EVERY HOUR in INDIA 16 children fall prey to crime, 5 are sexually abused, 3 are raped and 8 children go missing, as per the latest National Crime Records Bureau data. A report published by International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2014 shows that globally, the organised crime of Human trafficking makes a profit of roughly $150 billion a year. Another report of ILO published in 2016 shows that there are 152 million child labourers across the world. This number is 10.1 million in India (census 2011). A report of UNESCO shows that globally 258 million children are out of school. In India, the number is 6.5 million.
Children in India and across the world are subjected to heinous crimes every hour – slavery, child labour, human trafficking, child sexual abuse, child marriage – to name a few.
We, at the campaign division of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation work towards spreading awareness against these crimes and engaging, inspiring and mobilising people from diverse backgrounds to build a child friendly world. We work towards building strong safety nets for children by involving stakeholders like government agencies, law enforcement agencies, CSOs, parents, teachers, business and other partners, right down to the grassroots level.
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Bharat Yatra
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Bharat Yatra
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Hon’ble Ex-President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee flags off the Global 100 Million Campaign
100 Million campaign, launched in 2016, is a global campaign to mobilise 100 million youth to devote themselves for a better future for 100 million marginalised children who have been denied their rights and liberty.
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s Message for Bharat Yatra
Bharat Yatra in 2017 was the world’s largest youth-led mobilisation to end child sexual abuse and child trafficking in India.
President Ram Nath Kovind speaks at the concluding ceremony of Bharat Yatra
“On one hand, humans have done many scientific miracles, on the other hand, we are still playing with the lives of our children. Today, even if one child is unsafe then the entire society is to be blamed for. These girls, their friends, the co-marchers, who are a total of 300 people, I feel that if this movement prevails, then I say that they are rightful nation builders.”
ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
End child trafficking in 1000+ villages
Mukti Caravan – a Campaign on Wheels
Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) launched it’s one of the largest survivor-led campaigns, Mukti Caravan on bicycles across 10 districts in Bihar on 11th August 2020 to raise awareness about trafficking of children, and the laws to combat the same amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Mukti Caravan will be an instrument to prevent trafficking of children and to collect information about movement of traffickers in the villages covered by it.
The campaign was launched digitally by hosting a webinar which was addressed by Prof. (Dr.) Pramila Kumari Prajapati, Chairperson, Bihar State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, Mr. Sunil Dutt Mishra, Member Secretary – Bihar State Legal Services Authority, Shri. Vyas Ji, Vice-Chairperson Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, Ms. N Vijaya Lakshmi, Principal Secretary, Ms. Pramila Kumari Prajapati, and two MLAs of Bihar Ms. Ranju Geeta and Mr. Shakeel Ahmad Khan. The webinar was co-hosted by Mr. Bidhan Chandra Singh, Executive Director, KSCF, Mr. Dhananjay Tingal-Executive Director Bachpan Bachao Andolan and Mr. Mokhtarul Haque, State Convener, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Bihar & Jharkhand).
Shri Mokhtarul Haque
“Mukti Caravan team will work towards creating safety nets for the children of Bihar and raise their voices for child rights - dalal aur baccho ko trafficking karne wale Bihar chodo”
Do Gaj Ki Doori
Surakshit Bachpan Ke Liye Jaruri
Bacchon Ke Dalalon Se Doori
Surakshit Bachpan Ke Liye Jaruri
Shri Bidhan Chandra Singh
“We are starting this campaign from most trafficked prone ten districts of Bihar. We will create awareness on CORONA safety and child trafficking and child labour in Bihar. Many children whom we rescued earlier will lead this campaign in Bihar. Our bicycle-borne activist shall be covering 1000 villages. We will follow the rules of social distancing while creating awareness in the selected villages”
Shri Arbind Sharma
“We are launching this campaign from those districts of Bihar from where a large number of children are trafficked to other parts India every year. We all have to take action against this social evil”
Prof. (Dr.) Pramila Kumari Prajapati
“In this time of crisis, child traffickers have been very active and trying to lure children from poorest of the poor families. I am trying to reach out to parents of such children and would like to request them not to send their children away with traffickers.
'Government is providing lots of facilities to make children educated and stand on their own feet. Education can give them all the possibilities for future”
Shri Sunil Dutt Mishra
“We wish to create an efficient system for solving the issue of child labour and trafficking in Bihar, for which we are going to need more coordination between SCPCR, SALSA, NGOs, Police for eradication of child labour. We hope Mukti Caravan will be an important milestones in this direction”
Dr. N. Vijaya Lakshmi IAS
"Recently I met Shri Satyarthiji, and we discussed in detail the issues of child labour and trafficking. A lot of work has been done, but there is a lot more to do. Till the time we would not reduce poverty, illiteracy and provide jobs to parents, we will not able solve this problem in totality.”
