<ul><li>Globally, human trafficking is a $150 billion industry, and India has lost 1.2 million of its children to this.</li><li>Already, 40% of Indian women in the sex trade are children, and added to that 66% of the revenue generated from trafficking comes from sexual exploitation.</li><li>Child porn is an $8 billion industry for content creation only. </li></ul> (Disclaimer: This interview was originally published on Business Insider in July 2019) Most of India’s lost children end up in brothels. Already, 40% of Indian women in the sex trade are children, and added to that 66% of the revenue generated from trafficking comes from sexual exploitation. Unfortunately, this is only increasing as children are also being extensively used for child porn as well, which has exploded in the era of high-speed internet. “In India, short films are produced while the children are being raped. If the girl is a virgin or being gang raped by a group of boys, such a blue film is sold at a higher price,” <keyword id="377475" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kailash-Satyarthi">Kailash Satyarthi</keyword> tells Business Insider in an interview. Since there is a premium on the ‘age’ of such victims, younger and younger children are roped into this trade. Globally, human trafficking is a $150 billion industry, and India has lost 1.2 million of its children to this. Many such children end up in Internet chat rooms where they are put in obscene situations as well, making child porn the root of many ills. Some children are either brainwashed or medicated to take part in this ugly industry. And, this business extends across borders and it’s large. Globally, only content creation of child porn is $8 billion industry. Chat rooms &amp; blackmail The Nobel laureate has been working for enslaved and trafficked children, is also waging a war against child porn. Satyarthi has been demanding a legally binding UN convention from world leaders which can monitor the activities and also have enough teeth to prosecute offenders across borders. “The reason it is proliferating; is that it is a profitable business for those without a conscience. There are no costs; all the source material is either trafficked or hacked into! And payments are not traceable, because they use either cold cash, or crypto-currencies or some such mind boggling currency,” he explains. Porn and crime Porn has two sinister faces where child victims are used to create them, and some of its consumers are children too. Today, thanks to telecom revolution and cheap data, children across hinterlands of India wield smart phones. Unfortunately they access videos with graphic content which glorifies rape, gang rape and violence, seeding such thoughts into young minds. Satyarthi tells the disturbing story where four boys aged between 12 and 15 who were heavy consumers of porn. “One of them had a 7 year old sister. One day, when the parents were not home; the boy brought on gang rape on his own sister! They gang raped that girl. Such exposure erodes our sense of morality,” he laments. Prosecution The problem is deeply entrenched into the fabric of the society. Yet, the government too is playing its part to eradicate it. In the last one year, the number of prosecution against criminals in trafficking has increased five-fold. But, freeing such children from the industry is only one side of the coin. To help them, government formed a victim compensation scheme, but it has a few loopholes. The victims are not entitled to the compensation until the summary trial begins, and activists are working on ways where the rehabilitation process starts faster. In the case of child prostitutes, psychological, social integration is a challenge. This is also true with victims of rape, where society places stigma on the victim and the family. “It’s a shame that, the victims are always treated as culprits, they are stigmatized. It’s a sickness, this is the dirt in our minds and we should clean it,” says Satyarthi.

This Kailash Satyarthi interview is a reminder that the worst form of child labour is child porn — an $8 billion industry

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/44774852.cms" /> With a dream to uproot social evils from the lives of innocent children, <keyword id="377475" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kailash-Satyarthi">Kailash Satyarthi</keyword> bid goodbye to his lucrative engineering career to start <keyword id="6372314" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bachpan-Bachao-Andolan">Bachpan Bachao Andolan</keyword>, a non-profit organisation. And his hardwork paid off, as the renowned child right activist was today honoured with the <keyword id="8954" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nobel-Peace-Prize">Nobel Peace Prize</keyword> 2014. He shared this prestigious award with Pakistan’s <keyword id="1410347" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Malala-Yousafzai">Malala Yousafzai</keyword>, the woman rights activist who was shot by a <keyword id="16945" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Taliban">Taliban</keyword> fighter in 2012. Let’s take a look at what this man’s aim, worries and future plans are. 
 
Aim: To see children smiling 
 Pursuing his simple dream to see kids across the country smiling, Kailash Satyarthi formed Bachpan Bachao Andolan in 1980, an organisation of like minded people working together to wipe out <keyword id="6385970" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Child-Trafficking">child trafficking</keyword>. He had this belief that it is impossible for just one person to fight social evils existing in the Indian society, and thus he keeps motivating people to come forward and be the part of this great initiative, which aims at bringing smile on the faces of innocent kids. 
Kailash feels strongly for kids who are forced into the worst kinds of abusive work. While describing children’s plight, he once told media that "If they cry for their parents, they are beaten severely, sometimes hanged upside down from trees and even branded or burned with cigarettes.” 
 
Worry: Child trafficking growing at a <keyword id="2552540" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="faster-pace">faster pace</keyword> 
 
Satyarthi is worried about the fact that inter-state trafficking is growing at a faster pace in the country. Kids are trafficked from smaller towns to bigger cities, wherein they work as child labourers. These kids work laboriously throughout the day and in return don’t even get essential meals and money. 
 
