Study On Missing Children: West Bengal

Facilitated by : Department of Women & Child Development & Social Welfare.

Government of West Bengal and Save the Children

December 2007

"Over the past five years, Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas has reported hundreds of missing boys and girls………and the numbers only keep rising. Most affected families have not registered cases, as they feel the police will not be of much help. Many bank on the hope that their children will return someday and it is better not to involve the police……Every other household in the village has a similar story to narrate.”— India Express, March 11, 2007, New Delhi

Children comprise nearly 42 per cent of the country’s population. With poverty, discrimination and exploitation, children are forced to leave their home and bring  money. This leads to withdrawal from schools, exposure to life threatening risks and social abuse by parents or/and employers or agents.

Key Findings:

1. Out of the 3 districts surveyed, there are 7.9% children missing.
2. 11.69% were reported to have left home on pretext of marriage.
3. 83.82% of parents did not report the case to police and tried to get information themselves.
4. Migration of children to urban centers is a socially accepted phenomenon.
5. Migration in most cases takes place with the consent of parents.
6. West Bengal is a key source of transit and migration point of trafficking. 
7. Delhi is a major destination point for girls especially as domestic servants.
8. Two-third of the children missing are girls.
9. Befriending parents of vulnerable family is the key to this trafficking business.
10. Parents realise their child is missing when there is absence of communication and the flow of money from the place where child is, stops.
11. General National apathy and malaise in the administrative system compounds the problems further.

The project deals with the issues which adolescents face and since the issue of trafficking is at an alarming rise, adolescents need to be explained that working or marrying at such a tender age does not guarantee a better life than what they currently have. Through means of education they can become more aware and grasp the life skills necessary for their survival. The importance of education should not only be communicated to the adolescents but also to parents, as they are usually the key influencers of their children. The main reason as to why parents send their children or the children themselves get lured into working is because they want to have a BETTER life. Lack of opportunities and low levels of literacy force them to give up their childhood and move to cities where scope of work is much higher. This ranges from working at factories, working as domestic help, etc which is dangerous at their age.

While reading the report I felt there is a need to instill a strong sense of respect for education, the qualities that emerge from being educated should be demonstrated and how it could help in the long run. Just as the Life Game takes players through their entire course of life and as a result they learn what are the possible opportunities and threats one can face, similarly a game can be devised that takes one through the opportunities education brings and the threats for not pursuing education and instead getting employed or married.