is to make people understand what is vulnerability, who are vulnerable
children, how to protect them.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Doctrinal

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA

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Contents
 INTRODUCTION………………………..………………………………………………………………………………….1
 WHAT IS VULNERABILITY……….…………………………………………………………………………………….2
 WHO IS A VULNEARABLE CHILD…………………………………………………………………………………..3
o WHAT ARE THEIR GROUPS
o WHAT ARE THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
 VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN THE STREETS OF INDIA………………………………………………………5
o THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
o AGE
o CAUSES
o ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
o EDUCATION
o RELATIONSHIP IN THE SOCIET
o HEALTH AND NUTRITION
o ABUSE OF SUCH CHILDRN
 LEGISLATIONS FOR SUCH VULNERABLE CHILDREN…………………………………………………13
o PROTECTION
o PROTECTIVE ENVIRONMENT
o UNICEF AND CHILDREN
 CASE LAWS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………19
 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………20
 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…21

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v
INTRODUCTION

Adolescents and youth, together addressed as “young people”, form the future building
blocks of any society. They being most energetic and dynamic, tend to get involved in high-
risk behaviors making themselves susceptible to criminal offences, accidents, physical
injuries, emotional trauma, and medical problems — some of them extremely serious like
transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The concept of vulnerability is
applicable to all the people who are more exposed to risks than their peers like the young
people. In order to deal with social evils like criminal offences, domestic violence, sexual
abuse, HIV, etc. we need to define vulnerability and understand the factors that influence it.
This review also attempts to summarize the indicators of vulnerability and the data currently
available to estimate its burden in India. Measuring the magnitude of vulnerability by means
of certain indicators/variables might help us in devising tools to assess this poorly defined
entity. This may also evolve a conceptual framework on which targeted remedial
interventions can be devised and implemented.

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WHAT IS VULNERABILITY

Vulnerability in this context can be defined as the diminished capacity of an individual or

group to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural or man-made
hazard. The concept is relative and dynamic. Vulnerability is most often associated
with poverty, but it can also arise when people are isolated, insecure and defenceless in the
face of risk, shock or stress.

People differ in their exposure to risk as a result of their social group, gender, ethnic or other
identity, age and other factors. Vulnerability may also vary in its forms: poverty, for example,
may mean that housing is unable to withstand an earthquake or a hurricane, or lack of
preparedness may result in a slower response to a disaster, leading to greater loss of life or
prolonged suffering.

The reverse side of the coin is capacity, which can be described as the resources available to
individuals, households and communities to cope with a threat or to resist the impact of a
hazard. Such resources can be physical or material, but they can also be found in the way a
community is organized or in the skills or attributes of individuals and/or organizations in the
community.

To determine people’s vulnerability, two questions need to be asked:

 to what threat or hazard are they vulnerable?

 what makes them vulnerable to that threat or hazard?
 Physical, economic, social and political factors determine people’s level of
vulnerability and the extent of their capacity to resist, cope with and recover from
hazards. Clearly, poverty is a major contributor to vulnerability. Poor people are more
likely to live and work in areas exposed to potential hazards, while they are less likely
to have the resources to cope when a disaster strikes.

 In richer countries, people usually have a greater capacity to resist the impact of a
hazard. They tend to be better protected from hazards and have preparedness systems
in place. Secure livelihoods and higher incomes increase resilience and enable people
to recover more quickly from a hazard.

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  Disasters jeopardize development gains. Equally, development choices made by
individuals, households, communities and governments increase or reduce the risk of
disasters

WHO ARE VULNERABLE CHILDREN

A vulnerable child is defined as being under the age of 18 years and currently at high risk of
lacking adequate care and protection. Accordingly, all children are vulnerable by nature
compared to adults, but some are more critically vulnerable than others. “Child vulnerability
is a downward spiral where each shock leads to a new level of vulnerability, and each new
level opens up for a host of new risks. In other words, the probability of a child experiencing
a negative outcome rises with each shock.

