Delhi archdiocese prepares women to tackle child abuse

(July 20, 2012) The Indian Archdiocese of Delhi is marshalling its women leaders to check increasing cases of child abuse in India. “We felt the need to make our women leaders aware about the issues in the backdrop of child abuse cases reported from many states,” said Sister Ann Moyalan, who coordinates the archdiocese’s Justice and Peace Commission. The commission brought together the archdiocese’s women commission and the Council of Catholic Women, Archdiocese of Delhi to organize a workshop for women leaders on Thursday. Citing cases of child abuses, the Nazareth nun said a child was made to drink her urine in West Bengal and the police in Haryana busted a child sex racket and a school in Karnataka cut the hair of poor students it admitted under the right to education act to distinguish them from other children. Sister Moyalan said the archdiocese wants to equip their women leaders so that they can train other people in parishes to address child rights abuse. Augustine Veliath, who was the communication specialist with UNICEF until recently and one of the panelists at the workshop, bemoaned that people remain “silent spectators” of child abuses since they lacked knowledge to fight for children’s rights. Another panelist, Delhi High court lawyer Abraham Pattiani who spoke on various forms of child abuse and child rights, regretted that parents now choose the timing and gender of a child even before birth, trends that go against Church teachings.