“Awareness creation is a continuous process. We can stop this war only when we could reach out to the last person and make them aware about this social evil”
Dr. Ranju Geeta
“We all are proud that under Satyarthiji's leadership we have seen a change in the child labour situation in my district — Sitamarhi. Earlier, I used to see a lot of children working in roadside dhabas, but now the situation is different. We see very few child labours in those dhabas nowadays. It shows campaigns can reach people and increase the level of awareness among them. This is the first and foremost step to stop this evil.”
Dr. Shakeel Ahmad Khan
“Poverty and employment are policy issues. Political system divides us and children are worst affected by this divide. We have created this problem and we have to come forward and try to solve it.”
Shri Vyas Ji IAS (Retd.)
“Volunteer should maintain social distancing while visiting the villages and create awareness of Corona Pandemic. This pandemic has created a stigma. Stigma is associated with lack of knowledge about how COVID-19 spreads. Volunteers can create awareness on the stigma attached to this pandemic and break the myth around it. Child trafficking will increase during and after the pandemic. We all have to work to stop this by creating awareness. Mukti Caravan and these youth volunteers can help to reach this milestone of awareness creation”
Shri Dhananjay Tingal
“We have started many initiatives as child protection models in Bihar. We are grateful to the Government of Bihar, SLSA, SCPCR, Bihar, youth leaders, partner NGOs for their continuous support in this effort. BBA and KSCF will work with all of you towards creating the safety nets for the children in Bihar”
Mukti Caravan is a survivor-led campaign on wheels which has been extremely successful in the past in creating awareness on issues relating to child trafficking, in trafficking prone areas of India since 1997. The present campaign is being run on bicycles. The 10 districts, which the Mukti Caravan will cover include Katihar, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Madhubani and Gaya, which are all notorious for child trafficking. Every year, hundreds, if not thousands of under-age children are trafficked from these districts to big cities and forced to work as cheap labour in factories running in houses and make-shift accommodations under hazardous conditions.
The campaign’s focus on the northern and north-eastern districts of Bihar is also due to the fact that floods in these parts have rendered a large number of families homeless and impoverished them. This in turn has exposed children of these families to all kinds of dangers, including trafficking.
A cohort of 50 survivor activists will lead the intensive door-to-door Bicycle Caravan that will be focused in Bihar’s top 10 trafficking prone districts, covering 1,000 villages in six months and reaching out to 10 lakh people. The grassroots activists will mobilise 2,000 youth volunteers in rural and urban areas through digital interventions to amplify the on-ground work. The team will work in partnership with the state government and aims to strengthen the Village Child Protection Committee to ensure the creation of child-friendly villages.
Link Article written by Anouhska, Youth Activist from India:
http://100million.org/index.php/latest-actions/all/300-child-trafficking-in-india-youth-activists-survivors-take-action
#EndChildLabour2025
To observe World Day Against Child Labour, a webinar on “COVID -19: Protect Children from Child Labour, Now More Than Ever” was jointly organised by KSCF, Ministry of Labour and Employment, International Labour Organisation and VV Giri National Labour Institute.
Inaugurated by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Hon’ble Minister for Labour & Employment, the webinar focused on the extent of child labour in the country and solutions to the problem. On the occasion, our founder, Nobel Peace Laureate, Shri Kailash Satyarthi, focused on urgency to establish a clear vision and roadmap to end child labour from the country by 2025.
KSCF also hosted a special discussion on “Barriers and Solutions in Accessing the Rehabilitation Programmes” for children involved in labour.
#KeepChildrenSafeAtHomeCampaign
During the initial COVID-19 lockdown period (March-April 2020), reports started flowing in about the cases of child abuse and child sexual abuse increasing manifold.
This led to KSCF launching a month long campaign in collaboration with 144 partner civil society organisations across India which reached out to more than 50 million people through different social media platforms.
This led to:
- The Women and Child Development Minister Smt. Smriti Z Irani tweeting that they have alerted all child helplines to report child sexual abuse material to local admin and Police
- Home Minister of Maharashtra issuing a Statement “Spike in Child porn consumption during the lockdown period shows the huge presence of pedophiles, child rapists & child pornography addicts online. We are taking urgent steps to tighten stringency to prevent a drastic rise in sexual crimes against children.”
- NCPCR taking cognizance and writing to Google, Twitter and Whatsapp, highlighting the increased traffic in child pornography.
- The cybercrime department of the Maharashtra police registering 133 cases and arresting 46 people under IPC Section. 292 (prurient creation of lascivious images), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act and the IT Act during the lockdown.