Social protection is essential in preventing and reducing poverty for children and families, in
addressing inequalities and in realizing children’s rights. Despite recent progress in many
parts of the world, too many children live in poverty and are deprived of their most
elementary rights. In, fact, in most parts of the world, children and families with children are
at greater risk of poverty than other groups of the population, with respect to both monetary
and other forms of poverty.
The consequences of poverty are very significant for children. Children experience poverty
differently from adults; they have specific and different needs. While an adult may fall into
poverty temporarily, a child who falls into poverty may be poor for a lifetime – rarely does a
child get a second chance at an education or a healthy start in life. Even short periods of food
deprivation can be detrimental to children’s long-term development. If children do not
receive adequate nutrition, they lag behind their peers in size and intellectual capacity, are
more vulnerable to life-threatening diseases, perform less well in school, and ultimately are
less likely to be productive adults. Child poverty threatens not only the individual child, but is
likely to be passed on to future generations, entrenching and even exacerbating inequality in
society. Many of the 18,000 children under the age of five who die every day, mainly from
preventable causes, could be saved through adequate social protection. Where children are -
deprived of a decent standard of living, access to quality health care, education and care, and
where they suffer from social exclusion, their future is compromised. Where children are

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forced to engage in child labour, such exploitation takes a heavy toll on their physical and
cognitive development, and on their future life chances. Child poverty affects not only the
well-being and aspirations of individual children, but also the wider communities, societies
and economies in which they live.

1. Street children,

2. Children in the worst forms of child labor,

3. Children affected by armed conflict,

4. Children affected by HIV/AIDS,

5. Children living with disability, and

6. Local OVC groups.

Characteristics of children defined as vulnerable

include:-

 orphaned by the death of one or both parents

 abandoned by family
 living in poverty
 living with a disability
 affected by armed conflicts
 abused by parents
 malnourished
 HIV positive children
 marginalized, stigmatized or discriminated children

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VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN THE STREETS
OF INDIA
A street child is a child "for whom the street (in the widest sense of the word, including
unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc.) has become his or her habitual abode and/or source of
livelihood; and who is inadequately protected, supervised, or directed by responsible adults".

India has an estimated one hundred thousand or more street children in each of the following
cities: New Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. Mainly because of family conflict, they come to
live on the streets and take on the full responsibilities of caring for themselves, including
working to provide for and protecting themselves. Though street children do sometimes band
together for greater security, they are often exploited by employers and the police.

Their many vulnerabilities require specific legislation and attention from the government and
other organisations to improve their condition.

In the early years of research on street children, the term "street child" included any child that
worked on the street. From research, however, different categories of children on the streets
have been distinguished, while still recognizing that children's complex experiences are
difficult to define. Mark W. Lusk, a prominent researcher of street children, developed four
categories of children on the street from his research: children who work on the street but
return to their families at night, children who work on the street but whose family ties are
dwindling, children who live and work with their families on the street, and children who
work and live on their own on the street.

The term "street child" has come to refer only to the last group. UNICEF defines a street
child as, "...any girl or boy.. for whom the street (in the widest sense of the word, including
unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc.) has become his or her habitual abode and/or source of
livelihood; and who is inadequately protected, supervised, or directed by responsible
adults".[1] It is important to distinguish the group of children that live on their own on the
streets because their lives vary greatly from those of children who simply work on the streets;
they thus have different needs and require targeted attention.

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While 18 million children work on the streets of India, it is estimated that only 5–20 percent
of them are truly homeless and disconnected from their families. Because the street children
in India have unique vulnerabilities – the amount of time they spend on the street, their
livelihood depending on the street, and their lack of protection and care from adults – they are
a subgroup of the Indian population that deserve specific attention in order to ensure that their
needs are known. As the most vulnerable group of children in India according to UNICEF,
they need to be understood as much as possible.