Vision: Calls for strong laws on child trafficking 
 
Satyarthi feels that India doesn’t have strong laws on child trafficking. During one of his interviews to leading media house, he had said, “We have a law on immoral trafficking and that is basically for adult trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. Therefore, it is important for the government to form some tough laws to tackle this menace.” 
 
Wish: If <keyword id="6355532" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mahatma-Gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</keyword> would have received the much-deserved honour 
 
Today, it was a great day for Satyarthi to get worldwide recognition, but the man made a great statement on the stage that must have touched every Indian’s heart. It touched ours’ at least. After receiving the award, he had said, "I am really honoured but if the prize had gone to Mahatma Gandhi before me I would have been more honoured" 
(Image: kailashsatyarthi.net)

Kailash Satyarthi: A Relentless Crusader Of Child Rights

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Noting that safety of children should be the centrepiece of the Union Budget, child rights organisations have demanded an increased allocation for elimination of child labour and more investment in strengthening the social safety-net. They also said that effective preventive mechanisms need to be accelerated on an immediate basis. The Union Budget 2022-23 will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday. Executive Director Kailash Satyarthi Foundation Jyoti Mathur said the overall percentage share of budget allocation for children in the Union Budget must be improved, and it should be restored at least to the level of 2020-21. "It is noteworthy to mention here that the percentage share of the Union Budget allocated for the welfare of children has been reduced from 3.16 per cent (2020-21) to 2.46 per cent (2021-22). This is the lowest share of the budget allocated for the welfare of children in the last 11 years," she said. "In addition, if we look at the budget allocation for the previous two years, the total budget allocated towards the welfare of children has declined by 11 per cent in 2021-22 over 2020-21 (a decline from Rs 96,042 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 85,713 crore in 2021-22)," she said. There should also be an increased allocation for elimination of child labour with a comprehensive national action plan, Mathur added. Other suggestions include enhanced budgetary allocation for rehabilitation of bonded labour, which is a part of the overall budget head of the National Child Labour Project (NCLP). "Since the budget head of the NCLP also includes grants-in-aid to voluntary agencies and reimbursement of assistance to bonded labour it appears impossible to provide any assistance to the victims of bonded labour as the allocation is grossly inadequate even to maintain the fixed expenditure under the NCLP," she said. Mathur highlighted the need for establishing an international Centre to address incidences of 'online child sexual abuse'. Chief Executive Officer of CRY–Child Rights and You, Puja Marwaha, said children should be placed at the centre of any development discourse – both for themselves and for the inclusive growth of the country – and this should be the centrepiece of the Union Budget. Elaborating on the multiple impacts of the Covid pandemic on children, she said, "Experiences and learnings from prior humanitarian crises have shown that children tend to be disproportionately affected during such critical times and their rights, lives and well-being are at risk of irreparable harm." "Owing to disruptions in education and health-care systems, lack of access to nutrition and protection services over the past two years, their vulnerabilities, especially within rural areas and marginalised communities have increased multiple times," Marwaha sadi. COVID-19 has impacted children in diverse ways – be it physical, emotional, cognitive, or social repercussions, including transition or migration, familial crises, isolation from friends, discontinuity of learning, environment, quarantine, hospitalisation of self or family members, and entry into adult roles of work or marriage, she said. Consequently, the lives of India's children were severely restricted in terms of their access to education, nutrition and development, and child protection, Marwaha added. Underscoring the importance of adequate provisioning for the child protection systems, she said, "Given the increase in numbers of children facing risks such as entry into child labour or marriage, more investment in strengthening the social safety-net and effective preventive mechanisms needs to be accelerated on an immediate basis." PTI UZM ANB ANB

Budget: Child rights NGOs demand increased allocation for elimination of child labour

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/44850645.cms" /> 
 <keyword id="377475" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kailash-Satyarthi">Kailash Satyarthi</keyword>’s nondescript office in a dusty, poorly paved street in Kalkaji in New Delhi seems to camouflage the enormity and significance of the work he has done since 1980 when he launched <keyword id="6372314" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bachpan-Bachao-Andolan">Bachpan Bachao Andolan</keyword> (<keyword id="6356026" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="BBA">BBA</keyword>). The forum, which he initiated as a grassroots-level people's movement to end the exploitation of children, especially <keyword id="6377229" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Child-labour">child labour</keyword> and child trafficking, has acted to protect the rights of more than 83,000 children from 144 countries over 35 years. Today BBA has over 80,000 individuals and 750 organisations as members, who advocate and act for the protection of <keyword id="102345" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Child-rights">child rights</keyword>. In an era when frivolity is seen as a better value than compassion, it is not a surprise that in India where even junior Bollywood actors effortlessly hog the limelight, the 60-year-old Satyarthi has almost remained an unknown name till he bagged this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace along with Malala Yousafzai. 
 
Satyarthi gained prominence as a tireless voice for millions of voiceless children who are battered in smoke-filled factories and tiny shanties amid horrendous working conditions in developing countries across the world, when he organised Global March Against Child Labor in 103 countries in 1990s. The march was aimed at freeing millions of children abused worldwide and led to an International Labor Organization (ILO) convention on child labour. He is also credited with establishing Rugmark, now known as Good Weave, a widely known international scheme that tags all carpets made in factories that are child-labour free. 
 
