Hyderabad: Minister for Women and Child Welfare Satyavathi Rathod on Friday urged all stakeholders to make the State a crime-free society for children by aggressively educating people as well as young children of their rights.
“I am glad that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao gave me this challenging task as he is determined to prevent any sort of crime against children,” she said, inaugurating a day-long workshop organised by the Women & Child Welfare Department at the Marri Chenna Reddy Human Resources Development Institute (MCRHRDI).
Expressing concern over the growing crime against children, she cited the recent incident where police are yet to trace four out of six innocent girls who were lured into wedlock at Narayankhed. The Minister said though such crimes are isolated, they should not be allowed to recur. The government, she said, was committed and would not spare any effort to punish culprits and prevent such crimes.
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“I am not only a woman but also a responsible mother. That apart, I also come from the lowest rung of society that has been experiencing such atrocities perpetrated on the poor and the helpless. Hence, the onus is more on me as a responsible Minister to ensure that such crimes do not take place anywhere in the State,” she said, adding that though there are umpteen laws to deal with such crimes, the need to set up the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) was felt necessary by the State government. She commended the efforts of the Principal Secretary for taking the initiative to hold the first-ever workshop and invite all stakeholders, including the police and education departments and others.
She said workshops should also be organised in the remotest areas or in different district headquarters to educate the masses about child rights. “Such workshops would also get better inputs to further tighten the existing laws, if necessary,” she added. In this context, she sought the support and guidance of the UNICEF, which deals with such issues not only across the country but also across the globe.
Principal Secretary for Women & Child Welfare M Jagadeeshwar, while welcoming the gathering, said the creation of the commission was self-explanatory of the sincerity of the government to deal firmly with perpetrators who commit crimes against innocent and helpless children.
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