Childhood Betrayed: Child Abuse and Neglect in India
About this ebook
No social problem is as universal as the oppression of the child. No slave was ever so much the property of his master as the child is of his parent. Never were the rights of man ever so disregarded as in the case of the child. - Maria MontessoriIn India, where even stones and trees are worshipped, children are routinely beaten, neglected and abused. The daily news is rife with stories of abuse and neglect, often perpetrated in the name of discipline or protection. The Nithari case, female foeticide, instances of child marriage and the sexual abuse of minors - the statistics are frightening. Lakhs of children are robbed of childhood, and India is doing little to remedy that. While the government now acknowledges education and nutrition as the essential entitlements of children, there has been little legislation or initiative to safeguard their most fundamental rights. Child protection is still nowhere on the nation's radar.Loveleen Kacker distilled several years of research to write this cogent and powerful volume on why child abuse and neglect happens and how it affects children in India. She examines physical, emotional and sexual abuse, as well as neglect and maltreatment, especially of the girl child. Bringing real-life instances and case studies together with Kacker's own work on the rights of children, this is a guide for parents, policy makers, schoolteachers, paediatricians, childcare specialists - indeed, anyone with a stake in the welfare of minors. A timely and much-needed addition to the literature on child rights, Childhood Betrayed is also a call for change - nay a call to arms.
About the author
A leader with vision, skill and accomplishment, Loveleen has worked with governments, institutions and organizations. She brings in over three decades of planning and administrative experience, from a number of senior roles that she played in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), where she made impactful contributions in the areas of women and children, framing national policies on child welfare and drafting legislations for welfare schemes for the poor and disadvantaged sections of society. She has expertise in the areas of child education, child nutrition and child protection, and has worked for more than a decade in social sector ministries and departments. Loveleen took over the reins of Tech Mahindra Foundation as chief executive officer (CEO) in 2012. In less than three years, she transformed the Foundation's work. She invested in human resources, and is currently leading a team of almost fifty associates and interns at Tech Mahindra Foundation, and thousands of volunteers across Tech Mahindra Limited. With her vision for an educated and skilled India, Loveleen redefi ned the Foundation's CSR (corporate social responsibility) policy and repositioned its work into two key areas - education and employability. Loveleen is an accomplished writer with numerous publications in child welfare, art and culture to her credit. She has authored several novels and stories for children, which have fetched her national acclaim. She has been awarded the national-level Children's Book Trust Award for children's writers twice for her literary talents. Loveleen holds a master's degree in political science and a doctorate in social anthropology from Barkatullah University (Bhopal, India).