Characteristics of such children

It is difficult to obtain accurate data about them because of their floating character. Street
children usually have no proof of identification and move often. Of the 50,000 people in
India that are officially reported as leaving home annually, 45 percent are under 16; this
number, though, is likely very low. Various studies have formulated estimates of certain
cities. In the late 1980s, for instance, it was estimated that there were at least 100,000 street
children in both Calcutta and Bombay. Overall, estimates for the total number of street
children in India range from 400,000-800,000

Age
Because it is difficult to obtain precise and accurate statistics about street children,
information about their ages is approximate. Most of the street children in India are over 6,
and the majority is over 8.[4] The mean age of street children in a National Institute of Urban
Affairs study in 1989 was 13 years.[3] Another study in 1989 by UNICEF found that 72
percent of the street children studied were ages 6–12 and 13 percent were under 6 years of
age.

Causes
The street children in India choose to leave their families and homes for strategic
reasons. Three hypotheses have been put forth in an attempt to explain their choices: urban
poverty, aberrant families, and urbanization. Evidence can to some degree support all three of
these hypotheses. In one study of 1,000 street children living in Bombay conducted in 1990,
39.1 percent of street children said they left home because of problems and fights with

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family, 20.9 percent said they left because of family poverty, and 3.6 percent said that they
wanted to see the city. The street children and children running away from home are
connected. A child running away from home ends on the street in most situations. There is lot
of data available on why children run away, revealing many reasons for doing so. Some
reasons are simple, some complex. Some time the reasons are because of the child's behavior,
and some times the causes are because of parents. A child not going to school or not doing
home work and thus fearing beatings, is a very common cause. A child stealing money,
fighting with siblings are reasons too.

Most children leave their families to live on the street because of family problems. Family
problems include such things as death of a parent, alcoholism of father, strained relationships
with stepparents, parent separation, abuse, and family violence. Additionally, street children
usually come from female-headed households.

Most children who leave home to live on the streets come from slums or low cost housing,
both which are areas of high illiteracy, drug use, and unemployment. Children usually
transfer their lives to the streets through a gradual process; they may at first only stay on the
street a night or two. Gradually they will spend more time away from home until they do not
return. Once on the streets, children sometimes find that their living conditions and physical
and mental health is better than at home; however, this fact speaks to the poor conditions of
their homes rather than good conditions in the street. Street conditions are far from child-
friendly. Once they leave home, many street children move around often because of the fear
that their relatives will find them and force them to return home. Sadly, many children are
kidnapped and treated as slaves by the kidnappers. The kidnappers make them beg for money
the whole day on the streets and enjoy themselves with the money they get from the children.

Economic activity

Work
As street children must provide for themselves, work is a very important aspect of their
lives. Unfortunately, working conditions for street children are often very poor because they
are confined to working in the informal sector, which is unregulated by the government. In

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Bombay, 50,000 children are illegally employed by 11,750 hotels, restaurants, canteens, tea
shops, and eating places. Because of street children's lack of protection from a family and the
law, employers often exploit them, making them virtual prisoners, sometimes withholding
pay, and abusing them. Employers that would not mistreat the children often will not hire
them because they are seen as too great of a risk. Because of the low pay from employers,
street children in India often choose to be self-employed or work multiple jobs. In fact, the
majority of them are self-employed. One of the most common economic activities done by
the children is scavenging for recyclable materials, such as plastic, paper, and metal. Other
jobs include cleaning cars; petty vending, selling small items such as balloons or sweets;
selling newspapers or flowers; begging; shining shoes; working in small hotels; working on
construction sites; and working in roadside stalls or repair shops. Street children, especially
the older children, are also sometimes engaged in activities such as stealing, pick-pocketing,
drug-peddling, and prostitution, though this is a small proportion. Most of the street children
work 8–10 hours total each day in their various economic activities.

Spending
The earnings of street children fluctuate greatly, but they usually only make enough for
subsistence. Most street children in India earn between 200 ($4.00) and 830 rupees a month,
with older children making more than younger children. Self-employed children also
typically make more than children who are employed under an employer. The largest expense
in a street child's budget is food, which often costs 5–10 rupees a day. In order to cut down on
food expenses, many children drink tea to dull hunger.

