My column in today’s DNA

How much force do you need to apply to break a human bone? Quite a bit actually, for the human skeletal system is designed to take a fair amount of stress and strain. We may bruise our bones, they may ache – but fractures are rare for most of us – once in a lifetime, if at all. When they do happen it is because we have either been hit with tremendous force or we have fallen at an awkward angle. The pain associated with a fracture is tremendous and it takes a long time to set and heal. Most cases of multiple fractures are seen either in horrific accidents or very violent physical fights – where the other person is much, much stronger and also, possibly using implements to hit. Of all the bones in the body, the toughest is the skull. The skull is hard and unyielding and gives shape to the face, and protection to the brain. If you have ever knocked your head against another head you would know that. You can use the hard part of your head as an effective weapon – an effective head butt on someone else’s nose is likely to shatter the nose. The remaining bones are also exceedingly tough and capable of taking tremendous stress, wear and tear. They don’t break easily unless the person suffers from brittle bones. Have you ever been bitten by a dog, with a force that breaks your skin and draws blood? Then you would know the kind of pain that is caused. Humans don’t have such sharp teeth. Therefore for a human to bite you and draw blood requires an extraordinary amount of violent force.

Therefore, when a two year old gets admitted to the hospital with multiple fractures, including a fractured skull, broken arms and bite marks to the boot, it is easy to conclude that child has been through pain that most of us, thankfully, cannot even begin to imagine. To call Baby Falak, who gave up the fight for life last week, a victim of violence is trite. She was more than a victim of violence; she was also victim to a system that doesn’t value human life. She isn’t, unfortunately the only one. A quick search on the net for violence against children reveals disturbing results. And, these are the tip of the iceberg. The stories that get reported and make headlines. Among the more disturbing stories was one of a three-year-old-boy in Jodhpur who was battling for life after being battered by his stepfather. Like Baby Falak, he too had multiple fractures, bite marks and cigarette burns. Who is to blame in these cases? The barely literate mothers who are victims? The people who perpetuated the crime – in Baby Falak’s case it was a fourteen-year-old who herself was trafficked? Or a system that allows vulnerable children to stay in environments that are dangerous to them?

For a society that claims to love children, India does very little to protect them. There are laws that are supposed to protect the child, but in most cases it is considered to be wrong to intervene in the functioning of a family. Our system pays lip service to the concept of Human Rights, but is abysmal when it comes to delivering those rights to the weakest sections of society. Safety and security of the child is, in most cases, is considered the responsibility of the parents. Having a child and rearing it is considered to be a right of the parent, with little attention paid to the rights of the child. A person may have the right to bear a child. But bearing a child and rearing one are two very different things.

The Government’s own research reveals that one in every two children are sexually abused, and two out of three children have faced physical abuse. The Ministry of Women and Child Development recognises the need for Child protection and has called for both a preventive and a protective approach to this, but these are yet to be implemented in full measure. India needs a Child Protection Agency, whose paramount role is to ensure that children are kept safe and is ruthless when it comes to the interest and well-being of the child. And, this would include making children the wards of the State. For example children born and living in red light areas, children born and reared on the streets, children of abusive parents, you cannot leave these children in situations where they are prone to attack and violence. They need to brought out into relative security so that they can escape the cycle of violence and hope for a better tomorrow.