Aim for society free of child abuse: Dikshit

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said Thursday that everyone should aim for a society free of the exploitation and abuse of children, where sensitivity was high in these matters.

"We must aspire for a society where there is no scope for any exploitation and abuse of children, and for this we need to develop a culture of sensitivity," the chief minister said.

Dikshit made these remarks while inaugurating the three-day meet, "Be Human, Stop Child Abuse", organised as part of the 28th Congress of the Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO).

Stressing that childhood ought to be secure and free of trauma, the chief minister said the Delhi government had released guidelines for the prevention of child abuse.

"The guidelines released by (the Delhi) government are our preliminary guidelines on child abuse. Organisations like CMAAO, which have pan-Asian presence and medical experts, can come out with better guidelines to prevent child abuse," she said.

Taking over as the president of CMAAO, Vinay Aggarwal said: "The central theme of the conference is child abuse, as it is very common in all Asian countries, be it child labour or sexual exploitation. Every Asian country has its own guidelines, but in this three-day conference, we are trying to discuss common guidelines".

"For example, no specific child abuse clinic or method carried out for testing, guidance, counselling for the victim exist. We want to develop these," Aggarwal said.