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Unit VI
Marginalized children: issues and concerns
Meaning:A marginalized community is a group that's confined to the lower or peripheral edge
of the society. Such a group is denied involvement in mainstream economic, political,
cultural and social activities.
Concept of marginalized children:Social exclusion, or social marginalization, is the social disadvantage and relegation
to the fringe of society. It is a term used widely in Europe and was first used in France. It is
used across disciplines including education, sociology, psychology, politics and economics.
Social exclusion is the process in which individuals or people are systematically
blocked from (or denied full access to) various rights, opportunities and resources that are
normally available to members of a different group, and which are fundamental to social
integration within that particular group.
(e.g., housing, employment, healthcare, civic engagement, democratic participation,
and due process).
Alienation or disenfranchisement resulting from social exclusion can be connected to
a person's social class, race, skin color, educational status, childhood relationships, living
standards, or personal choices in fashion.
Such exclusionary forms of discrimination may also apply to people with a
disability, minorities, LGBT people, drug users, institutional care leavers, the elderly and
the young. Anyone who appears to deviate in any way from perceived norms of a population
may thereby become subject to coarse or subtle forms of social exclusion.
The outcome of social exclusion is that affected individuals or communities are
prevented from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in
which they live.
Children living in urban slum:Looking at the severity of this global problem, children in the urban world must be
the immediate priority. As far as India is concerned, the situation is getting worse day by day.
Out of 21 megacities (cities with populations greater than 20 million) three are in India: Delhi,
Mumbai and Kolkata, which are the major hubs of slums.
The five key areas in which action is required if the needs and rights of the urban poor
children are to be fulfilled, are:
1) to develop accurate data to understand the scale of problem;
2) to identify and remove the barriers of inclusion;
3) to put children first by broadly pursuing equity in urban planning, infrastructure
development, governance and service delivery;
M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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4) to promote partnerships between the urban poor and the government; and
5) to ensure that everyone works together to achieve results for children.
One-half of the world's population lives in cities and towns; this is expected to increase
to 70% by 2050. One in three urban dwellers lives in slums. ... Out of a billion children
living in urban areas, approximately 300 million are suffering from exclusion or are at risk
of exclusion.
Slum Free Cities is operationalised through a government scheme called Rajiv Awas
Yojana (RAY), using JNNURM support. RAY sees slum settlements as spatial entities that
can be identified, targeted and reached through the following development options:
1. Slum improvement: extending infrastructure in the slums where residents have
themselves constructed incremental housing.
2. Slum upgrading: extending infrastructure in the slums along with facilitation of
housing unit upgrading, to support incremental housing.
3. Slum redevelopment: in-situ redevelopment of the entire slum after demolition of the
existing built structures.
4. Slum resettlement: in case of untenable slums, to be rehabilitated on alternative
sites.
RAY provides detailed guidelines for spatial analysis and situation assessment and
recommends a participative process, involving slum communities with the help of ngos and
community-based organisations active in the area of slum housing and development, to
identify possible development options.
Slum Free Cities provides an opportunity for new thinking, as well as posing a problem to
municipalities and ngos who may not have the technical knowledge and imagination to
create innovative community-driven solutions.
As the well-being of children in terms of health, nutrition, education and protection is
closely connected to the quality of physical living environments and to the delivery of and
access to services, children must be central to slum improvement programmes.
Slum improvements funded by jnnurm should be used to make Indian cities childfriendly, and build on the assets of intricate social networks, inherent walkability and mixed
uses which are considered by new planning theories to be vital in making neighbourhoods
sustainable (Neuwirth, 2005; Brugman, 2009).
Slum Free Cities planning guidelines already incorporate many elements that could secure
childrens right to an adequate standard of living, such as secure tenure, improved housing,
reliable services and access to health and education. However, intentions are often not
translated into action.
Childrens direct participation in local area planning and design for slum improvements
would be a good step forward in creating child-friendly cities in India.
Action for Childrens Environments (ACE) is currently working on a study supported
by the Bernard van Leer Foundation to understand how the first phase of JNNURM-funded
slum improvements have affected children, with the aim of informing these policies and
improving the practice of planning and implementation of projects to make slum
redevelopment more child-friendly.