The money street children earn that is not spent on food is usually quickly spent on other
things because older children and police frequently steal their money. This lack of ability to
save causes severe financial insecurity. While children occasionally send some of their
earnings home to their families, they spend most of their extra money on entertainment.

Many street children spend 300 rupees a month on movies, though older children also use
their money to buy cigarettes, chewing tobacco, alcohol, and drugs. Street children often
spend very little on clothing because their employers often provide clothes for work or their
families occasionally give them clothes if they know where they are living. Also, the boys

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among them do not mind wandering fully or partially naked in public because it adds to the
people's sympathy for them.

Education of vulnerable children

The education of street children in India is very poor and often nonexistent. A study of street
children in Bombay in 1989 found that 54.5 percent had never been enrolled in school and 66
percent of the children were illiterate. A 2004 study of street children in Bombay revealed
that circumstances were largely the same: 60 percent of the children had never attended
school and approximately two-thirds were illiterate.

Thirty percent had been to elementary school, while only 10 percent had been to middle or
high school. In fact, many children in the 2004 study said that one of the reasons they ran
away from home is because they did not want to be forced to work and unable to attend
school. Obviously, however, the demands of living alone make it very unlikely that they will
be able to obtain education through leaving.

Relationships and coping

The street children in India are especially vulnerable among low-income children because
they do not have the support structures that other children normally have, namely families
and the psychological and monetary support they offer. Thus, street children adopt strategies
to cope with the harsh realities of their lives. For many, these strategies include developing a
tough exterior and strong independence to hide their vulnerability. They live in survival-
mode, constantly having to be aware of their surroundings and fight for their safety. These
circumstances lead children to engage in behaviors that children in families typically do not,
such as creating a new identity, using aggression frequently, and valuing relationships based
on what can be gained from them.

While the majority of street children in India have been found to use positive coping
mechanisms to deal with the stress of their lives, some choose maladaptive strategies, such as
drinking alcohol, using drugs, and visiting prostitutes. When questioned about their substance

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use, many street children in Bombay reported that the cause was frustration concerning living
on the street or conflicts in their family which caused them to leave home.

Fortunately, street children are not entirely on their own. Many form groups with other street
children to protect themselves. These groups normally have a leader and specific territory;
unfortunately, though these groups bring safety to most, younger children are sometimes used
by the leader to steal or do other illegal activities. Street children in Bombay report relying on
their friends for help when they are sick, money when they run out, and information about
work when they need a job. Street children spend much of their free time with their friends,
often going with them to the movies.

Among the most important deprivations faced by street children is the lack of a protective
and guiding adult, but some street children manage to find individuals to fulfill this role.
Though most live on their own or with friends, some street children form connections with
families that live on the streets or in slums and see these families as their substitute
families. Many of these children find a "mother-figure" that cares for them when they are ill
and is interested in their well-being.

Health and nutrition of vulnerable children

Street children in India face additional vulnerability because of their lack of access to
nutritious food, sanitation, and medical care. Street children lack access to nutritious
food because many are dependent on leftovers from small restaurants or hotels, food stalls, or
garbage bins. In a study of street children in Bombay in 1990, 62.5 percent of the children
obtained food from hotels.

Lack of sanitation in bathing, toilets, and water also contributes to poor health. In the same
study of street children in Bombay, 29.6 percent of children reported bathing in the sea and
11.5 percent reported bathing in pipes, wells, or canals. Open air bathing of street children is
in fact a very common sight in all parts of India. These children have to put their naked
bodies on display for a very long time before, during and after bathing. As a result, they
develop hardly any sense of modesty. They as well as the onlookers have a casual approach
to this phenomenon. Street children also lack restroom facilities, demonstrated by the fact
that 26.4 percent of the children used the roadside or railway line for their toilet. For water,

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the children reported asking restaurants or hotels for water (69.1 percent) or using pipes and
water taps (15.6 percent).

