‘Kids of Covid victims vulnerable to trafficking’

NEW DELHI: Civil society organisation Save the Children expressed its concern about the growing number of children who lost their parents to Covid-19 in the country. The growing number of pleas to adopt orphaned children circulating on social media which have left them vulnerable to trafficking and abuse, it pointed out.

While some children who lost their parents are taken in by relatives or guardians, others were left to fend for themselves, putting them at risk of child trafficking. Save the Children urged people not to share details about orphaned children online, and instead to contact 1098- helpline to protect children from falling prey to child traffickers.

In order to prevent illegal adoptions, hospitals have reportedly been told to take declarations from sick parents, to confirm who their children should go to in case of their deaths, the civil society organisation pointed out. The organisation has been receiving around 80 distress calls from children in Rajasthan alone where it runs a helpline with the state commission. The helplines provide psychosocial support and redirect cases of children who need protection to the concerned authorities.

“Children who lose their caregivers and left to fend for themselves are extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and we’re doing everything we can to protect them from falling victim to illegal adoption or trafficking,” said Sanjay Sharma, deputy programmes director, Save the Children.

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