M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,


OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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Deprived:- (Backward)
The multi-dimensionality of poverty and processes that contribute to deprivation,
arguing that social exclusion is a helpful concept to further our understanding of poverty,
and proposes to apply the relatively new concept of social exclusion to provide better insight
into the dimensions and causes of poverty in one of Indias poorest regions. It looks in
particular at the inter relation and overlap of economic factors, human development and
social identity as elements of deprivation, and the institutional and cultural factors that
have caused and maintain this complexity of deprivation.
Early Child Development Programs related Issues in deprived urban settlements
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is by far the largest and most
important network of services for the rural poor but not for the urban as it operates only
about 227 projects in the urban areas allover the country covering 1.5 million children out
of the total 6 million urban slum children under 6 years of age(15).
The utilization of its services is much lower as compared to the awareness of the
services available. Although ICDS is supposed to approach the development of children in an
integrated way, in actual practice, it still continues to place greater emphasis on health and
nutrition components. The visible key component of preschool education still receives a low
priority of program implementers and hence, it has not been able to achieve the desired level
of community participation and acceptance.
This may be partly attributed to their limited skill in organizing preschool activities as
only 19% of anganwadi workers training hours are kept aside for developing preschool
education skills. Coupled with this, limitation of space especially in the urban sector, low
honorarium, and competition from private preschools adopting formal approach to learning
alphabets and numbers are, factors posing as major impediments in quality program
implementation(15).
Policy Implication
Implementation of any new initiative requires, 1.a policy, 2.a plan of action and,
resources, 3.including qualified manpower.
Children of deprived urban settlements should be a priority area in the National Policy for
children and also in the State Action Plan for children.
Girl child of the urban slums is at greater risk for poverty related problems like illiteracy,
malnutrition, adoption of un-scientific health practices, early marriage and pregnancy. Hence issues
of the urban poor girl child as a prospective mother, should be focused in the National Policy as well
as in the Action plan.
ICDS still remains, the best guarantee for assuring the optimal development of a deprived
child in India. Hence widening the coverage, bringing in newer services and promoting greater
community participation would help ICDS evolve as a sustainable ECD program.
Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. The Government of India school enrollment program formulated as
a strategy for bringing all children below the age of 14 years to the school and keep them there, is a
golden opportunity for bringing in quality change to the education of deprived urban poor children.
Similarly, the Continuing Education Program and Equivalency Program of National Literacy Mission,
if extended to the deprived urban settlements would help in reducing the higher rates of illiteracy.

M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,


OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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Socially deprived girls (Dalit and Tribal girls):Gender inequality in India refers to health, education, economic and political
inequalities between men and women in India. Various international gender inequality
indices rank India differently on each of these factors, as well as on a composite basis, and
these indices are controversial.
Gender inequalities, and its social causes, impact India's sex ratio, women's health
over their lifetimes, their educational attainment, and economic conditions. Gender
inequality in India is a multifaceted issue that concerns men and women alike. Some argue
that some gender equality measures, place men at a disadvantage. However, when India's
population is examined as a whole, women are at a disadvantage in several important ways.
Abused child:Child abuse or child maltreatment is physical, sexual, or psychological mistreatment
or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or other caregiver.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines child abuse and child maltreatment as
"all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent
treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the
child's health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of
responsibility, trust or power."
1.Physical abuse:Among professionals and the general public, people often do not agree on what
behaviors constitute physical abuse of a child. Physical abuse often does not occur in
isolation, but as part of a constellation of behaviors including authoritarian control, anxietyprovoking behavior, and a lack of parental warmth.
The WHO defines physical abuse as: intentional use of physical force against the child
that results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in harm for the child's health, survival,
development or dignity. This includes hitting, beating, kicking, shaking, biting, strangling,
scalding, burning, poisoning and suffocating. Much physical violence against children in the
home is inflicted with the object of punishing.
2.Sexual abuse:Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older
adolescent abuses a child for sexual stimulation.
Sexual abuse refers to the participation of a child in a sexual act aimed toward the
physical gratification or the financial profit of the person committing the act.