Child labour is possibly as old as flesh trade as a means of exploitation, dating back centuries. For much of human history and across different cultures, children less than 17 years old have been forced to work, which has unfortunately been the only means of sustenance for thousands of impoverished families across the globe. According to ILO, among the key factors driving children to harmful labour is the lack of availability and quality of schooling. In many communities, there are no schools or they are far away; also, schools are often unaffordable or quality of education is so poor that parents wonder if sending children to school is worthwhile. 
 
An increasing number of child labourers is an economic issue too. Child labourers are denied opportunity for education, and development physically, intellectually and psychologically. This translates into losses for the economy compared with the cost benefits that would have resulted had they been educated and skilled with enhanced ability to support industrial, business and economic activities. Children who are denied educational opportunities and remain illiterate also fail to take care of their own well being and that of the family and community they belong to once they grow up. As children as not fit for long hours of work, hazardous labour makes them sick, proving a drag on overall social cost as monetary resources meant to be spent on development activities are then required to be diverted to treating and taking care of the diseased. 
 
Despite India passing legislation that prohibits solicitation or use of labour by children, in 1977, bonded child labour—a system of forced labour under which a child or his/her parent enters into an agreement with a creditor offering the child as a labourer—continues unabated. 
 
Even as the news of Satyarthi becoming the seventh Indian to bag the prestigious Nobel Prize was spreading, media reports highlighted Child Welfare Committee (CWC)’s efforts to help rescue hundreds of child labourers from small-scale jari factories in and around Mumbai. Such stories about operations rescuing children from bonded labour remind us that India, along with the entire developing world, needs to do a lot more to eliminate child labour which continues to be a clear blemish on its socio-economic fabric which is otherwise poised to flourish in the years to come. However, the work done by people like Satyarthi encourages one to hope that the country, and its peers across the globe, will be able to wash the blemish sooner than expected. 
 
Image: indiatimes

Child Labour: A Ubiquitous Blemish That The Civilised World Should Be Ashamed Of

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/49429193.cms" /> 
 <keyword id="8954" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nobel-Peace-Prize">Nobel Peace Prize</keyword> winner <keyword id="377475" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kailash-Satyarthi">Kailash Satyarthi</keyword> has been conferred with Harvard University's prestigious humanitarian award for this year, in recognition of his continuing contribution to the cause of child rights. 
 
The annual award by the prestigious university is given to an individual whose works and deeds have served to improve the quality of lives and have inspired us to greater heights. Satyarthi is the first Indian to have been given this award. 
 
The university said the 'Harvard Humanitarian of the Year' has been awarded to Satyarthi for his contributions in the field of child rights and abolition of child slavery. 
 
Satyarthi recently succeeded in getting child protection and welfare-related clauses included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, which aim to end slavery, trafficking, forced labour and violence. 
 
"I humbly accept the award on behalf of millions of left out children, for whose rights we strive to work for. Let us all pledge together to eradicate child slavery from the world," the social activist said in his acceptance speech yesterday. 
 
"Even developed countries, including the Unites States, have hundreds of slaves who are forced into labour, pushed into sex trade or trafficked into domestic labour. Undocumented immigrants, people in the margins of the society are pulled into a circuit of slavery," he said. 
 
Each year the Harvard Foundation presents Humanitarian Award to people whose work and deeds have served to improve the society and inspire people to achieve greater heights. 
 
In past this award has been conferred upon luminaries such as Martin Luther King Sr, Secretaries-General of the United Nations: Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Javier Perez de Cuellar, and Ban Ki-moon; Nobel laureates: Jose Ramos-Horta, Bishop Desmond Tutu, John Hume, and Elie Wiesel; Ethel Kennedy, R C Gorman, artist and ThorbjornJagland, head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee, to name a few. 
 
Image credits: Indiatimes

Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi awarded Harvard Humanitarian Award!

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46715872.cms" /> India has produced many great leaders in the past, and there are some names that the entire world swears by. Now, two new names have been added to that list: Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> and Nobel laureate <keyword id="377475" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kailash-Satyarthi">Kailash Satyarthi</keyword>. A recent ET report reveals that they have been named among the 50 greatest leaders in the world by <keyword id="175618" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fortune-magazine">Fortune magazine</keyword> in its annual list of "extraordinary" men and women transforming business, government and philanthropy. 
 
While Modi is ranked 5th on the 2015 roster of 'World's Greatest Leaders', Satyarthi has earned the 28th spot. 
 
On the top of the list is Apple CEO Tim Cook. Surprisingly, Fortune hasn’t included the US President Barack Obama in the list for a second year in a row. 
Fortune said that "faced with difficult circumstances" domestically and globally, Obama has "surrendered." 
 
Modi has earned the top honors because Fortune believes the Indian leader has "actually" begun to deliver on his election promises and is "making genuine progress" in his efforts to make India more business-friendly and less regulated, addressing violence against women, improving sanitation and "patching up relations with other Asian countries and the US". 
 
It said there is still a "long way to go" and fully achieving Modi's goals will require "reforming India's powerful, widely corrupt bureaucracy." 
On Satyarthi, Fortune said while he had been "overshadowed" by last year's other recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize Malala Yousafzai, Satyarthi has led the global fight against child labor for more than three decades. It said no one has done as much to prevent child labour as he has. 
 
