Child Care Institutions and Social Development in Manipur: An Institutional Analysis under the Juvenile Justice Framework

The protection and rights of children is a worldwide concern. Globally most countries have agreed to minimum standards for child participation, protection, and provision of basic needs. Yet, it is recognised that children in low through to high income countries often are left unprotected from a violation of rights. Many factors influence the care and protection of children such as political, economic and social stability, along with prevailing values. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most widely used document. A comparable document from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam (OICCRCI), provides a faith based perspective on the care and protection of children. The government of Negara Brunei Darussalam is a signatory to both these documents and has various policies and aspirations to support children. Brunei has a strong Islamic ethos and unique culture. These factors shape childhood in Brunei, yet examinations of its impact have received little attention in the academic literature. A review of literature located studies on Bruneian history, culture, legal systems, education systems, and special needs policies. However, children had low visibility in the studies, suggesting the need for research that captured their experiences. This thesis examines children’s lived experiences in Brunei, providing an avenue for Bruneian children’s voices to enter academic narratives. Specifically, it explores how the Brunei Government’s child protection policies and principles are reflected in the everyday experiences of children. Diverse groups of Bruneian children participated in the research. Children have distinct vulnerabilities, which differ from the realities experienced by adults. Including their voices in research is necessary to develop understandings of the lived experiences of children. Interviews were undertaken with children living in Brunei, including both citizens and non-citizens. Children were recruited from a variety of contexts including, schools, religious programs, juvenile justice and child protection systems. Parents of children with special needs, and parents who adopted a child were also interviewed, as were practitioners and teachers. The adults in the study were interviewed for their specialist knowledge of working within, or experiencing, governmental systems relating to child wellbeing. 112 children, 16 practitioners and 11 parents participated in the research. Their accounts were thematically analysed. Results are discussed within the context of literature, child participation and prevailing child rights documents. Children described their lives at home, in institutions and at school. While differing in intensity, common themes were identified across the distinct case groups. Examples include, adult-child relationships, lived religion, feelings of safety, gender, issues of statelessness, feelings of inclusion, violence, truancy and the influence of friends. Three groups of children were recognised as having their rights infringed; children with special needs, non-citizens and females. There are disparities between the experiences of children in Brunei, with Muslim-Malay citizen children more likely to benefit from government policies. Bruneian children are protected by both formal and informal child protection measures identified throughout the data. In some instances, informal practices ensured positive outcomes for children, however a lack of monitoring may place children at risk. This thesis adds to the body of literature on child protection and participation in Muslim-majority contexts. To deepen understandings of child protection in Brunei, literature was reviewed on the influence of Islamic teachings in caring for children. Literature was reviewed focussing on Islamic teachings and their lived application. This guided the study in explorations of adoption, discipline techniques, child marriage, and duties between parents and children in Brunei. The approach used can be adapted for research on the rights of citizen and non-citizen children in other Muslim-majority contexts. Improving understandings of the realities of children in Islamic contexts, will improve responses to enhance child wellbeing. This thesis sits within a growing body of literature which challenges Islamophobic discourses which, have been harmful in Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority contexts. Throughout, there is a focus on where Islamic and Western concepts of child wellbeing converge. Areas of convergence represent areas where effective work with children can occur, supported by child rights practice, and congruent with religious norms. Divergences between Western and Islamic thought represent areas where dialogue can occur to further understand both positions, and work towards acting within in the best interests of the Muslim child.

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has rattled the world and has severely compromised not only the public health system but has decelerated the global economy. In this backdrop, the article explores the dynamics of the institutional care of the out-of-home care (OHC) children, adolescents and children who are residing in alternative care homes, childcare institutions (CCIs), foster homes and who are in conflict with law like refugees or in juvenile correctional centres. The article attempts to highlight the risk factors and systematic barriers that CCIs and associated functionaries have been confronting in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. It would also catalogue the remedial, preventive and protective initiatives undertaken as best practices. The qualitative content analysis method is used to identify major themes related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and institutional care of children. Critical evaluation of literature reviews, published newspaper reports and articles and documentation of webinar proceedings is performed for theoretical and thematic conceptualisation of this article. The fundamental barriers that surfaced include financial barriers, health and nutrition, social justice, educational barriers, safety issues, administrative barriers, management, rehabilitation and integration of children living in CCIs and the ones who are leaving the CCIs. The unprecedented challenges have exposed the emergency unpreparedness and lacunae in functioning of CCIs in diverse ways. This has necessitated the undeniable need for reframing the regulatory directives for protection of child rights; accounting for the newer structural reforms aiming for standard operating procedures (SOPs); compliance and accountability guidelines; upgrading training and capacity building of the caregivers; addressing issues of psycho-social, mental health and well-being of the children and caregivers; building resilient coping strategies and enhancing the dignity, flexibility, inclusivity and sustainability in the responsive policy formulation regarding overall childcare system. This entails a multi-sectoral, participatory and coordinated approach as envisaged in United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) where the concerned stakeholders, including government legislations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil societies, grassroot organisations, individual CCIs and management staff, would ensure non-discriminatory measures protecting the best interests of the children.

