Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network-Udupi (HB)
Udupi, Oct 17: A workshop on ‘POCSO and Juvenile Act, Childrens rights and protection of Children’ was held here on Monday, October 16 at V S Acharya memorial auditorium.
The programme was organized under the aegis of district administration, zilla panchayat Udupi, Women and Child development Department and District Children's Protection Unit.
After inaugurating the workshop, district in-charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj said, “India has the highest number of children in the world. They are the asset of the country and are the future leaders not only for this country but also the world. No one should destroy them. The protection of children is a responsibility of society, government and the institutions.”
“It is a tragedy that thousands of girls become victims of sexual harassment domestically as well as externally. We need to create awareness on this issue. Many cases of child abuse go unreported because parents are afraid of taking legal action. Sometimes, children are harassed by close relatives which is very difficult for parents to accept and report the same to police.”
“If any child gets hurt, people from that community are affected adversely. There are many rules and acts, but they remain only in papers. The education department should administer their power in strengthening law and order. They should be zero tolerance while taking action against culprits of child abuse.”
Member of Vanitha Thorvi and also member of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KCPCR) said, “Victims of child abuse need confidence from parents and society. We as community should strengthen their minds so that they can face the problems courageously. People, along with police personnel need to be educated regarding POCSO and Juvenile Justice Act.”
Deputy commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis, district superintendent of police Sanjiv M Patil, zilla panchayat CEO Shivanand Kapashi, zilla panchayat president Dinakar Babu, vice president Sheela K Shetty and others were present.