Also included in the list are European Central Bank President Mario Draghi (2), Chinese President Xi Jingping (3), Pope Francis (4), General Motors CEO Mary Barra (9), Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz (17), Bill and Melinda Gates (18), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (25), J P Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon (38) and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick (44). 
 
The list also includes Indian-origin CEO of nonprofit Last Mile Health Raj Panjabi on the 34th spot. Panjabi, a native of Liberia, is working with Liberia's government to launch a national community health worker programme.

Narendra Modi and Kailash Satyarthi are world’s greatest leaders, says Fortune Magazine

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46312035.cms" /> It’s a well known fact that India is pitted to overtake China in the next few years as the most populated country in the world. This means that the resources in India will have to be maximised with the growing number of population. This also means that the average number of young Indians in the next few years is bound to increase. This would put the country on a different pedestal when it comes to framing policies for the future.

	Youth Share Increasing<o:p></o:p>

	For instance, when the average age of an Indian is going to be 29 years by 2030, it becomes imperative for successive governments to provide impetus to growth related policies that would have good direction and generate jobs for the future. And for this to happen, the country needs to protect the youth of future and arm them with education in order to ensure their skills are upgraded from their predecessors.<o:p></o:p>

	There are clear gender divides in child labour too. While small boys are employed in shacks, sweat shops and smaller factories that are largely part of the unorganized sector; girls are employed as domestic helps and house helps.<o:p></o:p>

	Child protection policies and advocacy efforts to ensure children are protected from getting caught in the quagmire of labour is something the government needs to focus on.<o:p></o:p>

	The Nobel Effect<o:p></o:p>

	Bring into context the <keyword id="52659" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="nobel-prize">Nobel prize</keyword> awarded to child rights activist <keyword id="377475" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kailash-Satyarthi">Kailash Satyarthi</keyword>. The man has been a crusader for child rights since the last few decades, and intends to intensify his efforts in making sure every child in the country has an equal opportunity at the future, over factors such as his/her economic background or gender.<o:p></o:p>

	The nine-month old <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword> has been on a good stead on these issues and child rights has arrived back in focus as the new government will sit through sessions on the most coveted budget by the last week of this month.<o:p></o:p>

	The government has sent out adequate feelers that it will take up the bill on prohibition of child labour in the upcoming budget session which is due to begin on February 23. The <keyword id="6360189" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget">union budget</keyword> for 2015 -16 will be presented on February 28.<o:p></o:p>

	Labour Minister <keyword id="115762" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bandaru-Dattatreya">Bandaru Dattatreya</keyword> who felicitated Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi recently said Child protection bill was due to be presented in the Parliament and this would be done on immediate basis.<o:p></o:p>

	Currently, the bill lacks total ban on employing ‘chotus’ (common phrase used to address child labourers in north India) in various small, medium and large sectors of <keyword id="68179" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hospitality-industry">hospitality industry</keyword>, with most of them doing menial jobs at the cost of missing their education, to support their large families.<o:p></o:p>

	The Blanket Ban?<o:p></o:p>

	The government is not only mulling over blanket ban on child labour, but also on making right to education as a compulsory factor across India. Experts have been arguing since long that when you remove children from the context of menial jobs, you need to place them in a better position to help them envision their bright future. Unless that is done, child labour, like prostitution, will never be eradicated from the face of earth. Because, as long as there is cheap labour, which will not raise its voice against any injustice, or low pay or exploitation, even large industries would love to have them. And this will turn into an endless chain. Large industries will feed on child labour, and vice-versa. When children under 14 years are encouraged to go to schools, there has to be a foolproof system that will ensure they are getting their share of education, given to them as a matter of right and not as a favour.<o:p></o:p>

	In a country like India where 41% children are below 18 years of age, which makes it a staggering number in terms of population share, the budgetary allocation for their bright future is rather miniscule. India sets aside only about 4.5% of its annual budget is spent on them. What needs immediate attention though, is the way we look at implementation of laws surrounding child protection, and anti-child labour acts. This cannot be the job of social sector alone. Unless government gets down to crack the whip, the detractors and perpetrators will still continue to dole out small jobs with high amount of work for money that’s not even worth mentioning, to be extracted from these young people.<o:p></o:p>

	The Current Policy<o:p></o:p>

	Currently, the child labour (protection and rehabilitation) amendment bill, 2012 talks about total banning of employment of children below 14 years of age. It also prohibits children aged between 14 and 18 from being employed in hazardous occupations and processes.<o:p></o:p>

	However, what would be open for interpretation is the definition of ‘hazardous’ occupations. Would zardosi work be considered hazardous? By nature of work, it isn’t because it does not involve working in harsh conditions. But, when you consider millions of young nubile hands are the secret behind those skillfully done embroideries, you may want to think again. Hopefully, the budget discussion will address these concerns when it comes to child labour.<o:p></o:p>

Budget 2015: Will children get their due?

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/44772990.cms" /> At a time of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan due to frequent ceasefire violations, both the countries shared the 2014 <keyword id="8954" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nobel-Peace-Prize">Nobel Peace Prize</keyword>. India’s children rights activist <keyword id="377475" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kailash-Satyarthi">Kailash Satyarthi</keyword> and Pakistani schoolgirl <keyword id="1410347" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Malala-Yousafzai">Malala Yousafzai</keyword>, who defied Taliban diktat, were declared the joint winners of the prize. Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, <keyword id="1322263" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Thorbjoern-Jagland">Thorbjoern Jagland</keyword>, made this announcement today. 
 