This article studied the specificity of the legal system on the protection of children`s rights functioning in the Republic of Kazakhstan, attention is paid to the basic principles of international cooperation on problems of children. Protecting children as the national treasure, as well as the aspiration of the Republic of Kazakhstan to integrate into the world community has made this idea very relevant. The key purpose of the research is to identify the problems and gaps in the legal protection system for minors in the Republic of Kazakhstan and to provide recommendations to improve the existing practices taking into account the international best practices. It includes national legal regulations, international legal instruments, and practices of law enforcement in this area. As an academic work, this drugs a better understanding of legal processes for the protection of children rights and also to pin point existing legal gaps. The practical implications of its significance are seen in the recommendations made to amend national legislation to strengthen the protection of children's rights. The research utilizes an eclectic method when analyzing legal regulations including international and domestic legislation, statistical analysis of the number of crimes against minors, as well as a review of the academic literature. The key findings indicate that there are still existing challenges in the development of the legal framework including the covert nature of crimes, weak cooperation between organs and inadequate legal protection of children’s property and information. The cross sectional data also reveals that the governmet has contributed to this by decreasing the rate children of even crimes though against the rate of serious crimes is still worrisome. The theoretical and practical significance of the research is shown in the recommendations made for the enhancement of the digital child protection as well as the incorporation of the principles of juvenile justice. The significance of the research is that it has the of potential being used in the development of a strategy that can be used in enhancing the protection of children’s rights and thus create a safe legal environment for children to grow and develop. Key words: child rights, global standards, juvenile justice system, UN guidelines on child rights, children's digital security, social welfare protection.

This paper examines the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and its relevant regulations, which mention duties, operational procedures, and administrative issues in managing child care institutions(CCIs) in the Odisha context. This paper looks into the role of the staff of the CCI towards the institutionalised children through the child welfare committee. The methodology of the study was based on empirical work, based on an explorative research design and qualitative in nature; the field study was conducted in the Balangir district of Odisha, where the researcher selected three child care institutions (CCIs). All CCIs are children’s homes. Out of the 6 child care institutions, 3 child care institutions were selected from the six childcare institutions. Thirty children were selected for this study, ten from each of the three childcare institutions. The purposive sampling method was undertaken to select the children from the CCIs who have completed 9th class up to ITI because they are mature enough to explain the role of the staff under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. The findings of the paper were that the staff of the child care institution did not address the emotional and psychological issues of the children. The children of the CCIs reveal that the CCI’s rule and regulation guided the future plan of their. The study highlights that staff training is vital in discharging their duties as per the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

The number of cases of violence against children that occur is considered as one indicator of the poor quality of child protection in Indonesia. The existence of children who have not been able to live independently certainly needs people as a place of refuge. The efforts to protect children's rights are a very important and urgent matter to discuss. Important and urgent considering that in recent years we have often been treated to various news and information about various acts of violence against children carried out by people who should be responsible for protecting these children.Islamic discourse and family law literature on the protection of children's rights is still very little to be found. Islamic Compilation of Law (KHI) and Indonesian Marriage Law No. 1 of 1974 does not explicitly discuss the protection of the rights of children to legal sanctions for violators of children's rights in their articles.Likewise with some classical Jurisprudence literature does not concretely discuss the protection of children's rights and legal sanctions for violators of children's rights. This certainly has an impact on understanding and practices that occur in the community towards the pattern of protection of children's rights.This study will look at the concept and the development of child rights protection in Islamic family law and it’s concrete effort of Islamic family law in the protection of children's rights.This qualitative research method is a socio-legal study with a case approach.The findings of this study are in fact, many children are neglected in their lives, both in families who are still intact, father and mother, especially in families whose parents are separated (divorced). Child protection in Indonesia has not been comprehensively accommodated, this is because many children still do not get their rights. The factors include the lack of the role of parents regarding their obligations related to the rights of their children

Biological parents or immediate caregivers are generally responsible for the safety and protection of children. If biological parents or immediate caregivers fail in their duties, the concerned local government is then obligated to take care of children, as per the verdict of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). That being said, to ensure the safety and protection of child rights is everybody’s responsibility, and this responsibility has been recognized by the international community in 1989 through the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Violence against children in any form constitutes a violation of the basic rights of children. During childhood, young people deserve unconditional love from their parents, as well as all the necessities for proper physical, mental, and social development (Deb 2010). A fundamental assumption of the United Nation Convention is that family should be the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members, particularly its children. Yet, very regrettably, it is in the family where child abuse occurs most often.

