NEW DELHI,
In its audit of 21 Specialised Adoption Agencies in 20 Bihar distts, TISS found some children as old as three years were not speaking at all because there was no trained staff and also because they had no one to speak to. These institutions have 70 per cent girls. Children are also battling hunger, isolation and verbal abuse at these institutions.
TRAPPED in a world of silence, some children living in Bihar’s Specialised Adoption Agencies don’t speak at all because they have no one to talk to, reveals a Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) report that details instances of hunger, isolation and verbal abuse at the State-run institutions.
Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) are homes established by the Government to house abandoned, surrendered and missing children in the 0-6 age group. In its audit of 21 SAAs in 20 Bihar districts, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences found some children as old as three years were not speaking at all because there was no trained staff and also because they had no one to speak to. These institutions have 70 per cent girls. The TISS report also lists the various forms of punishment for the young children, some who are orphans, some who are runaways and others who may have been abandoned by their families.
“Acts such as locking the child in the bathroom, making them do sit-ups, isolating them, abusing them verbally were noticed at these homes,” the report said. Describing the punishments “very disturbing”, Mohammad Tarique, who led the TISS team that prepared the report, said they have long-term impact.