Most of the street children in India also lack access to medical care, which is especially
detrimental during times of illness or injury. The study of street children in Bombay found
that 34.9 percent had an injury and 18.9 percent had a fever in the past three months. Only
about a third of the children received any help with their illness or injury, though some were
able to receive help at a government clinic.

Other studies have found that many illnesses are very prevalent among street children. A
study conducted in 2002 on the street children in Kolkata found that six in every 554 street
children from ages five to fourteen are HIV positive. In Bangor Basti, 98 percent of children
are estimated to have dental caries. Additionally, most street children do not have winter
clothing, leaving them more vulnerable to illness during the winter.

Abuse of such vulnerable children

Street children in India are frequently exposed to abuse and extortion. According to UNICEF,
violence against children in India includes neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and
exploitation. The rate of child abuse increased to nearly 8000 in 2007. An Indian government
study in 2007 stated that two out of every three children in India were physically abused and
that 50% of the nearly 12,000 studied children testified one or more forms of sexual
abuse. This increase is probably due to increased awareness and reporting of abuse. Other
studies include that 7,200 children, including infants, are raped every year in India, and the
government refuses to comment on these serial child abuses that continue. Many child
activists believe that cases go unreported.

Because they have no social status and no adults to protect them, street children identify
being physically threatened and intimidated by adults as the one factor that contributes most
to the misery of living on the streets. The primary cause for this treatment is the views that

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the police and general public hold toward them: most scorn them and react to them with
hostility.

Abuse by the Indian police is often reported by street children. Many street children have
reported that police will beat them in order to coerce them into giving them a "cut" for
working in certain areas. Police often arrest street children under the Vagrancy Act, and,
having no formal way to appeal their arrest, the children must bribe or work at the police
station until their "debt" has been paid. Under a government-sponsored programme called
"Operation Beggar," street children in Bombay were rounded up and given into what was
essentially indebted servitude.

Many factors contribute to the police abuse of street children, including the police
perceptions of the children, widespread corruption, a culture of police violence, the
inadequacy and non-implementation of legal safeguards, and the level of impunity that the
police enjoy. Though the Juvenile Justice Act, which applies to all the states and Union
Territories in India except Jammu and Kashmir, prohibits detaining neglected or delinquent
juveniles in police lock-ups or jails, it is rarely enforced.

One study that looked at the abuse of street children in Jaipur City, India in 2009 provided
new insight into the abuse that street children in India suffer by studying the types and
prevalence of abuse and how these things were related to other factors. The street children in
the study reported all five types of abuse: general abuse and neglect, health abuse, verbal
abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, and sexual abuse. Verbal and psychological
abuse were reported the most. Older children and children with higher incomes were abused
more than younger children and children with lower incomes, respectively.

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LEGISLATION’S TOWARDS PROTECTION OF
SUCH VLNERABLE CHILDREN

Street children in India are "a manifestation of societal malfunctioning and an economic and
social order that does not take timely preventative action". Thus, many scholars believe that
fixing the problems of street children depend on addressing the causal factors of their
situations. Additionally, as these causal factors are addressed, help for the immediate
situation of street children must also be given.

India has set in place various forms of public policy concerning street children over the past
two decades, but they have largely been ineffective because they are uninformed by
sociological, anthropological, and geographical research on street children, meaning they do
not always correctly assess and address needs.

Prior to 1997, the "Official Vocabulary" of post-independence India did not contain the term
"street child", and street children were only helped because they were grouped with other
children that worked on the streets. For instance, the Coordination Committee for Vulnerable
Children worked to give identity cards to children working on the streets in order to help
protect them from police violence. In the early 1990s, facing pressure from non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), the Indian government created the "Scheme for Assistance to Street
Children," which launched in February 1993. Though many NGOs had meetings with the
government to give feedback about the scheme and suggestions to improve it, none of these
recommendations were included in the final draft, making it very difficult for NGOs to
participate in it.