Background and goals. The children's rights movement in India is relatively recent and the juvenile justice system is a young one. This article aims to provide an introduction to the juvenile justice system in India and to discuss the challenges present before it and the recent initiatives taken to address those challenges. Methods. Information was compiled from the following sources: 1) Websites of major agencies of the Government of India, namely the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB); and 2) The authors' own experience in this area and their collaboration with the Centre for Child and Law (CCL), National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore. Results. Many initiatives have been taken by the Government of India which directly or indirectly has and will continue to have an impact on the mental health of children who come in contact with the law. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2000 (amended in 2011) is an act of Parliament and is the primary legal framework for juvenile justice in India. Another important initiative is the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at building a protective environment for children in difficult circumstances, as well as other vulnerable children, through a government–civil society partnership. There is a paucity of data and research on the prevalence and types of mental disorders among children in conflict with the law. Conclusion. Although there are major gaps between policies and actual conditions for juveniles who run afoul of the law. India has made a promising beginning by adopting progressive legislation, especially the Juvenile Justice Act of 2011, and the mental health community can learn from India's experience and provide this vulnerable, yet difficult, population with opportunities for a brighter future. India has a history of very progressive policies and legislation, regarding juvenile justice, and work continues to address inadequacies and ongoing challenges. Keywords: Adolescent, child, India, juvenile justice, mental health.

The aim of this study is to assess the status of Child rights in the two African countries of Sierra Leone and Lesotho. The study will begin by analysing the Treaties and conventions and bills, legal instruments relating to the protection of children signed by respective countries. The protection of children rights has increasingly become a significant focus for most countries in recent years, the evidence is that many countries of the world aim to protect children rights by Prioritising education, ending child marriages and child labour among others through the formulation of legislation and policies. Lesotho and Sierra Leone respectively have adopted and ratified various international bills and convections that aim to protect children’s rights. The paper will compare and analyse the strides and efforts of the two to protect children rights. Lastly, the paper will give out recommendations, strategies as well as lessons that can be adopted to further strengthen the protection of children rights in both countries.

India has the world’s largest child population, with about 440 million children below the age of 18. These children represent not the demographic majority but are among the world’s most vulnerable group. While India has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and has enacted various comprehensive legislations concerning the protection of children, which have been discussed in this paper such as, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, the real implementation of these frameworks present alarming gaps. Child labour, institutional neglect, sexual abuse, abandonment, and child marriage persist, often masked by underreporting and inadequate data. This paper engages in a critical examination of India’s child protection framework, evaluating both the achievements of its legal and policy framework, along with its structural failures. This paper draws from diverse secondary sources including legal statutes, reports, and academic literature. It uses qualitative research methodology based on doctrinal and empirical secondary data analysis to analyse India’s child welfare mechanisms. The findings show persistent shortcomings such as declining budgetary allocations, a severe lack of institutional capacity, poor oversight, and a reactive rather than preventive approach to child protection. While programmes such as Mission Vatsalya have resulted in notable progress, including a fourfold rise in non-institutional care placements between 2021 and 2024, these gains, although appreciated, are insufficient to address the scale of the crisis. Less than 1% of orphaned or abandoned children are placed in formal care, and India has just over 9,500 Child Care Institutions (CCIs) to serve this vast population. Adoption in India remains contentious due to legal complexities, corruption and a disturbing gender paradox: while more girls are adopted, this reflects a higher abandonment rate rather than societal progress. Similarly, child marriage remains an issue, more so in some places than in others. While the national rate of child marriages in India has dropped from 47% to 23% over the past two decades, states like Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand continue to report figures above 40%. Which is surprising since West Bengal is a state that has a relatively high literacy rate and has one of the highest child marriage rates in the country, revealing that structural gender inequality cannot be resolved by education alone. Further, the national study on child abuse conducted in 2007 found that over 53% of Indian children had faced some form of sexual abuse, affecting boys and girls almost equally. However, no comprehensive national data collection has happened ever since, leaving policymakers without a contemporary understanding of the crisis. In metropolitan cities like Mumbai, data shows a rise in reported cases of sexual harassment and POCSO-related offences, indicating awareness but not necessarily improved protection. To address these systemic problems, this paper proposes a comprehensive reform agenda. First, it calls for increased ring-fenced child welfare budgets, with mandatory, standardized Child Budget Statements across all states. Second, it advocates for a shift from reactive to preventive care, emphasizing family counselling, school-based support, and community outreach. Third, it recommends further development of non-institutional and community-based care models such as the kinship and sponsorship initiatives seen in Jalna, Maharashtra. Fourth, it stresses the urgent need for periodic, gender-inclusive national surveys on child abuse. Fifth, it argues for the simplification of adoption procedures. Lastly, it urges harmonization across legislative and policy frameworks to ensure that laws like the JJ Act and POCSO, and policies like Mission Vatsalya, operate in coordination rather than isolation. India’s legal and policy framework for child protection is conceptually sound on paper, but deeply fragmented in practice. While it has made notable progress in recognizing child rights, the implementation remains uneven, underfunded and reactive. For India to truly protect its children, the system must move from symbolic legislation to enforceable accountability. Towards a child-centric and preventive framework that is supported by adequate funding and institutional commitment, which can transform child protection from a promise to a reality.

