A slap here or a pinch there by parents to their kids is considered alright by all of us. But if the Bill, that will give children the right to get their parents jailed for beating them up, which the Centre intends to table in the Parliament is passed, then parents might be in big trouble.
This Bill would be on the lines of that in the US, where a child, can call up a helpline number and get abusive parents arrested.
Explaining child abuse, Dr. Suman Bijlani, Director, Gyneguide, said, “Child abuse, basically comes from people whom the child trusts (parents, caretakers, teachers and so on). It varies from an act of omission like neglect, or of commission like emotional, sexual and physical abuse.”
She further added, “As per stats, two out of three children suffer from some form of physical abuse, and in 88.6 per cent of these cases, it comes from parents.”
According to her, in families where there is alcoholism or any kind of substance abuse, where marital tiffs are a part of life, cases of child abuse are likely to be more. “People who abuse their spouse are likely to abuse their children as well,” said Dr. Bijlani.
Psychiatrist Dr. Harish Shetty, said, “Physical abuse makes children believe that hitting is the only solution to resolve problems. Such children grow up with poor self esteem and low confidence, and could get exploited at workplace, while some may develop symptoms of depression in adulthood. Some even become alcoholics.”
Dr. Shetty added, “We need to understand children and explore other alternatives to discipline them without harming their dignity. Community work or activities that will enhance a child’s skills are excellent alternatives when dealing with misbehaviour on child’s part.”
Dr. Bijlani, said, “We need to accept that these things do happen in a family. Children are afraid to come out in the open about this or are threatened to keep mum. Mothers at times are scared if the offender is the child’s father and neighbours don’t want to get into other people’s internal affairs.”