3.1. Children

All children due to their age are considered to be at risk for exploitation, abuse, violence and neglect. However, children in especially difficult circumstances including orphans and street children, refugee or displaced children, child workers, children trapped in prostitution or sexual abuse, disabled children and delinquent children are particularly vulnerable.

But vulnerability cannot be defined simply by age. While the term vulnerable children refer to an age group that is considered at risk, but vulnerability of children is further compounded by the following factors:

♤ Physical disabilities

♤ Mental disabilities

♤ Provocative behaviours: due to ignorance or misunderstanding of children's mental health or behavioural problems, some people can become irritated or frustrated and hence lash out against children or neglect them completely.

♤ Powerlessness: comes of the situations and people that surround the children. If a child is given the power by the state, family or community to participate and fulfil their own rights and responsibilities they are less vulnerable.

♤ Defencelessness: comes from the lack of protection provided by the state or parents or community. If there is no child abuse law than how is a child suppose to defend himself/herself against abuse.

♤ Passivity: due to situation or treatment of the child. For example, a child who is enslaved or oppressed does not have the ability to seek help or protection.

♤ Illness

♤ Invisible: Children who the system doesn't even recognise are highly vulnerable.

♤ Younger children, especially those below the age of six, are much more dependent on the protection system.

Vulnerable children in India face further problems, such as the following:

Facts about Children

♤ 1 in 4 children of school-going age is out of school in our country (Census 2011)

♤ There are 33 million child labourers between the ages of 5-18 years in India and 10.13 million between the ages of 5-14 years. (Census 2011)

♤ Every day, around 150 children go missing in India – kidnapping and abduction is the largest crime against children in our country (National Crime Record Bureau 2016)

♤ 19.8 million children below age 6 in India are undernourished (ICDS 2015)

♤ 38% (1 in 3)of children between 0-5 years are stunted in the country (NFHS 4, 2015-16)

♤ 42% of married women in India were married as children (District Information System for Education (DISE) 3)

♤ Some of them are exploited as child labourers

♤ Children facing poverty and discrimination are more vulnerable to malnutrition, bad health, poor educational facilities, poor resources, thus restricting their freedoms and opportunities

♤ Girl babies are at an even greater disadvantage due to prevailing social

norms that tend to value males much more than females, which leads to son ‘preference’

♤ A girl child faces different forms of violence like infanticide, neglect of nutrition needs, lack of education and healthcare facilities etc.