Background: The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, is a pivotal legal framework in India aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse. Despite its comprehensive scope, the medico-legal implementation of the Act presents several challenges for healthcare providers, law enforcement, and the judiciary, especially in ensuring sensitive yet legally sound handling of child survivors. Objectives were to analyze key medico-legal challenges in the implementation of POCSO, with a focus on forensic examination, evidence collection, consent, mandatory reporting, and the role of medical professionals in legal proceedings. Method: A qualitative review of secondary data was conducted using statutory provisions of the POCSO Act, government-issued medico-legal guidelines, peer-reviewed journals, judicial decisions, and policy reports from organizations such as Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Govt. of India, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and HAQ: Centre for Child Rights during January to June 2024. Thematic analysis was used to identify core issues. Results: Five major themes emerged from the analysis: Training Deficiencies – Medical professionals often lacked formal training in child-sensitive forensic procedures under POCSO. Consent and Confidentiality Challenges – Ethical dilemmas were frequent regarding assent, parental consent, and mandatory reporting. Documentation and Evidence Integrity – Poor-quality medico-legal documentation compromised evidentiary value in court. Infrastructure Gaps – Most facilities lacked child-friendly spaces and essential forensic equipment. Legal Preparedness – Doctors were inadequately oriented for courtroom roles, affecting the quality of expert testimony. Conclusion: Effective implementation of POCSO’s medico-legal provisions requires improved training, intersectoral coordination, standardized protocols, and infrastructure development. Bridging the gap between medical ethics and legal obligations is essential to ensure justice while preserving the dignity and rights of child survivors.

Background: As a signatory of the United Nations Commission on Child Rights, India has enacted laws and policies to protect the child’s interests. The Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 addresses the needs and well-being of the most vulnerable children, including those who do not have anyone to care for or have experienced a traumatic upbringing and those who are allegedly in conflict with the law. No research from India addresses these vulnerable children’s mental health and well-being. The current paper describes a pilot project to create mental health awareness and improve children’s care access in India’s Juvenile Justice System (JJS). Methods: Permission was obtained from appropriate governmental agencies in Odisha and Tamil Nadu and Child Care Institutions (CCIs) that consented to participate. A co-creation model was utilized to create youth-friendly spaces and methods to deliver mental health literacy for all stakeholders and access to care. Results: Seven CCIs and 278 children across two states participated in the implementation of the project. 37.8% of the children had resided for less than six months and 34.5% for more than two years in the current CCI. Of the various adverse childhood experiences, neglect was the highest at 76.3% followed by parental issues at 32%. Conclusions: Children in the JJS have many risk factors predisposing them to develop mental health issues. This unique pilot project describes implementing a codesigned and co-created model of delivery of mental health literacy and access to care to this vulnerable group of children.