M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,


OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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Forms of CSA include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities


(regardless of the outcome), indecent exposure of the genitals to a child, displaying
pornography to a child, actual sexual contact with a child, physical contact with the child's
genitals, viewing of the child's genitalia without physical contact, or using a child to
produce child pornography.
Selling the sexual services of children may be viewed and treated as child abuse with
services offered to the child rather than simple incarceration.
3.Psychological abuse:- (thanioruvan)
In 2014, the APA stated that:"Childhood psychological abuse [is] as harmful as sexual or physical abuse."
"Nearly 3 million U.S. children experience some form of [psychological] maltreatment
annually."
Psychological maltreatment is "the most challenging and prevalent form of child abuse
and neglect."
"Given the prevalence of childhood psychological abuse and the severity of harm to young
victims, it should be at the forefront of mental health and social service training"
In 2015, additional research confirmed these 2014 statements of the APA.
Victims of emotional abuse may react by distancing themselves from the abuser,
internalizing the abusive words, or fighting back by insulting the abuser. Emotional abuse
can result in abnormal or disrupted attachment development, a tendency for victims to blame
themselves (self-blame) for the abuse, learned helplessness, and overly passive behavior.
4.Neglect:

Child neglect is the failure of a parent or other person with responsibility for the child,
to provide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision to the degree that the
child's health, safety or well-being may be threatened with harm.
Neglect is also a lack of attention from the people surrounding a child, and the
non-provision of the relevant and adequate necessities for the child's survival, which would
be a lacking in attention, love, and nurture.
Some observable signs of child neglect include: the child is frequently absent from
school, begs or steals food or money, lacks needed medical and dental care, is consistently
dirty, or lacks sufficient clothing for the weather. The 2010 Child Maltreatment Report
(NCANDS), a yearly United States federal government report based on data supplied by
state Child Protective Services (CPS) Agencies in the U.S., states, "as in prior years, neglect
was the most common form of maltreatment".
Neglectful acts can be divided into six sub-categories:

Supervisory Neglect: characterized by the absence of a parent or guardian which can


lead to physical harm, sexual abuse or criminal behavior;
Physical Neglect: characterized by the failure to provide the basic physical necessities,
such as a safe and clean home;
Medical Neglect: characterized by the lack of providing medical care;
Emotional Neglect: characterized by a lack of nurturance, encouragement and support;

M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,


OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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Educational Neglect: characterized by the caregivers lack to provide an education and


additional resources to actively participate in the school system; and
Abandonment: when the parent or guardian leaves a child alone for a long period of time
without a babysitter.

Effects:

Child abuse can result in immediate adverse physical effects but it is also strongly
associated with developmental problems and with many chronic physical and
psychological effects, including subsequent ill-health, including higher rates of chronic
conditions, high-risk health behaviors and shortened lifespan.

Maltreated children may grow up to be maltreating adults. A 1991 source reported that
studies indicate that 90 percent of maltreating adults were maltreated as children.

Almost 7 million American infants receive child care services, such as day care, and
much of that care is poor.

Physical abuse

Sexual abuse

Psychological abuse

Neglect abuse

Possible ways for adverse childhood experiences such as abuse and neglect to influence
health and well-being throughout the lifespan, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
Children growing up in poverty:Child poverty refers to the phenomenon of children living in poverty. This applies to
children that come from poor families or orphans being raised with limited, or in some cases
absent, state resources. Children that fail to meet the minimum acceptable standard of
living for the nation where that child lives are said to be poor. In developing countries, these
standards are lower and when combined with the increased number of orphans the effects
are more extreme.
M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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1.Street children,
Definition:
Street children is used as a catch-all term, but covers children in a wide variety of
circumstances and with a wide variety of characteristics. Policymakers and service providers
struggle to describe and assist such a sub-population. Individual girls and boys of all ages
are found living and working in public spaces, and are visible in the great majority of the
worlds urban centers.
Street children is a term for children experiencing homelessness who are living on
the streets of a city, town, or village.
Homeless youth are often called street kids and street youth; the definition of street
children is contested, but many practitioners and policymakers use UNICEFs concept of
boys and girls, aged under 18 years, for whom "the street" (including
unoccupied dwellings and wasteland) has become home and/or their source of livelihood,
and who are inadequately protected or supervised.
Street girls are sometimes called gamines, a term that is also used for Colombian street
children of either sex.
Some street children, notably in more developed nations, are part of a subcategory
called thrownaway children who are children that have been forced to leave home. Thrownaway children are more likely to come from single-parent homes.
Street children are often subject to abuse, neglect, exploitation, or, in extreme cases,
murder by "clean-up squads" that have been hired by local businesses or police. In Western
societies, such children are treated as homeless children rather than criminals or beggars.
Responses by governments
While some governments have implemented programs to deal with street children, the
general solution involves placing the children into orphanages, juvenile homes, or
correctional institutions.
Efforts have been made by various governments to support or partner with nongovernment organizations. The government has tried to implement programs to put these
children in state-run homes, but efforts have largely failed, and street children have become
a victim group of social cleansing by the National Police; because, they are assumed to be
drug users and criminals.In Australia, the primary response to homelessness is the
Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP). The program is limited in its
effectiveness. An estimated one in two young people who seek a bed from SAAP is turned
away because services are full.
Public approaches to street children
There are four categories of how societies deal with street children: Correctional model,
Rehabilitative model, Outreach strategies, and Preventive approach.