Yousafzai, 17, has now become the youngest Nobel Prize winner. Earlier, this record was held by Australia-born British scientist Lawrence Bragg, who was 25 when he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915. 
 
While making the announcement, Jagland said, “Children must go to school, not be financially exploited. In the poor countries of the world, 60% of the present population is under 25 years of age. It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected. In conflict-ridden areas in particular, the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation." 
 
Satyarthi has led several peaceful protests against exploitation of children for financial gains. He has also played an important role in developing important international conventions on children’s rights. After winning the award, Satyarthi said, "I am thankful to those who supported me." 
 
"The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism. Many other individuals and institutions in the international community have also contributed. It has been calculated that there are 168 million child labourers around the world today. In 2000, the figure was 78 million higher. The world has come closer to the goal of eliminating child labour," the committee said.

Indo-Pak Nationals Share Nobel Peace Prize Amid Tensions At Border

<ul><li>India reported maximum number of online child sexual abuse imagery (CSAI) cases, followed by Thailand, shows the data by US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). </li><li>It accounts for 3.88 million such cases filed between 1998 and 2017. </li><li>As per the Ministry of Law and Justice, there are over 100 pending child abuse cases across 389 districts in India. </li><li>The other countries which rank high in 10 CSAI are Mexico, Bangladesh, United States, Brazil, Vietnam, Algeria and Pakistan. </li></ul>India reported maximum number of <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-tops-list-on-reported-child-sexual-abuse-imagery/articleshow/71383544.cms">online child sexual abuse imagery</a> (CSAI) cases, followed by Thailand, shows the data by US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). NCMEC is the largest clearing house for the CSAI content shared on online platforms. According to the report, India accounts for 3.88 million such cases filed between 1998 and 2017. This is despite the fact that India is estimated to have merely 11.9 per 1,000 internet users — which is way less than Iraq and Thailand. As per the Ministry of Law and Justice, there are over 100 pending child abuse cases under the (POCSO) act — Protection of Children from Sexual Offences — across 389 districts in India, News18 <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/389-indian-districts-have-over-100-pending-cases-of-child-abuse-2325335.html">reported</a>. The new amendments in the act seeks a gender-neutral approach on offences against children, aiming to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/protection-of-children-from-sexual-offences-amendment-bill-2019-passed-in-lok-sabha/articleshow/70492301.cms">protect its 430 million children</a>, regardless of the gender. Under this, those convicted relating to <keyword id="24545" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Child-pornography">child pornography</keyword> will receive a five-year jail term. The other countries which rank high in CSAI are Mexico, Bangladesh, United States, Brazil, Vietnam, Algeria and Pakistan. However, India, Indonesia and Thailand constitute of more than a third (37%) of the cases reported. Overall, of the 23 million cases, nearly two in every five reports (40%) were filed in 2017. The NCMEC received 5.7 lakh reports during the first ten years of operation. “The data shows that ten years ago, 70% of CSAI reports reflected abuse in the Americas. Today, 68% of reports are related to abuse in Asia, 19% in the Americas, 6% in Europe, and 7% in Africa. Also, 84% of the detected CSAI images and 91% of the videos are reported only once,” TOI <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-tops-list-on-reported-child-sexual-abuse-imagery/articleshow/71383544.cms">reported</a> citing the findings from the report. The countries are flagged on the basis of the locations of the IP addresses of such abuse, and victims. However, change in geographical locations due to VPN and proxy networks may affect the accuracy of the results. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/protection-of-children-from-sexual-offences-amendment-bill-2019-passed-in-lok-sabha/articleshow/70492301.cms">India moves to protect its 430 million children, with death for sexual assaulters and much more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-why-Indian-governments-good-touch-bad-touch-sex-education-might-not-be-enough/articleshow/70498343.cms">Here’s why Indian government’s ‘good touch-bad touch’ sex education might not be enough</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/how-big-is-the-child-porn-industry-explains-kailash-sathyarthi/articleshow/70443534.cms">EXCLUSIVE: The shocking scale of child porn has led to more trafficking and abuse of kids, says Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi</a>

A third of the world’s child porn is flagged off in India, Indonesia and Thailand