Abstract: The Juvenile Justice Act in India in the past two decades been amended several times to make it more child friendly and to preserve the dignity and best interests of the child. There have been notable changes with changes in nomenclature, increased age limits, adding categories and methods of restoration and continuing protections. This study takes up the issue of the children in need of care and protection and attempts to examine the relevance and application of the amended Juvenile Justice legislation in their lives. It focuses on children in need of care and protection for two reasons. Firstly, if they can be taken care of, will it prevent the emergence of children in conflict with law to some extent? Secondly, neglect of the youngest and the most vulnerable population is something that must be addressed urgently. It is an exploratory cum descriptive study that aims to describe and examine the state and nature of the quality of life of children in need of care and protection in four State Government run correctional institutions in two districts of Delhi; West and North. Data was collected through semi-structured interview and observation method along with case studies. While examining in detail the socio-economic backgrounds of the children in institutional care under the Juvenile Justice Act in Delhi, there was an attempt to study the perceptions of the children about the institutional services. It sheds light on the factors that forced these children to leave their families and their entry into the institutions and their experiences outside and within the institutions. An attempt to understand the Juvenile Justice System through the eyes of the institutionalised children now free and on the streets again adds a required dimension to this study, making it relevant all times. It helps to provide a fair picture of what the children on streets and in need, want from the institutions. If institutionalized services are serving their purpose or community based correctional services are a better option? The findings of the study reveal various issues and challenges in the child care institutions while rehabilitating children. Apart from bringing out some additional problems than what have been known so far, it helps in identifying new areas of research in this field – Similar exhaustive studies of juvenile institutions and street children in other States where the amended Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act has been implemented, (ii) Study of the NGO managed institutes under the Juvenile Justice System in the Capital and other states of the country to understand innovative strategies. Secondly, the information generated can be effectively used in future planning for the children. The study advocates for the end of de facto criminalization of street children and by placing the relevant legislation outside the criminal justice system and by transferring, their care and protection to agencies — whether governmental or non-governmental — whose personnel are trained in social work, not correction. Greater emphasis, in particular, must be placed on the rehabilitation and personal development of former street children

Policy Formulation the Government of Timor-Leste in the protection of the rights of children in conflict with the law, as efforts to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified in 2003. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the formulation of government policy of Timor-Leste in the protection of the rights of children in trouble with the laws and the types of methods used in this research is descriptive with qualitative approach and interactive models as data analysis techniques. The study's findings indicate that the formulation of government policy Timor-Leste based strategic plan Government of Timor-Leste in the justice sector; human resources owned by the Ministry of Justice, particularly in the National Legislative Agency is very minimal and also public participation in policy formulation; cooperation built by the National Legislation Agency nice fellow public agencies and private organizations for this to be effective at all; National Legislation Agency is government agencies that fund is not an issue; In carrying out its duties and functions very not optimal because it has so far not been successful National Legislation Agency pouring a policy on the protection of children's rights into the format of a particular regulation.

There are several child right issues that need to be addressed in India. The people in India need awareness and education on these rights. Parents play a crucial role in the protection of child rights in any society. Proper awareness among the children about their rights makes a significant change. School education can play a vital role in educating the children about their rights, including their right to education. Stringent laws need to be framed and executed to protect the rights of the child. Though child right is a common concern for most of the countries in the world, the strategist protect the child right differs from country to country. Child protection service seems to be the most pro-active approach to safe guard the rights of the children. The practice of child right has undergone significant changes during the last century. The rights and welfare of children depended on specific values of the society in India. It is only during the 12th century, the concept of child rights emerged in most of the countries. A critical review of child protection would help the policy makers in India to broaden the knowledge about the existing structures and child protection services. In this view, the present paper discusses the theoretical perspective of child rights in India. Keywords: Child rights; child protection; government; society

The Indonesian Marriage Law Act Number 1/1974, and the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI) regulate the constitutional law of polygamous marriage in Indonesia. The act states that the basic principle of marriage in Indonesia is monogamy. The act also says that the husband must show evidence telling his ability to fulfill his family needs. The study on these issues conducted in Indonesia is a part of the Indonesia Islamic family law. The neglected protection of the child’s rights in a family needs to be escorted through imposing the rules concerning it. This study aims to find out the implementation of the protection of child rights in Islamic law on polygamous marriage. This research employed a qualitative method with a socio-legal study case approach. The result of the study showed first, there is always a problem in the matter of the child’s rights that should be fulfilled by polygamist fathers that have to be protected. Second, the rights of children in polygamous marriage cannot be fulfilled equally especially in unrecorded polygamous marriages. Third, there is uncertainty in the marriage law related to the maturity of children who are still under the protection of parents, where this uncertainty will make it difficult to implement the law. Basically, the protection of children in polygamous marriages has been regulated in the Islamic Marriage Law in Indonesia. However, there are still many gaps in Islamic legal protection in child protection in polygamous marriages, plus there are still many people who do not comply and ignore it.