Pandemic COVID- 19, child protection at higher risk

COVID-19 case numbers started to drop in India in September 2020, after a high of around 100,000 daily infections. But they began to rise again in March 2021. The country witnessed a complete collapse of the healthcare system amidst the steady increase of positive cases, reaching 400,000 daily infections on May 8th. There weren’t enough beds. There was an acute need for all kinds of medical supplies. Hospitals in Mumbai and Delhi primarily were running short on oxygen. Although the situation seems to have settled and stabilised to an extent as the positivity rate has dipped to 53 on 15thth August 2021, the country remains one of the worst-hit by the pandemic. It has specifically affected people belonging to the middle and lower class.

An adverse consequence of the pandemic is that Children have been confined to their homes, resulting in additional stress on the young minds, affecting their mental health and social skills and having a prolonged effect on the cognitive development of the adolescents. Children who have access to the internet can avail online education and mostly spend their time in front of the screen. In contrast, children with no access to the internet or other means of indoor entertainment struggle to cope with the situation. Children being on online platforms for digital learning has also increased their risk of exposure to inappropriate content. This pandemic also has a massive impact on the psycho-socio well-being of the children as it has increased negative feelings amongst them.

The fear of the Covid-19 outbreak has forced schools and universities to remain shut and turn to online teaching. However, in India, online education is not an option for everyone; only one in four children have access to digital devices and internet connectivity pre-COVID, according to a recent UNICEF report.

The pandemic induced the closure of 1.5 million schools in 2020, which impacted some 247 million elementary and secondary school children. In addition, there were over six million children already out of school even before the COVID-19 crisis began, the report stated. Furthermore, a survey of parents of children between the ages of five-fifteen years in Delhi saw 54 per cent admitting that their offspring were spending an average of five hours more on their smartphones and computers daily—84 per cent of parents were concerned about this.

A Right to Education Forum policy brief released in January offered more horrifying statistics, with one being that ten million girls in India could drop out of secondary school due to the pandemic.

In a country like India, where only 47% of households have access to the internet, majority of the children are forced to put their education on hold. It has also been observed that children who are out of school for an extended period (especially girls) are less likely to return to school. All across the country, children have also had to shift to villages. Some may never return, as they start helping the family in the field or other small businesses.

Shutting down of schools in India has also left many students to suffer this pandemic whilst being devoid of food as most of the children attend schools to get a one-time meal provided by the government under the midday-meal scheme.

A Save the Children survey of 7,235 families across 15 Indian states, conducted in June last year, found that children in 62 per cent of households discontinued their education amid the pandemic. The survey further discovered that 40 per cent of the children were not receiving mid-day meals, and eight out of 10 households reported a loss of income.

With that, the pandemic has also put child protection and child rights at a higher risk than ever before. The trajectory of new infections may be ebbing, but it has taken a severe toll on the most vulnerable cohort — children. According to figures given out by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, 3,621 children were orphaned and 274 abandoned between April 1, 2021, to June 5, 2021. Many among them may not even have close relatives, or their extended families may be unwilling or incapable to take them in.

Children who lost their parents or were hospitalised due to the virus are vulnerable to trafficking and other forms of exploitation. With not too many options to survive, they end up being abused to earn some money. According to a report published in 2019 by the Jena Committee on Child Care Institutions (CCIs), there are as many as 1.8 lakh children from such poor, vulnerable backgrounds living in Child Care Institutions (during the period of 2016-2017) across India. When the COVID-19 lockdown happened in March last year, many such children found themselves back home.

In 2020, at least 92,203 interventions were made by CHILDLINE, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development's nodal agency, to protect children in distress during the lockdown period. Of the total, 5584 interventions (nearly 35 per cent) were related to child marriage.

COVID-19 has resulted in an exponential rise not only in child marriage but also in child labour. With most men and women from economically weaker sections losing their jobs, their children have been compelled to work. Child labour is more in demand as children are more likely to take up work for less pay and can be easily exploited and, from that, be further exposed to vulnerable conditions. The survey titled COVID-19: Reversing the Situation of Child Labour showed that child labour had rapidly increased to around 280 per cent among the vulnerable communities — the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes and those from a low economic background during the pandemic.

Child Care Institutions provide a safe space, catering to the basic needs of the children. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 induced lockdown stalled their smooth functioning. As per the (The Times of India, 2020) supply of essential commodities, medicines and teaching materials were severely affected. Many (CCIs) are struggling financially as a majority of the donors are now leaning towards COVID-19 relief and healthcare-related initiatives. There are many concerns among the CCIs regarding their long term sustainability, particularly regarding resources and support. Due to the lockdown and related crisis, many organisations have had to turn to a digital work mode. A lack of digital skills has resulted in many struggling to work remotely. Organisations have had to suspend their work due to the crisis and a severe lack of funds. Some organisations taking care of children have even had to shut down.

Due to the lockdown and lack of staff in CCIs, organisations had to adopt a residential shift system. They had to stay at the CCIs for weeks and sometimes even for months, which led to psychological stress on the children and staff. As per (SAGE Journals) the Residential staff at CCIs faced an extra workload of keeping the children engaged through various activities and counselling. According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, 53.6% of the CCIs didn’t have adequate caregivers, and only 28.7% had enough food. Many social workers had to and continue to quit their job in fear of getting infected by the virus. With limited resources and an abundance of fear, CCIs are trying their best to serve their beneficiaries.

The sudden pandemic outbreak has had a devastating impact on the lives of everyone, and for some, the pandemic has caused lifelong pain. Many lost their family, their jobs and were forced to live without food for days. The essence of this article is to make you understand the gravity of the situation and how the imposed uncertainty has instilled anxiety, fear and triggered trauma, especially among the children.

TARA feels and understands the pain of it all, as we were severely hit by the virus as well, with most of our children and staff being affected. However, with the support of our kind sponsors and supporters, we managed to come out of it strongly and strive to protect our children relentlessly. Nevertheless, we still need your constant help with the smoothing functioning of the programs and urge you to bestow your generosity upon us. Every little step counts!