- The Chhattisgarh police arresting people for watching and uploading child pornography content during the lockdown period
Laureates and Leaders for Children
To know more about Laureates and Leaders, visit https://laureatesandleaders.org/
100 Million – The Global Campaign
100 Million campaign is a global campaign to mobilise 100 million youth to devote themselves for a better future for 100 million marginalised children who have been denied their rights and liberty. Since its launch in 2016, youth, civil society organisations, trade unions, schools and universities from more than 36 countries have joined this campaign, and are working together to protect the rights of children of their respective countries.
To know more about 100 Million Campaign, visit https://100million.org/
Bharat Yatra – 2017
Bharat Yatra or India March was launched by Nobel Peace Laureate Mr. Kailash Satyarthi on September 11, 2017, which set in motion, the world’s largest youth-led mobilisation for children in need of care and protection. The objective of this long march was to create a mass movement to end child sexual abuse and child trafficking in India. Within a duration of four months, the Yatra led to over one million people signing pledges in support of the cause. Around eight hundred thousand people joined the 12,000 km long march across India.
Rape Free India Campaign – 2019
In 2019, when 900 million citizens of India were preparing to elect their new government, the campaign was launched to mobilise the support of political leaders for the cause of making the country safe for women and children.
The campaign reached out candidates across party lines in 22 states and garnered support of 782 candidates, of whom 162 won the 2019 General Election. The candidates supported the demand to develop a National Action Plan with 10% budgetary allocation to make India Rape Free.
Rape Free India campaign was carried out across India prior to the General Elections 2019, to mobilise the support of political leaders for the cause of making the country safe for women and children. During the campaign, 615 candidates contesting the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, were sensitised on the issues related to safety of women and children. These candidates signed pledges to work on the issue once elected. Of these, 121 candidates were elected to the Parliament.
Campaign Against Child Trafficking
Child trafficking is a highly organised global and regional crime. The tentacles of this racket spread across national and international borders and have also penetrated the remotest regions having the most vulnerable children.
Mukti Caravan
Mukti Caravan, the Campaign on Wheels is the flagship campaign to combat violation of child rights with special focus on child trafficking and child labour by creating awareness among the citizens on these issues. Led by youth who had been withdrawn from child labour by the efforts of Mr. Satyarthi, the Mukti Caravan moves across the country, spreading awareness about the organised crime of child trafficking and other forms of exploitation of children through interactions, Nukkad Nataks, wall writings, pamphlet distribution and screening of audio visual material.
Public Dialogues
Public dialogues are being organised at grassroots level in states across the country in collaboration with partners with the aim to identify gaps in the implementation of various national legislations to combat child trafficking and other child rights violations. These dialogues also aim at identifying ways and means for strengthening of the implementation mechanism for laws related to children.
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Girls March to School
To observe International Day of Girl Child on October 11, 2019, a ‘Girls March to School’ awareness drive was organised across the country under our 100 Million Campaign Initiative. The purpose of the drive was to draw attention to the urgent need of free and compulsory education till the age of 18. The marches were taken out in various states across the country, all led by girls, and witnessed over one lakh participation.
Child Friendly Kumbh Mela Campaign
The Kumbh Mela is regarded as the world’s largest congregation of pilgrims. In January 2019, for the first time in history, we collaborated with the state government of Uttar Pradesh and the UP police to launch the Child Friendly Kumbh Campaign. The campaign was launched to combat the problem of missing children and child abduction, which was the need of the hour, as various media reports showed that in the previous Kumbh Mela (2013), a large number of people, including a majority of children, were reported missing. The campaign witnessed 100 barefoot volunteers being trained in Mobile Story Telling, and joining hands with UP police to run the lost and found centres. Through phone calls, social media posts and direct communication with concerned officials these volunteers managed to reunite 149 lost children with their families. Our Campaign on Wheels – Mukti Caravan was also launched at the Kumbh Mela to spread awareness against human trafficking.
OTHER CAMPAIGNS
- In 2007 the South Asian march against child trafficking for forced labour – a 5000 km march joined by 1 million people (Kolkata-Kathmandu- Delhi) was organized in partnership with sister organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA).
- In 2009, a March was organized to demand education as a fundamental right in Nepal in partnership with BBA
- Looking at vulnerabilities of children in the North East Region, a march was organized in 2012 against child labour and child trafficking, launched by Hon’ble Chief Justice of India Mr. Altmas Kabir.
- In 2015, an online social media campaign, ‘Full Stop’ against child sexual abuse was launched in partnership with BBA, which resulted in National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) coming up with guidelines for protection of children in crèches.
- For the first time in the history of the grand Kumbh Mela, KSCF in collaboration with State Government of Uttar Pradesh and the UP police, launched Child Friendly Kumbh Campaign in 2019.
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