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Rights of the Child in the Context of Tourism (Hindi)  |
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Child abuse in Kovalam: Fight comes to a halt
February 03, 2011
R Ayyappan, Thiruvananthapuram:
With Responsible Tourism in Kovalam as good as buried, even the feeble attempts to create awareness about child abuse in the beach destination seem to have died down. A year ago, at least a few yellowing torn anti-child abuse posters could be found stuck on shop fronts and inside restaurants along the beach. Now, during the current season, even the tattered remains of the posters have been removed or blown away by the wind.
‘’Twice, the Department people had asked us to put up these posters. We were also given knob hangers and book markers carrying anti-child abuse messages. This time, no one came asking us to put up anti-child abuse posters,’’ said George, a trader running a stationery shop along the beach.
Though the Tourism Department was initially reluctant to acknowledge the presence of child abuse in Kovalam, it woke up to the reality by the middle of 2009. Child abuse was not an issue taken up under the Responsible Tourism movement. When it was realised that the economic initiatives related to Responsible Tourism (RT) were not achieving satisfactory results, the Tourism Department decided to emphasise social responsibility. But, under social responsibility, tour packages like the Village Life Experience (VLE) packages were given more prominence. Child abuse was mentioned like an afterthought.
To combat child abuse, the only thing the Department was willing to do was to come out with a set of anti-child abuse posters titled ‘Kovalam Vigil’ at the end of December 2008. At that point, it was said the posters were the first step on the path to declare Kovalam a ‘Child Abuse Free Zone’.
With the last of the torn pieces of the largely unseen posters been blown away by the sea winds, it is clear that even the first step was a non-step. The Department, however, swung into action after media reports and independent studies confirmed rampant child abuse in Kovalam. A meeting convened by Tourism Director M Shivsankar in the middle of September 2009 decided to form a unit of local volunteers to combat child sex abuse and dropping out of schools in the tourism-infested areas in and around Kovalam. At least 50 volunteers had applied.
But before anything could be done, the Responsible Tourism cell was asked to shut down. It was told that an RT cell had become unnecessary, a top Tourism source said. With the RT cell gone, even the least that could be done, pasting of anti-child abuse posters on shop fronts and lamp posts all over Kovalam, was left undone.
During the September meeting, it was also decided to form a Core Committee under the Sub-Collector to coordinate anti-abuse activities in the area. No progress was made even on this count. The Core Committee was supposed to intervene and put in place an action plan to physically and legally protect a child. Both the volunteer corps and the core committee were supposed to be fighting fit before the onset of the last tourism season.
Kovalam is now in the middle of a new tourist season and it seems as if even the memory of the volunteer corps have been effectively erased.
‘’Child abuse had never been an issue for the local leaders here even when Vizhinjam was a panchayat. Now, things seem even worse,’’ Saritha, an activist working among children in the coastal area, said.
A former official who had worked in the RT Cell said that the Cell had submitted three child abuse intervention models. All were ignored by the Department.
Child abuse in Kovalam: Fight comes to a halt
http://expressbuzz.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/Child-abuse-in-Kovalam-Fight-comes-to-a-halt/244733.html
3 February 2011
http://expressbuzz.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/Child-abuse-in-Kovalam-Fight-comes-to-a-halt/244733.html
3 February 2011
R Ayyappan, Thiruvananthapuram:
With Responsible Tourism in Kovalam as good as buried, even the feeble attempts to create awareness about child abuse in the beach destination seem to have died down. A year ago, at least a few yellowing torn anti-child abuse posters could be found stuck on shop fronts and inside restaurants along the beach. Now, during the current season, even the tattered remains of the posters have been removed or blown away by the wind.
‘’Twice, the Department people had asked us to put up these posters. We were also given knob hangers and book markers carrying anti-child abuse messages. This time, no one came asking us to put up anti-child abuse posters,’’ said George, a trader running a stationery shop along the beach.
Though the Tourism Department was initially reluctant to acknowledge the presence of child abuse in Kovalam, it woke up to the reality by the middle of 2009. Child abuse was not an issue taken up under the Responsible Tourism movement. When it was realised that the economic initiatives related to Responsible Tourism (RT) were not achieving satisfactory results, the Tourism Department decided to emphasise social responsibility. But, under social responsibility, tour packages like the Village Life Experience (VLE) packages were given more prominence. Child abuse was mentioned like an afterthought.
To combat child abuse, the only thing the Department was willing to do was to come out with a set of anti-child abuse posters titled ‘Kovalam Vigil’ at the end of December 2008. At that point, it was said the posters were the first step on the path to declare Kovalam a ‘Child Abuse Free Zone’.
With the last of the torn pieces of the largely unseen posters been blown away by the sea winds, it is clear that even the first step was a non-step. The Department, however, swung into action after media reports and independent studies confirmed rampant child abuse in Kovalam. A meeting convened by Tourism Director M Shivsankar in the middle of September 2009 decided to form a unit of local volunteers to combat child sex abuse and dropping out of schools in the tourism-infested areas in and around Kovalam. At least 50 volunteers had applied.
But before anything could be done, the Responsible Tourism cell was asked to shut down. It was told that an RT cell had become unnecessary, a top Tourism source said. With the RT cell gone, even the least that could be done, pasting of anti-child abuse posters on shop fronts and lamp posts all over Kovalam, was left undone.
During the September meeting, it was also decided to form a Core Committee under the Sub-Collector to coordinate anti-abuse activities in the area. No progress was made even on this count. The Core Committee was supposed to intervene and put in place an action plan to physically and legally protect a child. Both the volunteer corps and the core committee were supposed to be fighting fit before the onset of the last tourism season.
Kovalam is now in the middle of a new tourist season and it seems as if even the memory of the volunteer corps have been effectively erased.
‘’Child abuse had never been an issue for the local leaders here even when Vizhinjam was a panchayat. Now, things seem even worse,’’ Saritha, an activist working among children in the coastal area, said.
A former official who had worked in the RT Cell said that the Cell had submitted three child abuse intervention models. All were ignored by the Department.