English man’s arrest for assaulting blind children must be a wake-up call for authorities
Children are considered to be the most vulnerable section of the society and children, who are differently-abled, are even more vulnerable. But the scariest thing is that these children are vulnerable to sexual predators, who take advantage of their innocence. The capture of a British citizen in Delhi for sexually molesting three children at a blind children’s home has opened a huge can of worms. Despite all sorts of checks and balances being put in place, this person, apparently through his wealth and donations, bought his way into the good books of the authorities there. It has also emerged that he and, possibly some of his associates as well, might have attacked as many as 30 children in the past decade in this institution. Such was the depravity of this person that even a paralytic stroke could not stop him. There are other similar examples of individuals from developed countries coming to India to take advantage of Indian children. Even if some of these individuals manage to escape the law, foreign police forces have cracked down on such paedophile rings and have found evidence that some of the perpetrators travelled to Asian countries, including India. The UK-based non-governmental organisation, ECPAT, that monitors and works against child sexual exploitation, has, however, said that things are possibly getting worse with the advent of technology with perpetrators now live-streaming their abuse of children for other perverts across the world. In Asian countries, where income disparities are still immense, it also appears that parents sometimes turn a blind eye to their child’s exploitation because of the financial sums involved, even though it would be something incredibly low like a hundred rupees. Some of these children are groomed for years by these perverts.
Of course, this is not just a problem about twisted old white men from Europe, child rapists and molesters operate with impunity in our presence as well. It appears that almost every week, there is a case of someone tasked with the protecting of children or working in schools, attacking children, and this is just in Indian cities. This means the system of vetting individuals before allowing them near vulnerable children is broken, and that too badly. On the face of it, it does not appear that much can be done to repair the situation even though a stringent law — Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act has been put in place. One start, however, can ensure the prompt arrest and prosecution under the law. Another could be to educate parents better about the situation because the situation is grim. Another would be for Indian investigative agencies to work closer with their counterparts in European countries tackling the serious situation. A society that fails their children is a failed society and it appears that India is failing its children badly.