mpact of COVID-19 on Child Protection in India and Its Budgetary Implications
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Date
2021
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Child Rights and You (CRY) and Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA)
Abstract
'Child Protection' refers to prevention of and
response to violence, exploitation and abuse of
children in all contexts. This includes reaching out
to children who are most vulnerable to such
threats, such as those living without family care,
on the streets, or in situations of conict or natural
1 disasters. The COVID-19 pandemic has
exacerbated pre-existing inequities and
2 vulnerabilities of children. Owing to disruptions in
3 4 education, health-nutrition and protection
5 services over the last one year, the vulnerabilities
of children from rural areas and marginalised
communities have compounded.
The shortcomings in child protection services
need to be identied and resolved to address
children's vulnerabilities. This can be achieved by
enhancing the focus on preventive measures,
increasing public provisioning and human
resources, and strengthening convergence among
various sectors such as education, health, and
nutrition which are basic to child rights.
In this context, this policy brief attempts to
examine some major challenges related to the
overall functioning of child protection systems
from a policy and budgeting perspective. It also
analyses how the vulnerabilities of children were
aggravated during the pandemic as reected in
rising instances of child marriage, child trafcking,
and child labour. The signicance of care and
protection of children orphaned and abandoned
during the pandemic, par ticularly noninstitutional
care is also highlighted alongside a
brief discussion of good practices by various state
governments in this direction. Based on a
situational analysis, the brief offers a set of policy
recommendations, some of which can be
implemented in the upcoming Union and state
budgets. However, the focus of policy planning
and budgetary allocations should go far beyond
addressing issues arising from the pandemic
alone.
Description
26p
Keywords
child protection schemes - CPS scheme - child labour - COVID-19 pandemic - child marriages - child trafcking