Satyarthi for special courts to deal with child sexual abuse, trafficking
LUCKNOW: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi said here on Saturday that special courts should be set up in all the districts of the country to fast-track cases of child sexual abuse, trafficking and slavery.
Addressing a function at Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University (SRMU) in connection with his Bharat Yatra that started from Kanyakumari on September 11 to spread awareness on child abuse, Satyarthi said nearly 53% children below 18 years of age were sexually exploited.
Bharat Yatra will culminate in New Delhi on October 16.
Satyarthi said nearly 15,000 cases of child abuse were registered in 2016.
“About 90% of these cases are still pending in various courts. Establishment of special courts will ensure protection to victims and witnesses during the trial. The step will also increase conviction rate in cases of child sexual abuse in a time-bound manner,” he said.
Satyarthi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his work in the field of protection of child rights, expressed outrage over the recent incident of child sexual abuse in a Delhi school and murder of a Class 2 student of Ryan International School in Gurgaon last month.
He also spoke about the murder of a 16-year-old girl in Himachal Pradesh.
The girl was reportedly raped before being done to death.
“No victim should be silenced. Not in the name of honour. A child cannot lose honour. It is the perpetrator who loses honour. Violence against children is growing. How long will we silence our children in the name of honour?” he asked.
“Children are supposed to hold pens, books and laptops in their hands. They should not stitch shoes even if they belong to a poor family. The sight of a child stitching old shoes outside my school gate is still fresh in my memory,” he said.
“It moved me so much that I took up the task to help every child go to school and live with dignity. Equality for all is possible only through education,” Satyarthi added.
He said as his wife was from Lucknow, he wanted the city of his in-laws to join hands for the cause.
He administered oath to the people that they would make India a safe place for children.
Addressing the gathering, BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi said Satyarthi’s yatra was an initiative to fight child trafficking and sexual abuse in India.
“He has launched a peaceful war against child abuse. Lucknow alone has 40,000 street children. Efforts are on to provide Aadhaar to them and send them to school,” she said.
A mobile application, KSCF, was launched on the occasion which has been linked to all social media platforms used by the foundation.
Earlier in the day, he also met chief minister Yogi Adityanath at his official residence.