The Correctional model is primarily used by governments and the police. They view
children as a public nuisance and risk to security of the general public. The objective of
this model would be to protect the public and help keep the kids away from a life of crime.

M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,


OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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The methods this model uses to keep the children away from the life of crime are the
juvenile justice system and specific institutions.
The Rehabilitative model is supported by churches and NGOs. The view of this model
is that street children are damaged and in need of help. The objective of this model is to
rehabilitate children into mainstream society. The methods used to keep children from
going back to the streets are education, drug detoxification programs, and providing
children with a safe family-like environment.
The Outreach strategy is supported by street teachers, NGOs, and church organizations.
This strategy views street children as oppressed individuals in need of support from their
communities. The objective of the Outreach strategy is to empower the street children by
providing outreach education and training to support children.
The Preventive approach is supported by NGOs, the coalition of street children, and
lobbying governments. They view street childrens poor circumstances from negative
social and economic forces. In order to help street children, this approach focuses on the
problems that cause children to leave their homes for the street by targeting parents
unemployment, poor housing campaign for childrens rights.

NGO responses
Non-government organizations employ a wide variety of strategies to address the needs
and rights of street children. One example of NGO effort is "The Street Childrens Day",
launched by Jugend Eine Welt on 31 January 2009 to highlight the situation of street
children. The "Street Children's Day" has been commemorated every year since its
inception in 2009.
Street children differ in age, gender, ethnicity, social class, and these children have had
different experiences throughout their lifetimes. UNICEF differentiates between the
different types of children living on the street in three different categories:
A. candidates for the street (street children who work and hang out on the streets),
B. children on the streets (children who work on the street but have a home to go to at
night), and
C. children of the street (children who live on the street without family support)
2.HIV affected children:The potential impact of HIV/AIDS on children
There is growing research and programme literature on the impact of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic on children. These impacts occur in a number of overlapping and interdependent
domains, including childrens psychosocial development.
Some of these effects have been reviewed elsewhere1 and the main points from these
reviews are reiterated here as an introduction to considering the impact of HIV/AIDS on
childrens development.
A) Economic impact: In several countries, income in orphan households has been found to
be 2030% lower than in non-orphaned households.2 Studies in urban households in Cte
dIvoire, for example, show that where a family member has AIDS, average income falls by as
M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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much as 60%, expenditure on health care quadruples, savings are depleted and families often
go into debt to care for sick individuals. Other studies have suggested that food consumption
may drop by as much as 41% in orphan households.3 Asset selling to pay for health care,
loss of income by breadwinners and funeral costs may deplete all household reserves, as well
as savings.
B) Migration has been identified as an important family and community coping
mechanism in the face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is especially so in Southern Africa
and, to a lesser extent, in Southeast Asia. Migration occurs for several reasons and people
move both within and between rural and urban areas. Some identified forms of migration
include going-home-to-die, rural widows moving to town to seek work or the help of
relatives, and potential caregivers and dependants moving between kin households to achieve
the most optimum care arrangements for all concerned.
Children are frequently relocated. Adolescents are particularly affected by migration,
as girls are sent to help out in other households, or as children are encouraged to try and
fend for themselves by workingincluding street work.
C) Changes in caregiver and family composition: As a result of death and migration, family
members, including dependent children, often move in and out of households. Caregivers
change and siblings may be split up. Separation from siblings has not only been found to be
a predictor of emotional distress in children and adolescents, but children become more
vulnerable when they are cared for by very aged relatives due to the conditions of mutual
