Many child care homes use corporal punishment as a way to discipline children: WCD Ministry

An analysis of child care institutions showed that authorities at many such homes use corporal punishment as a way to discipline children, the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry said.

In written response to a query in Lok Sabha, WCD Minister Smriti Irani said the ministry conducted a national mapping exercise of child care institutions (CCIs) in 2016.

The mapping aimed at ascertaining whether child care institutions were being run by state governments and UT administrations under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), she said.

"The analysis showed that many CCIs use forms of disciplining children which fall under the ambit of corporal punishment as defined by the JJ Act," she said.

Irani said the ministry shared the information with states and UTs drawing their attention towards the findings.

The ministry stressed upon the need for mandatory monitoring as prescribed under the Juvenile Justice (Child and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 which mandates regular monitoring by Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards and state governments. The primary responsibility in execution of the JJ Act lies with the State/UT government, Irani said.

She said the Chief Secretaries of all the states and UTs were requested to get the inspection conducted under the supervision of district magistrates. The ministry also issued an advisory to the States and UTs regarding actions required to be taken in case of abuse of children in any child care institutions.