Since their entrance into the policy arena and the Scheme was set in place, street children
have been included in some other policies and programmes as well. The Indian Council of
Child Welfare has included street children in their programmes, and in the 8th Five Year Plan
a scheme for children in 6 metropolitan cities was set in place. The Ministry of Labour has
also included street children in their livelihood training programmes, though this has been

13
met with minimal success because many street children do not have the education necessary
to participate in the programmes.

PROTECTION OF VULNERABLECHILDREN

UNICEF uses the term ‘child protection’ to refer to preventing and responding to violence,
exploitation and abuse against children – including commercial sexual exploitation,
trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as child marriage.

UNICEF’s child protection programmes also target children who are uniquely vulnerable to
these abuses, such as when living without parental care, in conflict with the law and in armed
conflict. Violations of the child’s right to protection take place in every country and are
massive, under-recognized and under-reported barriers to child survival and development, in
addition to being human rights violations.

Children subjected to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect are at risk of death, poor
physical and mental health, HIV/AIDS infection, educational problems, displacement,
homelessness, vagrancy and poor parenting skills later in life.

Child protection is an issue in every country and a high priority for UNICEF. Under the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties, all children have the
right to be protected from harm. UNICEF activities are guided by the existing international
normative framework for the rights of the child, as well as decisions and policies agreed in
United Nations intergovernmental bodies.

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A Protective Environment for all Children

Preventing and responding to violence, exploitation and abuse is essential to ensuring

children’s rights to survival, development and well-being. The vision and
approach of UNICEF is to create a protective environment, where girls and boys are free
from violence, exploitation, and unnecessary separation from family; and where laws,
services, behaviours and practices minimize children’s vulnerability, address known risk
factors, and strengthen children’s own resilience.

This approach is human rights-based, and emphasizes prevention as well as the accountability
of governments.

This protective environment rests in 2 strategic pillars: strengthening of national systems and
social change, which translate into the following 8 key strategies:

1. Governmental commitment to fulfilling protection rights: includes social welfare policies,

adequate budgets, public acknowledgement and ratification of international instruments.

2. Legislation and enforcement: includes an adequate legislative framework, its consistent

implementation, accountability and a lack of impunity.

3. Attitudes, traditions, customs, behaviour and practices: includes social norms and
traditions that condemn injurious practices and support those that are protective.

4. Open discussion, including the engagement of media and civil society: acknowledges
silence as a major impediment to securing government commitment, supporting positive
practices and ensuring the involvement of children and families.

5. Children’s life skills, knowledge and participation: includes children, both girls and boys,
as actors in their own protection through use of knowledge of their protection rights and ways
of avoiding and responding to risks.

6. Capacity of those in contact with the child: includes the knowledge, motivation and

15
support needed by families and by community members, teachers, health and social workers
and police, in order to protect children.

7. Basic and Targeted Services: includes the basic social services, health and education to
which children have the right, without discrimination, and also specific services that help to
prevent violence and exploitation, and provide care, support and reintegration assistance in
situations of violence, abuse and separation.

8. Monitoring and oversight: includes effective systems of monitoring such as data collection,
and oversight of trends and responses.

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UNICEF and Child Protection in India
The goal of the programme is to prevent violence against children and to strengthen
protection services for children in vulnerable situations.

It supports the implementation of the Government of India’s newly launched Integrated Child
Protection Scheme (ICPS) to create a protective environment for children through the
improvement and expansion of services for children in need of care and protection and
children in conflict with the law under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and related
legislation.

UNICEF also supports the government in order to contribute to a reduction of child labour by
strengthening child protection structures to adequately protect children against exploitation
and abuse, improving the quality of education to increase enrolment and retention, raising
awareness and empowering families and communities so that they take collective action
against child labour, and addressing exclusion of vulnerable families to service provision and
social protection schemes.

UNICEF also works closely with the Ministry of Women and Child Development and other
stakeholders to reduce the incidence of child marriage, ensuring implementation of the
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and addressing the social norms that underline this
practice.

Other areas where UNICEF supports the Government of India and other partners are on the
prevention of child trafficking and the rehabilitation, return, and integration of trafficked
children; the fight against corporal punishment; promotion of birth registration; and
strengthening its knowledge base on the situation of children and child protection issues in
the country.

