The cardinal principles of ‘protection of child rights’ and ‘best interests of the child’ form the fundamental basis for the scheme
Both prevention and protection are central to the approach
Mobilizing inter-sectoral response for reducing vulnerabilities and strengthening child
protection and setting standards for care and services are important elements
Government-Civil Society Partnership
Implementation through a decentralized structure
For building on a comprehensive understanding of children's right to protection, it becomes important to adopt both a preventive and a protective approach to child protection.
The preventive approach In all these years. application or the preventive approach has been limited to programmes like awareness generation. Media advocacy, training and capacity building of various stakeholders, legal literacy, sex education in schools etc. The need or the hour calls for a wider outlook that must go beyond the conventional prevention strategies and also taken into account the link between child protection and other micro and macro development issues. Lateral linkages with different sectors viz. Education, Health, Rural Development Labour, Urban Affairs, Legal Affairs, Home Affairs etc. and different Departments and Ministries of Central and State Governments. including Local Self-Government, PRls etc. need to be strengthened. It is also important that partnership with civil society is strengthened for all stages of planning, implementation and monitoring child protection initiatives.
The protective approach The protective approach is to deal with situations post-harm and must include immediate as well as long-term protection strategies for all children who need it including programmes for their physical and psychological recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration, legal aid and access to justice through child-friendly laws and procedures. and clear standards for protection of every individual / family / institution dealing with children.
Participants