dependency that often exist between adult and child. Death and migration may also result
in the creation of child-headed households. These are most likely to form when there is a
teenage girl who can provide care for younger children, when there are relatives nearby to
provide supervision, and siblings either wish to stay together or are requested to do so by a
dying parent.
D) New responsibilities and work for children: Several studies have shown that
responsibilities and work, both within and outside of the household, increase dramatically
when parents or caregivers become ill or die. In such circumstances, instances of work and
responsibility being given to children as young as five have been observed.7 Responsibilities
and work in the household include domestic chores, subsistence agriculture and provision
of caregiving to very young, old and sick members of the household. Work outside of the
home may involve a variety of formal and informal labour,
E) Education: In households affected by HIV/AIDS, the school attendance of children drops
off because their labour is required for subsistence activities and, in the face of reduced
income and increased expenditure, the money earmarked for school expenses is used for
basic necessities, medication and health services. Even where children are not withdrawn
from school, education often begins to compete with the many other duties that affected
children have to assume. In addition, stigmatisation may prompt affected children to stay
away from school, rather than endure exclusion or ridicule by teachers and peers. A study
in Zambia, for example, showed that 75% of non- orphaned children in urban areas were
enrolled in school compared to 68% of orphaned children.9 At a national level, a World Bank
M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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study in Tanzania suggested that HIV/AIDS may reduce the number of primary school
children by as much as 22% and secondary school children by 14% as a result of increased
child mortality, and decreased attendance and dropping out.10
F) Loss of home and assets: As effects on households deepen and parents die, children may
suffer the loss of their home and livelihood through the sale of livestock and land for survival,
as well as through asset stripping by relatives.11 Loss of skills also occurs because fewer
healthy adults are present in the household and/or are involved in livelihood activities.
G) Health and nutrition: Children affected by HIV/AIDS may receive poorer care and
supervision at home, may suffer from malnutrition and may not have access to available
health services, although no studies have yet demonstrated increased morbidity and
mortality among broadly affected children compared to unaffected control groups. In this
regard, it has been suggested that the safety nets of families and communities are still
sufficiently intact to protect the majority of children from the most extreme effects of the
epidemic;12 or alternatively, that orphans may not be worse off than peers living in extreme
poverty. Indeed, with high levels of ambient poverty in most high-prevalence communities, it
is difficult to ascertain which effects on childrens health are attributable specifically to
HIV/AIDS.
H) Psychosocial impact: Affected and orphaned children are often traumatised and suffer a
variety of psychological reactions to parental illness and death.
In addition, they endure exhaustion and stress from work and worry, as well as insecurity
and stigmatisation as it is either assumed that they too are infected with HIV or that their
family has been disgraced by the virus. Loss of home, dropping out of school, separation from
siblings and friends, increased workload and social isolation may all impact negatively on
current and future mental health. Existing studies of childrens reactions suggest that they
tend to show internalising rather than externalising symptoms in response to such impacts
depression, anxiety and withdrawalas opposed to aggression and other forms of antisocial
behaviour.
I) Vulnerability to infection: Apart from other impacts, children affected by HIV/AIDS are
themselves often highly vulnerable to HIV infection. Their risk for infection arises from the
early onset of sexual activity, commercial sex and sexual abuse, all of which may be
precipitated by economic need, peer pressure, lack of supervision, exploitation and rape.
Some studies of street children, for example, show that vulnerable children do little to protect
themselves from HIV infection because the pressures for basic survivalsuch as finding
foodfar outweigh the future orientation required to avoid infection.14
J) Long-term psychological effects of emotional deprivation: Children who grow up
without the love and care of adults devoted to their wellbeing are at higher risk of developing
psychological problems.15 A lack of positive emotional care is associated with a subsequent
lack of empathy with others and such children may develop antisocial behaviours. Not all
children are, however, affected or affected to the same degree. Protective factorsin the form

