There is one piece of good news in the offing, as announced today. The BJP government has decided to take firm and practical stand on child molestation. Tightening the noose around pedophiles, the government plans to create an online database with names and pictures of child sex offenders. This registry of known sex offenders is a useful tool for schools, day care centres, orphanages and any other organisation which involves children. Using this, they could check up on employees before hiring them to see whether they feature in this list of known sex offenders.
The proposal has been mooted by the Union Women and Child Development Minister, Maneka Gandhi. “We plan to create an all India registry for child molesters that will name and shame them,” a source told TOI. The ministry will work with the ministry of home affairs on the issue.
This way, child care organisations could avoid incidences of repeat offences. This is a much welcome, move that has been suggested for long by activists dealing with child sex abuse.
Given the number of child molestation and rape cases that have emerged in the past few years, it’s a scary thought to think that these criminals are running loose. In fact, pedophiles, as they are called, even after punishment, tend to position themselves in jobs where they come in close contact with children. Now with this registry, we can protect children from molesters.
However, since the government has already begun this naming and shaming program, perhaps they could make a registry of teachers and educational professionals who have been involved in severe corporal punishments. In many of the smaller towns, hinterland schools, and even major cities sometimes the extent of corporal punishment is so bad that children have ended by losing an eye, gone blind, deaf and in some cases even died.
In most of these cases the school simply suspends the teacher, and the teacher takes up employment in another school. If a registry were to be made in this regard too, at least some of the more severe ones could be listed so that schools would think twice before hiring them.
Image Courtesy: BCCL
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