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CASE LAWS

M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu and Others, 1996 –

The Child Labour Case

BACKGROUNG

Child labour is a practice of employing children in economic activities on a part time or full
time basis. Children employed in such economic activities are deprived of their childhood
and it is harmful for their physical and mental health. Child Labour is a major problem in our
country. In the present case, Sivakasi was taken as one of the worst offenders for violating
fundamental rights of children.

Article 24 imposes a duty on the state to provide every child below the age of 14 with free
and compulsory education. After the Unni Krishnan Case, this duty has acquired the status of
a fundamental right. In this case, the Supreme Court discussed various provisions prohibiting
employment of children in India. The Supreme Court ordered to send a copy of this judgment
to Chief Secretaries of all the State Governments and Union Territories and to the Secretary
of Ministry of Labour, Government of India for their information and doing the needful.

Final judgment

Our constitutional makers were wise enough to keep into consideration the future of the
children in India. The situation of children born in India was not pleasant at the time of
independence. Therefore, the makers of our constitution prohibited employment of children
below the age of 14 in factories under Article 24 and imposed a duty on the state to provide
fee and compulsory education of children under Article 45 of the Constitution. After the
decision of Unni Krishnan[1], Article 45 has acquired the status of a fundamental right. The
Court acknowledged that despite the presence of such provisions in our constitution, children
are still exploited and forced into child labour even after 50 years of independence of our
country.
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1. The court ordered to conduct a survey of child laboursthat could be given an
alternative source of income to help in their education.
2. Those areas of employment should be identified which are hazardous on human
health, especially children, and ranked. The most hazardous employment may rank
first in priority, to be followed by comparatively less hazardous and so on.
3. Employment must be given to the parents of the child. Such an employment can be
given in the same industry where the child is employed.
4. In those cases where alternative employment cannot be made available, the parent
of the concerned child would be paid the income which would be earned on the
corpus, which would be a sum of Rs.85, 000/- for each child, every month. The
employment given or payment made would cease to be operative if the child
would not be sent by the parent/guardian for education.
5. On discontinuation of the employment of the child, his education would be assured
in suitable institution with a view to make it a better citizen.
6. The court pointed out that Article 45 mandates compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age of 14 years; it is also required to be free. It
would be the duty of the Inspectors to see that this call of the Constitution is
carried out.
7. A district could be the unit of collection so that the executive head of the district
keeps a watch on the work of the Inspectors. Further, in view of the magnitude of
the task, a separate cell in the Labour Department of the appropriate Government
would be created. Monitoring of the scheme would also be necessary and the
Secretary of the Department could perhaps do this work. Overall monitoring by
the Ministry of Labour, Government of India, would be beneficial and worthwhile.

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CONCLUSION

The concept of vulnerability generally refers to the groups of people who are more exposed
to risks than their peers. Vulnerability is a relative state with its degree and type varying
overtime and between countries, and is highly contextual. Most work related to vulnerability
has been done in African context. Children and young people separated from their parents are
clearly vulnerable groups. Besides that, extreme poverty, chronic illness of self or parents,
and lack of social support and education also make young people vulnerable to abuse,
neglect, deprivation and violence. Indian data regarding ‘what constitutes vulnerability’ in
children, adolescents or young people are severely lacking. There is an urgent need to
conduct country specific research to define ‘vulnerability’ and estimate its burden in Indian
context. Because of high prevalence of extreme poverty and chronic illnesses, it is estimated
that a large proportion of the adolescent and young people of India are likely to be
vulnerable. Efforts must be directed to identify and quantify the most vulnerable sections of
the society to effectively devise targeted remedial interventions.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA BY T.M DAN

 CHILD LABOUR: A STUDY BY D. CHENNA REDDY
 TOWARDS A SOCIOLOGY OF VULNRABILITY BY BA MISZTAL
 ELEMENTS OF VULNERABILITY BY LS BOSHER

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