M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,


OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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of compensating care from other people, including teachers, as well as personality


predispositionmay lessen the impact on children of reduced care in the home environment.
The listed effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on children are likely to vary considerably
by age. One might expect preschool-aged children, for example, to show primary effects on
growth and health, and school-aged children to show education, work, psychosocial and
vulnerability effects. In addition, none of the effects cited have been shown to be specific to
children affected by HIV/AIDS, even if such a category of children can be more precisely
defined. It is also impossible to isolate and exclude the effects of conditions that pre-date the
death of a caregiver. Such pre-existing or development influences include poverty and social
disorganisation, parental preoccupation, depression and social isolation.
Millions of children are facing the tragedy of losing one or both parents to AIDS. If one
parent is infected with HIV, there is high probability that the other parent is also infected,
and so entire families are facing the threat of illness and death.
The emotional anguish of children who lose one or both of their parents due to any
cause is compounded by the burdens and threats that these children may face in caring for
siblings, obtaining food and shelter, accessing health care or staying in school. These children
are also at increased risk of economic exploitation, under-age recruitment, sexual abuse,
violence and stigmatization.
The seriousness and urgency of the crisis cannot be overstated. Yet despite the large
numbers of children affected, despite the fact that many families have been shattered by HIV
and AIDS, much can be done to prevent further harm and support existing responses. Swift
and determined action is required. With proper care, support and protection, mustering the
combined efforts of the local, regional and global communities, children orphaned and
affected by the pandemic can rebuild their hope for the future and lead healthy, productive
and fulfilling lives. This study has reviewed the situation of children orphaned and otherwise
affected by HIV and AIDS, and alternatives for their care and support. It has then considered
evidence on effective interventions and strategies. Key recommendations emerging from
this analysis are the following, for actors at all levels:
1. Carefully analyse local situations to assess the needs and capacities of children
and families affected by HIV and AIDS. Analysis must be based on a clear understanding
of the local situation, taking into consideration economic stress, nutritional status, emotional
impact, stigmatization, access to health care facilities and treatment, access to schooling and
the role of the extended family in providing care for orphans and other vulnerable children.
It must also consider factors related to culture, gender, urbanization and migration that affect
the ability of families and communities to respond effectively.
2. Dramatically improve access to treatment, including ARV therapy. Efforts must
be substantially strengthened to prolong the lives of parents and other caregivers infected
with HIV in order to prevent orphaning and improve parents capacity to care for their
children. Within the same care strategy and programmes, treatment must also be made
available to infected children.
M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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3. Support home-based care to strengthen families and keep them together.


