India’s first child friendly Railway
station – Child Protection System
Presentation by Railway Children
For OHCHR expert consultation
1st November 2011
Website: www.railwaychildren.org.uk
Railway Children, Company Limited by Guarantee, Registered in England & Wales, No. 3265496,
Registered Office 1 The Commons, Sandbach CW11 1EG
Railway Children
• Railway Children is an international development
agency working in the UK, India and East Africa.
• Railway Children works to create and enable
sustainable change in the lives of children living on
streets, without care or protection.
• Railway Children is delighted to have this
opportunity to share with you our learning in
creating and supporting a child rights protection
model at Railway Stations.
India and its children
•
19% of world’s children live in India and almost 42%
of its population are children.
•
It is estimated that around 170 million children are
vulnerable. Which include children surviving on
streets and transport terminals.
•
53% of children reported having faced sexual abuse
– Govt. of India “Study on Child Abuse, India 2007”.
•
The aggregate outlay for children schemes in union
budget 2010-11 as compared to total outlay is 4.1%.
•
UNICEF’s (1994) estimate of 11 million street children
in India, still remains widely quoted data.
•
Railway Children (2009) estimated that 112,000
children arrive at railway stations of India per year.
•
Railway Station is a critical point of intervention,
intervening early to protect children from entering
“street life”.
Is this because there is a lack of policy
and legislative framework? - NO
• Article 15 of constitution of India - special laws
and policies to safeguard rights of children.
• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956
• Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act,1986
• India signed CRC in 1992
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000 & 2006
• Commission for Protection of the Rights of the
Child Act, 2005
• Schemes and programmes:- Programme for
Juvenile Justice (post 2000), Integrated programme
for street children (post 2000), Child line (1996),
Integrated Child Protection Scheme (2006), National
policy for children (1974)
Then Why? - Major challenges in Child
Protection
• Gaps in effective implementation of provisions
of schemes and legislatives:
(E.g. Uttar Pradesh has 83 Districts, but there are only 33 Govt. homes for
children and only 3 for physically challenged – JJ Act provisions for Govt.
home in all the districts.)
• The movement of child rights protection has
gained momentum in last two decades understanding of the resource requirement and
implementation structure is still evolving.
• Children are not a part of vote bank and hence
push for enactment is weak.
• Need is huge – service and infrastructure in
comparison is negligible
• Need for adequate and trained human resource
• Multi stakeholder child protection systems led
by Govt. stakeholders – a workable solution
to strengthen the implementation of schemes
and legislative provisions
2011
Journey of India’s first Child Friendly Railway Station
2010
2006
Railway Children
Protection & Surveillance
Mechanism
Railways, RPF/ GRP,
vendors, porters
begin tracking new
children @ the
platform
2008-09
300+ Railway/RPF/GRP
personnel pledge to
make Lucknow India’s
1st CFS by 2011.
NR forms Special Task
Force which declares
making Lucknow child
friendly by 2011, its goal
Child Protection
Committee formed
4 Child Welfare
Officers
appointed
@ Charbagh, India’s 1st
child friendly station
-Every lost/runaway child is
immediately attended to.
-More children avail basic facilities,
reunified with families
-More RPF/GRP referrals
-More awareness, JJ Act trainings
-No drug peddlers/beggars/pimps
Participation in
Vision 20-20
conference
Stakeholder
network very
active
Railways & NGOs
engage in public-pvt
partnership
State level
consultation
JJ Act & Child
Right trainings
1st child
protection
booth set up
at the station
Ehsaas:
outreach & DIC
Pre-2006
Children at
Lucknow
- Don’t have access to basic
facilities
- Addicted to sniffing ‘solution’
- Police book them under
Railway Act rather than JJ Act
Tunnels of Challenges
Mobility of children
North Eastern railways are not as active as Northern Railways
Older children = ‘troublemakers’
Only new/lost children are a priority
Procedural delays – e.g. transfers/orienting new staff
Lucknow – Multi stakeholder Child Protection Network
1. A vigilant and responsive child
protection forum
2. Trained, responsive and sensitive police
3. Effective multi stakeholder outreach –
active participation from Child line (Govt.
scheme)
4. Child help line displayed
5. Child protection booth at platform 1
manned 2 personnel – linked to outreach
6. 24 hr drop in centre operated by NGO (JJ
Act)
7. Support system within city for disabled
and terminally ill (JJ Act)
1. Child welfare officers in RPF & GRP (JJ Act)
2. Outreach at station linked to CWC in the city (JJ
Act)
3. Govt. home for children linked for medium term
care and protection (JJ Act)
4. Need based residential vocational training
(ICPS)
PLANNING
AND MONITORING
COMMITTEE
Senior Railway & police
Officials and NGO heads
RAILWAY CHILDREN
SURVEILLANCE AND
PROTECTION CELL
Station level Railway &
police officials and
NGO coordinators and
outreach workers
NGO’s
SURVEILLANCE &
PROTECTION
NETWORK
Peer
Educators
Child
line
Coolies
Passenger
Vendors
Railway
Officials
Street
Children
Why this is a good practice & key learning
This “child protection network” ensures effective
implementation of various legislations and schemes in
Uttar Pradesh at a macro level and Lucknow city at a
micro level.
• First four child welfare officers (from Railway
Protection Force, Govt. Railway Police) have been
appointed for Lucknow station and in all GRPs across
UP- JJ Act, 2000 & 2006
•Children are referred to Child Welfare Committee by
RPF & GRP for rehabilitation and reintegration - JJ Act,
2000 & 2006 (round ups stopped).
• 50% increase in RPF/GRP referrals of children to
EHSAAS’s drop in centre – in turn 14 % increase in the
number of children being reunified in coordination with
Child Welfare Committees. - JJ Act, 2000 & 2006
• Traffickers are also being intercepted and children
rescued . Also, perpetrators of crime against children
are arrested by police and punished. – Child labour Act
and Immoral Trafficking prevention Act. No. of children
etc… - include that.
•EHSAAS’ (local NGO) Drop-in-centre is the first to be
registered under the Integrated Child Protection
Scheme so as to get Govt. aid. - Govt. scheme
(access to education and development)
Key Learning: - For the sustenance of multiple
stakeholder initiative, it is effective if primary Govt.
stakeholder (not the civil society) takes the lead.