A child rights body in Goa on Monday issued an advisory to various agencies of the state government about the rise in cases of infants being abandoned at unsafe places, an official said.
The Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued an advisory to the directorate of women and child welfare, health department and Goa police to help parents in distress to surrender their infants.
“The recent incidences of newborn abandonment in Goa, most of it in unsafe places recently, is very perturbing,” the commission stated in the advisory. It noted that the state had recorded 11 such cases in five years (2017-2022), and four of these were registered this year alone.
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Of the cases reported this year, three abandoned infants succumbed to gory aftermaths of unsafe abandonments, ranging from dog bites to infections due to garbage, etc., the advisory stated.
"There is a need for greater prevention efforts and actions for the protection of children by all stakeholders for the future. This preparedness and actions will require close-coordinated, multi-sectoral, and collaborative efforts between all stakeholders,” it said.
The commission's chairman Peter Borges said that the lack of awareness about the law on surrendering unwanted children is a major reason for the issue. The commission has asked the directorate of women and child development to ensure that specialised adoption agencies in Goa set up cradles to receive abandoned children.
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The commission has sought for awareness and sensitisation programmes for anganwadi staff, as they are aware about most cases of pregnancies, including unwanted ones. It has also suggested to build the capacity of anganwadi staff to educate and sensitise parents and to reduce stigma surrounding abandonment, given their strong network in rural areas, the advisory stated.
For the health department, the commission has recommended that cradles and signage to cradles be put up at various places considered most appropriate to receive such children, i.e. primary health centres, hospitals (government and private), nursing homes, etc to receive unwanted newborns and put them in the child protection system for legal adoption.
The commission has also asked the Goa police not to register FIRs against any biological parents during the inquiry process in cases of abandoned or surrendered children, it was stated.
(With PTI inputs)