Providing a range of formal and informal health and psychosocial care inside the home,
including, for example, nursing and medicine and meal delivery, reduces the need for
hospitalization and also engages local communities, helping to build greater awareness and
solidarity with persons infected with HIV. Support for effective home-based care must include
nutrition services and opportunities for income generation.
4. Ensure that children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS attend
school and stay in school. Ensuring school attendance by children affected by AIDS as well
as other vulnerable groups requires specific targeted strategies such as school fee elimination
and in-kind support, school feeding programmes, community-based child care, and homebased services so the burden of care for the family is not shifted onto children. Flexible school
schedules are also necessary to accommodate children who may assume additional
responsibilities at home. It is important that schools also create a protective and supportive
environment for children, taking steps to address the specific needs of girls, and to prevent
discrimination and stigmatization.
5. Promote alternative care arrangements when family care is not possible.
Strengthening the extended family is a preferred option for children who have lost their
parents, but if relatives or community members are not available or able to provide care, then
other options such as fostering or adoption should be considered and promoted. A
multipronged approach is needed to ensure that childrens best interests are always served.
This may include, for example, awareness campaigns to promote domestic adoption and the
need to respect relevant safeguards; legal measures to protect children and ensure that their
views are given due weight; and long-term measures to promote respect for cultural
differences and norms. Institutionalization of abandoned children should be considered only
as a last resort and for the shortest possible duration. 47 Caring for Children Affected by HIV
and AIDS Innocenti Insight 2006 6. Pay urgent attention to the situation of children who are
living in households without adult care. Children may prefer to stay together, even under
arduous circumstances, in order to maintain their close relationships with siblings and
communities. Careful consideration is needed to determine what actions will support these
childrens best interests, safeguard their rights and provide them with adequate assistance,
protection and care.
7. Engage children and young people in the design and implementation of
initiatives that respond to HIV and AIDS in their communities. Engaging children and
young people in peer education and prevention and awareness campaigns, including
adolescentled initiatives, holds a tremendous untapped potential. Young people should be
encouraged to talk with and learn from each other, to determine how best to minimize the
risks of HIV infection. With proper guidance and support, children can apply their knowledge,
creativity and energy to achieve dramatic results through innovative community action to
prevent and respond to HIV and AIDS.
8. Assess and analyse experience in order to identify effective interventions for
children affected by HIV and AIDS, as a basis for taking responses to scale. Many projects
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and activities to support children affected by HIV and AIDS are being implemented and, with
varying degrees of evidence, are presumed to be effective at the local level. However,
additional attention must be given to monitoring, evaluation and research to assess the
effectiveness of programmes in reaching vulnerable children, to understand what works, and
why, in different situations, and to confirm the efficiency of resource use. Only on this basis
is it possible to plan for sustainability, to expand and adapt project models in other settings
and to guide the critical process of bringing successful interventions to scale.
9.Promote leadership against HIV and AIDS at the national level, with increased
international support. National governments political commitment to children
affected by HIV and AIDS must be reaffirmed, and translated into action. The
partnership of the international community, which is already playing an important role, must
be expanded to focus attention on childrens concerns. A focus on children must be
incorporated within national plans, programmes supported by international assistance and
in international initiatives. Central to the success of all of these efforts is a collective and
collaborative response. No single answer is sufficient to address the crisis facing children,
families and communities affected by HIV and AIDS. All partners must join together in the
effort to prevent and end the devastation caused by the epidemic. Community- and familybased action supported by national and international policies, programmes and resources is
essential to respond effectively and provide adequate assistance, protection, care and support
to the millions of children who have been orphaned by AIDS. While urgently addressing the
present catastrophe of HIV and AIDS, we must anticipate a greater impact in the years to
come due to family and societal break-up, economic disruption and orphaning of children.
We must prepare to face that challenge with informed action to safeguard the rights
and protect the future of millions more children whose lives are at stake.
3. Children working in unorganized sectors:An Unorganised Sector can be defined as the sector where the element of the Organised
Sector is absent. In the absence of a more analytical definition, the landscape of the
unorganised sector becomes synonymous with the kaleidoscope of unregulated, poorly
skilled and low-paid workers. While defining an unorganised sector we can say that it is a
part of the workforce which has not been able to organise in pursuit of a common objective
because of constraints such as casual nature of employment, ignorance and illiteracy, small
size of establishments with low capital investment, per person employed, scattered nature of
establishments, superior strength of the employer etc.
The unorganized Sector consists of all private enterprises having less than ten total
workers, operating on a proprietary or partnership basis.
- by National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganized Informal Sector in 2004.

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4.Child labour:Child Labour is the practice of having children engage in economic activity, on part- or
full-time basis. The practice deprives children of their childhood, and is harmful to their
physical and mental development. Poverty, lack of good schools and growth of informal
economy are considered as the important causes of child labour in India. The 1998 national
census of India estimated the total number of child labour, aged 415, to be at 12.6 million,
out of a total child population of 253 million in 514 age group.
The 2011 national census of India found the total number of child labour, aged 514, to
be at 4.35 million, and the total child population to be 259.64 million in that age group. ...
In 2001, an estimated 1% of all child workers, or about 120,000 children in India were in a
hazardous job.

Child labor refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of
their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally,
physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful.

The International Labour Organization considers such labor to be a form of exploitation


and abuse of children.

Child labor refers to those occupations which infringe the development of children (due
to the nature of the job and/or the lack of appropriate regulation) and does not include
age appropriate and properly supervised jobs in which minors may participate.
According to ILO, globally, around 215 million children work, many full-time. Many of
these children do not go to school, do not receive proper nutrition or care, and have
little or no time to play.

More than half of them are exposed to the worst forms of child labor, such as child
prostitution,
drug
trafficking,
armed
conflicts
and
other
hazardous
environments. There exist several international instruments protecting children from
child labor, including the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 and the Worst Forms of
Child Labour Convention.

Measures to promote the status of marginalized children.


The pertinent question therefore is where do the marginalized groups stand today?
Though there has been some improvement in certain spheres and despite some positive
changes, the standard of living for the marginalized communities has not improved.
Therefore, what Minimum needs to be done?

