The Invisible Crisis: Protecting the Voices We Can’t Hear | Subhashini Krishnan | TEDxSRMIST

Key Concepts

• Invisible crisis affecting children
• Childhood innocence and vulnerability
• Missing children and trafficking
• Out-of-school children and abuse
• Child labor and exploitation
• Child sexual abuse (CSA) and its prevalence
• Role of society in preventing child abuse
• Importance of awareness, education, and action

Missing Children and Trafficking

• The Invisible Crisis: The speaker highlights the "invisible crisis" affecting children, emphasizing the need to focus on issues that often go unnoticed.
• Innocence and Vulnerability: Childhood is synonymous with innocence, which makes children vulnerable and in need of protection from the harsh realities of the world.
• Story of Noida: The speaker references a horrific incident in Noida in 2006, where the remains of children and women were found in a bungalow, illustrating the extreme dangers faced by missing children.
• NC Data: According to the NC data, between 2018 and 2022, 1.27 lakh children went missing in India, with 47,313 still missing at the end of 2022.
• Gender Disparity: 71.4% of the missing children are girls.
• Daily Averages: On average, 70 girls are kidnapped and at least three are trafficked in India every day.
• Challenges: The biggest challenge in addressing the issue of missing children is the lack of data, identification, and means of communication.

Education and Child Labor

• Importance of Education: All children should be within the education system to ensure they are part of a database and can be tracked.
• All Pass Category: The "all pass" policy until 8th grade aims to keep children within the education system.
• Out-of-School Children: Despite efforts, many children are still out of school due to economic constraints, lack of transportation, sanitation facilities, infrastructure for disabilities, parental involvement, and poverty.
• Vulnerability to Abuse: Out-of-school children are more vulnerable to abuse, either becoming dropouts as a result of abuse or becoming abused after dropping out.
• EMIS Protocol: The Education Management Information System (EMIS) captures individual student data and tracks their progress.
• Child Labor: Child labor is widespread in India and is driven by poverty, lack of education, and economic inequities.
• ILO Data: The International Labor Organization (ILO) states that one-third of children in child labor are out of school.
• Types of Child Labor: Children are employed in agriculture, roadside shops, trains, illegal establishments, and hazardous factories, often facing poor conditions, late hours, and abuse.
• Post-COVID Increase: Child labor increased globally after COVID-19, with 160 million children involved.

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA)

• Definition: Child sexual abuse is the violation of a child's rights, body, and trust.
• Silence and Stigma: Fear of retaliation and social stigma contribute to the silence surrounding CSA.
• Prevalence: CSA impacts children across all demographics.
• 2007 Study: A 2007 study revealed that over 53.2% of children had experienced some form of sexual abuse, with 42.9% being boys. More than 50% of abusers were known to the children or their families.
• 2020 Data: During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, there were 50,000 cases of CSA in India and 1.68 crore instances of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) globally, with a significant percentage originating from India.
• Childline 1098: The Childline 1098 service received 3.07 lakh calls from children, with 30% seeking support and protection from CSA.
• Underreporting: The reported cases are just the "tip of the iceberg," with many cases remaining unreported.

Prevention and Action

• Societal Responsibility: Everyone contributes to child abuse, and therefore, everyone can be a preventer.
• Key Factors: Lack of comprehensive sexuality education, easy access to vulnerable children, and individual mindset contribute to abuse.
• Prevention Strategies:
  • Spreading awareness
  • Empowering children and families
  • Identifying and reporting cases
  • Being vigilant and informed
  • Supporting rehabilitation and reintroduction programs
  • Being an active bystander
• Individual Contributions: Singers can sing about it, authors can write about it, teachers can educate about it, and spokespersons can talk about harassment.
• Collective Effort: "Not everyone can protect every child, but each one can protect one, and together we can do it all."

Conclusion

The speaker emphasizes the urgent need to address the invisible crisis affecting children, including issues like missing children, child labor, and child sexual abuse. The speaker calls for collective action, highlighting the importance of awareness, education, and individual responsibility in creating a safe and inclusive environment for children to thrive. The speaker concludes by reminding the audience that children are right holders, and it takes a whole village to protect them.