For child victims of incest, foster care is better than institutionalisation, but there's no effort to promote this
So many cases of children being raped and sexually assaulted by their fathers are regularly reported in India. These cases continue to horrify us, but for the child, the victim of incest, the situation doesn’t get easier after the crime is reported. A child who is a victim of incest is placed in institutional care immediately and mostly, he or she remains there till his or her statement is recorded in the court.
In around 20 percent of these cases, the alleged sexual abuser is a father, brother, adoptive father or stepfather, as per a report by the HAQ Centre for Child Rights on Children’s Access to Justice and Restorative Justice.
Out of all incest cases, in over 50 percent, the perpetrator is the biological father of the child.
As it is, with around 90 percent of all cases, the sexual abusers are known to their victims. So, in cases where there is incest and a case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012, the child is immediately transferred to institutional care in Child Care Institutions (CCIs).
Institutional care isn't so safe
But reports have shown that CCIs are not safe. A report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on shelter homes in Bihar, in May 2018, brought this out starkly when it revealed gross violations in government homes. The survey found only seven homes out of 110 following government regulations and good practices. On the other hand, 50 percent of the children complained of physical abuse and 12 percent reported sexual abuse.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 expressly states that a child should be placed in institutional care only as the last resort – but the opposite is happening.
Children who are victims of rape and/or sexual abuse are put in institutional care immediately.
Barring a few, they remain wards of the state until the hearing is completed in the courts, which takes a long time due to the huge backlog of cases.
Foster care better for sexually abused children
Speaking about the situation in CCIs, a former member of the CWC, Krina Shah, said, “No institutional care is free of violence — whether emotional, physical or sexual. Also, it is the easiest form of childcare, almost lazy. One needs to make an effort to place a Child in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) in foster care.”
Further, she said, “Every society needs institutional care but it should be the last resort and for a minimum duration.” This is a known demand of other child activists and social workers.
In Delhi, Maheshwari Deep runs a home in Dwarka since 2005 for 22 girls, but she feels that foster care is in fact a better option than an institutional home. Ms Deep said, “It is always difficult for a child to adjust to institutional care where they don’t have family, siblings and familiar environment. Also, there is constant change – the staff keeps changing, children keep coming and going and there are regular inspections which stresses a child. The staff also doesn’t have the required empathy towards children in CCIs.”
Dr Manorama runs Anandha Illam in Chennai, a home for boys and girls, many of whose parents are HIV+ or have AIDS. She said, “CCI is the worse option for traumatised children. They should be placed with their extended families, so they remain in familiar surroundings.” But she accepted that foster care was not a widely prevalent practice in India.
The Chairperson of the West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti, said, “We ensure that children in our homes are safe through strict monitoring and regular checks.” Ms Chakraborti said that as far as foster homes were concerned, monitoring would be difficult.
However, being safe is not even the same as being happy and thriving.
The Chairperson of CWC, Chennai, Sheila Charles Mohan, felt that children were not happy in shelter homes. She stated, “For children who were victims of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), being in an institution is like being victimised all over again.”
Explaining, Ms Mohan said, “Caretakers are not well-trained and often children have to relive the past when questioned.” She felt that foster care with known people would definitely be a better option.
Still, institutional care for children is inevitable. In Chennai alone, there are 87 such homes — 30 of them are government-owned and run, while the rest are aided homes.
No good options for victims of incest other than CCIs
In Junagadh, Ramilaben Kathiria is the chairperson of the CWC since 2005. She says that in Gujarat, there was the Palak Mata Pita Yogana for foster care, set up after the devastating earthquake in Kutch on January 26, 2001. However, this scheme has not been extended to victims of CSA under the POCSO Act.
The notion seems to be that such children are better off at CCIs to ensure that they don’t turn hostile due to outside interference.
This view was echoed by Kumar Shailab, co-director at HAQ. Mr Shailab said they prefer a child whose cases are ongoing under the POCSO Act should not be sent to foster care. Explaining this, he said, “There is a strong possibility of children turning hostile in court as they are put under tremendous pressure by their extended families when they are in foster care. Also, it is easy to properly counsel a child in a CCI for a court hearing. We have seen that the results are not good when children are living in foster care or in their extended families as compared to CCIs. Also, it’s easier for support persons to contact a child in a government home.”
So, a child who is already traumatised is stuck in a child care institution till a case under the POCSO Act is concluded.
But there is a huge backlog of POCSO cases in the courts with pendency at over 85 per cent. Taking note of this, the Supreme Court has asked the High Courts to reduce the backlog and make efforts to expedite hearings.
Explaining that institutional care is very traumatic for children who are victims of incest, Mr Welsey, head of the anti-trafficking program in World Vision India, said, “We have been working with many institutions. Most are no different from a lock-up facility. Even basic needs like a hygienic environment and mental health support are lacking. It becomes a double-jeopardy for CSA victims when they are forcibly sent to institutional care. Children find it difficult to adjust to the bullying, violence and abuse in these institutions.”
Psychologist and founder of Ahmedabad-based counseling institute Maanas — The Inside Story, Meenakshi Kirtane said that every effort should be made to place victims of incest in their own extended families which are both safe and supporting towards them. She felt that in India, society was not yet conducive for a foster care system to work, at least, at present.
Ms Kirtane said, “A victim of incest needs care, hand-holding and warmth which is not available in shelter homes at present. There needs to be a lot of improvement to provide support, counseling and proper care before these can be considered a safe and supportive place for children who are victims of sexual abuse.”
The government is aware of the grave inadequacies in CCIs — but there is no move to promote a foster care system. When asked about this through email, the Minister of Women and Child Development chose not to comment on the matter.
“Foster care is an idea whose time is yet to come in our country”, said Mr Wesley. Even families that are willing to accommodate children are often afraid or discouraged by the layers of legal processes involved, he added.
Note: This article is part of a media fellowship focused on Child Sexual Abuse by World Vision India.
(The author is director of Sabfree, an NGO providing an ecosystem for survivors of Child Sexual Abuse.)