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Improved Access to Agricultural LandThe reasons for the high incidences of poverty and deprivation among the marginalized social
groups are to be found in their continuing lack of access to income-earning capital assets
(agricultural land and non-land assets), heavy dependence on wage employment, high
unemployment, low education and other factors.
Therefore, there is a need to focus on policies to improve the ownership of incomeearning capital assets (agriculture land, and non-land assets), employment, human resource
& health situation, and prevention of discrimination to ensure fair participation of the
marginalized community in the private and the public sectors.
Active Role of the State in PlanningIt is necessary to recognize that for the vast majority of the discriminated groups, State
intervention is crucial and necessary. Similarly, the use of economic and social planning as
an instrument of planned development is equally necessary. Thus, planned State intervention
to ensure fair access and participation in social and economic development in the country is
necessary.
Improved Access to CapitalThe poverty level among the SC and ST cultivators is 30% and 40% respectively, which is
much higher compared with non-scheduled cultivators (18%). Similarly, the poverty
incidences of those in business is very high 33% for SC and 41% for ST compared with only
21% among non-scheduled businesses. The viability and productivity of self-employed
households need to be improved by providing adequate capital, information, technology and
access to markets. It is a pity that though the STs do own some land, they lack the relevant
technological inputs to improve the productivity of their agriculture.
Improved Employment in Public and Private SectorsThere is a need to review and strengthen employment guarantee schemes both in rural and
urban areas, particularly in drought-prone and poverty-ridden areas. Rural infrastructure
and other productive capital assets can be generated through large-scale employment
programmes. This will serve the duel purpose of reducing poverty and ensuring economic
growth through improvement in the stock of capital assets and infrastructure.
Education and Human Resource DevelopmentFirstly, lower literacy/level of education and the continual discrimination of SC/STs in
educational institutions pose a major problem. The government should take a second look at
the Education Policy and develop major programmes for strengthening the public education
system in villages and cities on a much larger scale than today. There is a necessity to
reallocate government resources for education and vocational training. For millions of poor
students located in rural areas, the loan schemes do not work. We should develop an
affordable, uniform and better quality public educational system up to the university level.

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Public education system is our strength and needs to be further strengthened. Promotion of
such private education systems that creates inequality and hierarchy should be discouraged.
Food Security ProgramsThe public distribution system should also be revived and strengthened. In distributing Fair
Price Shops in villages, priority should be given to the SC/ST female and male groups, as a
number of studies have pointed out that they are discriminated upon in the Public
Distribution System and in Mid-day Meal schemes.
Public Health SystemThe public health system in rural areas has also been by and large neglected. Therefore, the
primary health system for rural areas and public health system in urban areas must be
revived and more funds should be allocated for the same.
Untouchability and DiscriminationThe practice of untouchability and the large number of atrocities inflicted on Dalits continue
even today mainly because of hidden prejudices and neglect on the part of officials
responsible for the implementation of Special Legislations; i.e. the Protection of Civil Rights
Act (PCRA) and the Prevention of Atrocities Act (POA). The Government should make a
meaningful intervention in this regard so as to mitigate the sufferings of Dalits due to practice
of untouchability and atrocities inflicted upon them and should also treat this matter on a
priority basis to ensure that the officials and the civil society at large are sensitized on this
issue.

Children of road workers

Child labour works

near Rishikesh, India.

M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,


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References:1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_exclusion
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov NCBI Literature PubMed Central (PMC)
3. mhupa.gov.in/writereaddata/RAYGuidelines.pdf
4. https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/.../effects-child-abuse-and-neglect-children-and-adolescents
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_poverty
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_children_in_India
7. https://www.unicef.org/.../Africas_Orphaned_and_Vulnerable_Generations_Children_.
8. https://www.translate.com/.../child-labour-is-the-practice-of-having-children-engage-i
9. Child Development Center. Experience CDC-UNICEF. CDC publication 2003.
10. UNICEF. Poverty and exclusion among urban children. Innocenti Digest(10). 2003.
Available from URL//www.unicef-icdc.org./Accessed October 8, 2003.
11. World Bank. World Development Report. Available from: URL http://www.adding it
up.gov.uk/index.cfm/Accessed October 8, 2003.

M.KARTHIKEYAN, M.SC., M.ED., NET (EDU), ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,


OURLADY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHENNAI.

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