The efforts to prevent girl child abuse and violence calls for strengthening and strict enforcement of laws for rape, sexual harassment, trafficking, domestic violence, dowry and other related issues. Concerted capacity building and training programme on gender related legislation and issues for important functionaries and stakeholders like police, judiciary, prosecutors, general society, NGOs and PRIs needs to be taken up on a nationwide scale.
Community Vigilance Groups along with Self-Help Groups and Youth Groups should ensure that girl children in their community are protected against abuse, violence and exploitation. These groups should closely work with Panchayati Raj System and Child Protection Cell being proposed under Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). To ensure that the above groups carry out the work efficiently, sensitization and training should be conducted on regular basis. Open and frank discussions and discourses on issues related to abuse, exploitation and violence against girl child should be freely allowed to sensitize the general public.
This along with multi media awareness and sensitization campaigns can be instrumental in changing the mindset of society and eliminating the violence and bias against female child. Keeping in view the vulnerability of girl child, special schemes and programmes would need to be formulated for or their protection. It is also necessary to list such occupations/ activities that pose danger or are hazardous to the girl child and ensure that she is not lured or duped into dangerous activities.
Participants