<ul><li>Schools under CBSE and state board will initiate interventions on ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’. </li><li>“We don’t have age appropriate sex education for young people,” says Nobel prize winner Kailash Satyarthi. </li><li>“Sex education should not just address possible victims but also probable offenders,” says activist Harish Iyer. </li></ul> A large section of India’s children are vulnerable to many forms of sex offences. Unfortunately, few of them are aware of these threats and the way to handle them. Of late, the Indian government is waking up to the importance of sex education. The numbers of cases of child<a href="https://www.ibtimes.co.in/5-minor-boys-plan-gang-rape-8-year-old-girl-uttarakhand-after-watching-porn-775171"> rape went up</a> by 82% to 19,765 in 2016 from the year before, as per National Crime Bureau data. Smriti Irani, the Minister of Women and Child Development said that schools will soon educate the country’s 430 million children of the ills surrounding them. “All the schools under CBSE and state board will initiate interventions on ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’,” Irani told the Lok Sabha. Not just about sex but sensitization Experts feel that <keyword id="2466119" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sex-education-in-India">sex education in India</keyword> needs a rapid upgrade. Currently, Indian sex education is relegated to a single lesson in 10th standard where reproduction is explained without details on the act of sex. However, topics like unsafe sex, sexually transmitted diseases and contraceptives are introduced. “We don’t have age appropriate sex education for young people, where children can learn about their bodies and how to protect their bodies. They should learn this in schools,” Kailash Satyarthi, who won a Nobel prize in 2014 for helping eradicate child labour, told Business Insider India. Harish Iyer, a Mumbai-based activist and a child abuse survivor whose testimony was read out in the Lok Sabha, believes that sex education should go beyond bad touch and safe sex. “We should call it sensitivity education where children should be taught about sexuality and sensitize them. We should address probable offenders as well as possible victims,” Iyer told Business Insider India. Start with the parents Child activists are also concerned about the ease at which child and other forms of porn are available online. Satyarthi wants Indian homes to recognize the ill-effects of such exposure. However, few Indian parents have a heart-to-heart chat with their children, and topics like sex are left out of dinner conversations. He believes that parents should be taught about the importance of sex education first. “This is still a social taboo. Parents and teachers don’t talk to their children on these issues. Youngsters in villages are not exposed to new age consequences. It is easy for a predator to click the picture of an unsuspecting child, modifying it and then blackmail them,” Satyarthi says. In India, young girls receive some form of sex education from aunts, mothers and grandmothers while boys are left out of the equation. There’s also twist to home-grown sex education — the advice to not have sex at all. “Sex education should not be about abstinence only. It should include safe sex practices, and parents should educate children about the right age to try sex as well,” says Iyer.

Here’s why Indian government’s ‘good touch-bad touch’ sex education might not be enough

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53772099.cms" /> 
 Amidst all the celebratory din on the clearing of the GST bill, the <keyword id="6377229" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Child-labour">Child Labour</keyword> (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 passed both the houses of Parliament without the attention it deserved. The Bill amends the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 which had banned the employment of children, that is those below 14 years of age, in 83 specified occupations/processes. The amendment prohibits engagement of children, which it now defines as 14 years or as specified by the Right to Education (RTE) Act, in all occupations except in family or family-based enterprise (after school hours or during vacations) and in the audio-visual entertainment industry or sports activity. It also created a new category of “adolescent”, which includes those between 14 to 18 years of age, and prohibits their employment in hazardous occupations, or hazardous processes. 
 
There have been widespread criticisms of the exceptions for family or family-based enterprises since it was cleared by the Cabinet in May last year. The government did away with the blanket ban on child labour, proposed when the bill was first introduced in 2012, to strike “a balance between the need for education for a child and reality of the socio-economic condition and social fabric in the country”. 
 First, if the reality of the socio-economic condition is forcing parents to keep their child working, this situation can’t be expected to improve anytime soon if status quo remains and children keep missing out on their education. And since, according to a study, parents are the reason for a child’s employment 62% of the time (Syed et al. 1991), the status quo would persist. There is much to be lost if India can’t capitalise on its demographic dividend being unable to tear itself away from the shackles of an uneducated population. The bill does restrict working hours to after-school timings, but where would the child have the time for any effective learning of things taught at school if he is at work later? Secondly, these exceptions have enough loopholes to nullify the amendment itself. They are not even restricted to the child’s immediate parents but extends to his/her “brother, sister and father’s sister and brother and mother’s sister and brother”. Any employer could claim to be a relative and it would be difficult to prove otherwise. Even the <keyword id="6355940" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Standing-committee">Standing Committee</keyword> recognised this issue and suggested removal of exceptions and prohibition of employment in all occupations. The recommendation was ignored. 
 
The exceptions also make the law weaker than the earlier one when the purpose of amendments are the exact opposite. Earlier, a child weaving carpets was a blatant violation of the law. Now, it must first be determined who he is working for; if it is for his family in after-school hours, he is legally entitled to carry on. The bill has effectively legalised employment of children in home-based units rolling bidis and making aggarbattis. This makes the bill highly regressive in nature and tougher to implement. It is an uncomfortable relaity that it has passed both houses of Parliament with hardly any public scrutiny. 
 
Some other issues with the Bill are its various inherent contradictions. The Juvenile Justice Act puts the age of a child at 16 years while the RTE Act, which this bill has tied itself with, fixes it at 14. There is a need for clarity on the definition of a child. Moreover, the Bill is in contradiction with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as it fails to define the number of hours a child can work. Another issue of contention was that of provisions for the employment of adolescents. The Standing Committee recommended that the meaning of hazardous occupations and processes be widened to include all occupations/processes that may jeopardise health, safety and morals of adolescents, in line with the ILO Convention 138. Again, the recommendation was ignored. 
 A group of organisations and activists have raised their voices against these amendments time and again with no avail. Back in March, Kailash Satyarthi wrote in a letter to <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> that a complete abolition of child labour would attract more global investment as reports of their products being made by children tarnish their image. For instance, Gap was caught in an embarrassing scandal in 2007 after an Observer investigation found its products being manufactured by children in Delhi, despite Gap’s rigorous audit systems. The company claimed that it contracts out work to various vendors in India and it becomes difficult to keep track on each one of them. Therefore, a better child labour law in India which is easy to implement would diminish such problems. In fact, it would act as a double-edged sword cutting down on child labour along with improving investment prospects. Perhaps the country should pay more heed to the child-rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner it takes so much pride in! 
 
