Child Abuse and Prevention in India

Description

The book investigates the persistence of child abuse in India despite constitutional guarantees and recent legislation such as the POCSO Act, the Juvenile Justice Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. It examines how family dynamics, social customs, gender roles and economic inequality create environments where children are exposed to physical, psychological, emotional and sexual violence. Through literary case studies—from Namita Gokhale’s novel to Mahesh Dattani’s play, Arundhati Roy’s novel, and works by Ruskin Bond and Sudha Murty—the volume explores how trauma is internalised, how silence and shame perpetuate abuse, and how literature can reveal hidden suffering. The book also analyses specific forms of abuse, including child marriage, trafficking, labour, suicide and the emerging threat of AI‑generated child sexual content, assessing the effectiveness of legal frameworks and the gaps in enforcement. Themes of gender discrimination, disability vulnerability, educational exclusion and the need for community‑based prevention strategies are woven throughout, offering a multidisciplinary view of child protection in contemporary India.