'Child rights' workshop by ICCW
District Collector Neeraj Mittal speaking at the workshop on ‘Child Rights’ organised by the Indian Council for Child Welfare, Chennai, in the city on Friday.Issues related to children in crisis, child labour, street children and children who have been abused were discussed at the workshop organised by the Indian Council for Child Welfare, Tamil Nadu, a Chennai based non-Governmental organisation here on Friday.Organised as part of the project, ‘Child Rights for Children – A Network for Child Protection in Tamil Nadu,’ undertaken by the council, the workshop was mainly aimed at sensitising society and the stakeholders on the need to protect children from abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination.According to a release from the council, about 3,600 children have been covered under the project. It had conducted 61 workshops in 28 districts in the State.The workshops involved Government functionaries from the departments of education, police, social welfare, rural development, self-help groups, and juvenile justice. Elected people’s representatives, youth organisations, women’s groups and NSS volunteers were also included.
Violations of child rights and specific child protection issues in the district were discussed and strategies to be adopted in dealing with the issues were formulated. It was then forwarded to the district collector.By organising such workshops, the council aimed at bringing together various departments working for child rights and non-governmental organisations to strengthen existing child protection schemes.Adults had the responsibility to protect children against trafficking, abuse, discrimination and child marriage, the workshop stressed.