About the author: The article is written by <keyword id="209438" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amit-Kapoor">Amit Kapoor</keyword>, in collaboration with <keyword id="1914448" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chirag-Yadav">Chirag Yadav</keyword>, researcher with Institute for Competitiveness, India 
 
<a href="http://cdn.shareyouressays.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/child-labour-causes.jpg">Image source</a>

Failing our children

Three teenagers, a physically challenged boy and two brothers, from India have been shortlisted for this year's International Children's Peace (ICP) Prize, South African <keyword id="129626" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="archbishop" source="Orion">Archbishop</keyword> Desmond Tutu on Thursday announced on behalf of the <keyword id="12469649" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kids-rights-foundation" source="Orion">Kids Rights Foundation</keyword>. <keyword id="142727" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="muhammad" source="Orion">Muhammad</keyword> Aasim is a 15-year-old physically challenged boy from Kerala, who is inspiring youngsters with disabilities around the world to continue their education. Christina Adane is a 18-year-old girl born in the Netherlands to Ethiopian parents, and now living in the UK, who has made a name for herself fighting food injustice. Vihaan, 17, and Nav Agarwal, 14, are two brothers from Delhi, who are committed to reducing pollution, at a time when the eyes of the world are on the <keyword id="12464952" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cop26-climate-change-conference" source="Orion">COP26 Climate Change Conference</keyword>. The three finalists have been shortlisted by a panel of experts from over 169 nominees from 39 countries, reflecting the impact and significance of a global recognition that offers the winner a worldwide platform of hundreds of millions to promote their work. Announcing the finalists, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, patron of the ICP Prize said: "This year's finalists are worthy of any in my 13 years as Patron of the <keyword id="3864305" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-childrens-peace-prize" source="Orion">International Children's Peace Prize</keyword>, the world's definitive youth prize with so many famous previous winners. What magnificent examples this year's finalists are to youngsters, and indeed people of all ages around the globe. They show, through their values and determination, just what children can achieve in campaigning to improve the rights of others worldwide." The hybrid ceremony will take place on November 13 in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, and livestreamed so that the winner's message can reach a global audience. Each year the prize has been awarded by a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and in 2021 Kailash Satyarthi, the 2014 recipient, will declare the winner of the Nkosi statuette along with a study and care grant for him or her to obtain an education. The recipient will also receive a project fund of 100,000 euros, half of which will go to the winner's theme, with half invested by KidsRights in other projects of other young changemakers fighting for children's rights. The International Children's Peace Prize was launched in 2005 during the World Summit of Nobel Peace laureates in Rome, chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev. It is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children's rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children such as orphans, child labourers and children with HIV/AIDS. The prize is an initiative of Marc Dullaert, Founder and Chairman of the KidsRights Foundation, an international children's rights organisation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/australian-banks-and-insurers-have-signed-a-174-trillion-cop26-climate-pledge-but-critics-say-it-doesnt-go-hard-enough/articleshow/87521740.cms">Australian banks and insurers have signed a $174 trillion COP26 climate pledge, but critics say it doesn’t go hard enough</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/who-approves-bharat-biotechs-covaxin-for-emergency-use/articleshow/87510108.cms">WHO approves Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for emergency use after a long wait</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/illegal-mining-for-cryptocurrencies-remains-rampant-as-miners-look-to-maximise-profits-with-cheap-electricity/articleshow/87505141.cms">Illegal mining for cryptocurrencies remains rampant as miners look to maximise profits with cheap electricity</a>

Three Indian teens shortlisted for International Children's Peace Prize

<ul><li>India’s premier investigating agency has filed against <keyword id="6413564" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bjp-mla-kuldeep-singh-sengar">BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar</keyword> and eight others for murdering a 19-year-old girl.</li><li>The girl and both her aunts were critically injured in a road accident on late Sunday.</li><li>The odds were tilted against her right from the start as the accused in the case was a local politician with some clout at the state level. </li></ul>The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against BJP MLA <keyword id="6413701" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="kuldeep-singh-sengar">Kuldeep Singh Sengar</keyword> and eight others for murdering a 19-year-old girl, who accused them of rape, <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/unnao-rape-survivor-accident-cbi-fir-mla-kuldeep-sengar-1575481-2019-07-31">reported</a> India today. The girl and both her aunts were gravely injured in a road accident on late Sunday. And, her maternal aunt succumbed to the injuries. The odds were tilted against her right from the start as the accused in the case was a local politician with some clout at the state level. While she overcame the initial resistance to file a case against <keyword id="991744" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sengar">Sengar</keyword>, her father mysteriously died at his residence on August 18. He was a key witness in the case. In a letter she wrote to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the girl had mentioned a threat to her life. Unfortunately, the message reached CJI Ranjan Gogoi on Tuesday, two days after she met with an accident. Here's a revisit to the timeline of how things unfolded in the Unnao rape case: 
 
