E-Paper
Ludhiana childline received 200 distress calls in first month of lockdown
Of the total, 90% of the calls were related to shortage of food
The Ludhiana childline (1098) has received and responded to around 200 distress calls in the last one month since the curfew was imposed. This is a five-fold increase for the childline, which receives 40 to 60 calls a month in normal times.
Of the total, 90% of the calls were related to shortage of food. The childline officials are, however, anticipating more cases of child abuse and violence to surface once the lockdown is over.
“Earlier, almost all the calls were related to missing or abused children. But, this time, around 90% of the callers were those who were facing a shortage of food while 5% of callers demanded education-related services,” said Kuldeep Singh Mann, director, Childline Ludhiana.
He added that the childline had also received some panic calls during the initial stage of lockdown. “Some were silent calls and 1% of the calls related to violence on children.”
Arshdeep Singh, coordinator, Childline Ludhiana district, said, “The calls about help for food were from the migrant labourers residing in different areas of the district.”
About help for food, he said, “When a team visits the house of the caller to provide food, we first check the quantity of ration being stored by them, the number of children in the house and provide them food accordingly. We also check the availability of food in nearby houses before providing ration. During the visit to these houses, we also counsel the children.”
The Childline of Ludhiana Railway Station is also extending help to the district Childline during the lockdown.
Kulwinder Singh, coordinator, Childline Ludhiana Railway Station, said, “During initial days of lockdown, there were some distress calls from children of well-off families and these children were counselled. The children were anxious and annoyed as they were forced to stay home.” “The children from poor families, who knew about the Childline and had taken help earlier also, demanded stationery items for school projects,” he added.
‘CHILD ABUSE CALLS MAY INCREASE AFTER LOCKDOWN’
Childline director Kuldeep Singh Mann said, “Many children must be facing violence nowadays but, as they cannot move out of houses and are staying 24 hours with parents and guardians, they may be not able to call for help. If domestic violence, as reported, has increased by over 20% during the lockdown period, it means that the mental health of those children, witnessing violence at home, is also being affected. So, when lockdown is over, it is likely that there will be a sudden increase in the number of complaints regarding child abuse or missing children.”
“A special workshop is going to be conducted soon to guide the coordinators about the steps to be taken to counsel the children and the family members,” Mann added.
He added, “At present, there are 20 employees of then Childline in the district (including Childline of Ludhiana Railway Station) and, apart from them, there are around 65 volunteers. So, there is enough strength to deal with cases if these complaints will increase in coming days.”