 
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 See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech-insider/how-big-is-the-child-porn-industry-explains-kailash-sathyarthi/articleshow/70443534.cms">EXCLUSIVE: The shocking scale of child porn has led to more trafficking and abuse of kids, says Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi</a>

A 19-year old Indian rape victim lost her father and nearly lost her life in her fight for justice

<ul><li>Protesting students have alleged that the institute is keeping the students “hanging with no final guidelines”. </li><li>However, the guidelines are likely to be out in a day or two, a source told Business Insider. </li><li>Visit <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Business Insider India</a> for more stories. </li></ul>India’s largest fashion institute, <keyword id="3947" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-institute-of-fashion-technology">National Institute of Fashion Technology</keyword> (NIFT) is rushing to release the guidelines on the <keyword id="548028" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="final-examinations">final examinations</keyword> and the evaluation process to promote students during the COVID-19 crisis. “The guidelines are issued by the academic heads of all institutions and vary with the course. They are discussing the guidelines with the project coordinators, within one or two days everything will be clear,” a source told Business Insider. Queries sent to NIFT are awaiting response. The story will be updated as and when it is received. <div type="image" title="nift1" msid="76335849" hostid="261"></div> This comes after the petition started by the students across the 16 campuses alleged the institute of keeping the students “hanging with no final guidelines”. The petition has already received support from nearly 702 students — including those from the Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai campuses. “We, the graduating students of a reputed institution like NIFT are still hanging by a thread with no final guidelines with regards to how our final external jury will be carried out in a scenario where most of us have returned back to our hometowns and are not in the position to return back to our campuses given the current pandemic,” the <a href="https://www.petitions.net/stats.php?id=271677">petition said</a>. The students are now facing challenges in completing their projects due to the global pandemic. This is majorly because the course curriculum involves practical implementation of projects in their respective industries, in general. That requires stationary to develop prototypes and industrial visits. <div type="image" title="nift2" msid="76335824" hostid="261"></div> According to the petition, the students are expected to develop physical prototypes for the completion of their industry projects. Given the uncertainty of the pandemic, the students allege that the guidelines are ‘unfeasible’ and ‘impractical.’ “Most of us don't have access to resources, and are suffering through a financial crisis, Our parents have either lost their jobs or have had to accept salary cuts while our own mental health has gone down the drain with no clarity or assurance of a final conclusion with regards to our final project as well as placement.” However, the coordinator at NIFT Hyderabad <a href="https://www.indiatvnews.com/education/news-nift-students-exams-coronavirus-pandemic-job-placements-colleges-625313">told</a> IndiaTVnews that the placements are going as per the plan. “Placements are fine. I just opened my phone and there are emails from companies lined up for students. We can't cancel exams because we have to evaluate the students. I am regularly sending company updates and internships for the students. We also made travel arrangements for the students so they can reach home safely.” A lot of them are also complaining about the issues with internet connectivity to attend the online classes — especially those coming from the remote areas or tier III cities. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), in its latest directive, said that the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/iit-bombay-kharagpur-roorkee-and-kanpur-students-will-not-have-to-sit-for-final-year-exams/articleshow/76167610.cms#:~:text=IIT%20Bombay%2C%20Kharagpur%2C%20Roorkee%20and%20Kanpur%20students%20will%20not%20have,sit%20for%20final%20year%20exams&amp;text=IIT%20Kharagpur%20and%20Kanpur%20have,is%20considering%20early%20graduation%20options.">final year college students will have to sit for exams in July</a> — or later if the condition worsens. As an alternative plan, some institutions are also going ahead with online exams and evaluation based on internal assessments. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/top-10-higher-education-institutions-in-indianirf-2020/slidelist/76331979.cms">Top 10 higher education institutions in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech-insider/how-big-is-the-child-porn-industry-explains-kailash-sathyarthi/articleshow/70443534.cms">This Kailash Satyarthi interview is a reminder that the worst form of child labour is child porn — an $8 billion industry</a>

You Searched For "kailash satyarthi child trafficking" and got 14 results

This Kailash Satyarthi interview is a reminder that the worst form of child labour is child porn — an $8 billion industry

Katya Naidu

Kailash Satyarthi: A Relentless Crusader Of Child Rights

Saba Haider

Budget: Child rights NGOs demand increased allocation for elimination of child labour

PTI

Child Labour: A Ubiquitous Blemish That The Civilised World Should Be Ashamed Of

Preetam Kaushik

Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi awarded Harvard Humanitarian Award!

BI India Bureau

Narendra Modi and Kailash Satyarthi are world’s greatest leaders, says Fortune Magazine

BI India Bureau

Budget 2015: Will children get their due?

Preetam Kaushik

Indo-Pak Nationals Share Nobel Peace Prize Amid Tensions At Border

BI India Bureau

A third of the world’s child porn is flagged off in India, Indonesia and Thailand

Prerna Sindwani

Here’s why Indian government’s ‘good touch-bad touch’ sex education might not be enough

Failing our children

Amit Kapoor

Three Indian teens shortlisted for International Children's Peace Prize

IANS

A 19-year old Indian rape victim lost her father and nearly lost her life in her fight for justice

BI India Bureau

India’s largest fashion institute, NIFT is rushing to prepare exam guidelines after 700 students sign a protest petition

Prerna Sindwani