According to the recent affidavit filed by the director of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in the Supreme Court, a total of 15,536 children and youth of both genders up to the age of 18 years were adopted in 11 states between 2021 and 2023 under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA).

The parents adopted 9,474 girls in comparison to 6,012 boys during this period, indicating a rise in the number of adoptions for girls.

The CARA is a statutory body of the Union ministry of women and child development and works as the nodal agency for the adoption of children in the country. It is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.

There is no such trend but more girls are abandoned so that is why availability is high for adoption, the experts told PTI.

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Availability of more girl children results in their more adoption, said Bharti Ali, co-founder and the executive director of HAQ: Centre for Child Rights.

“This (rise) may be because there are more girls available, more daughters are dumped,” she said.

Child rights activist Enakshi Ganguly concurred with Ali’s views and said, “That's because more girls are abandoned or surrendered and, hence, more (are) available for adoption.”

CARA, in its affidavit, gave details of the children falling under five categories -- orphan, abandoned, surrendered, unfit parents and non-visitation -- who are available for adoptions in the country, according to the data provided by certain states.

A total number of 20,673 children (under the age group of 7-11 years and 12-18 years) have been identified so far in the states and Union Territories (UTs) during an identification drive comprising the five categories, it said.

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Ten states and UTs -- Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Manipur -- have not provided the data on total adoptions&nbsp;during the period.

In Punjab, a total of 7,496 adoptions were registered under the HAMA. Out of them, 4,966 were girls and 2,530 were boys.

In Telangana, the couples preferred male children for adoption under the HAMA.

The top court, on March 15, voiced displeasure over the failure to set up Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) meant to streamline the adoption process of abandoned and surrendered children in 370 districts across the country. It warned the states and UTs of 'coercive steps' for non-compliance of its directions.

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It lamented that out of 760 districts in the country, 370 do not have functional SAAs, a necessary legal requirement under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The SAAs prepare the home study report of the prospective adoptive parents and after finding them eligible, refers a child declared legally free for adoption to them along with the child study report and the medical report of the child.

The bench also asked the states and the UTs to provide the latest data by April 7 to the Union ministry of women and child development on setting up of SAAs and the number of adoptions, saying that it wanted to know whether the court orders have made any difference on the ground or not.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said the states should be asked to provide the data to the Union ministry for effective implementation of the court orders meant to smoothen the adoption procedure.

“All states and Union Territories are peremptorily directed to ensure that within every district falling within their jurisdiction, SAAs as required by the Juvenile Justice Act 2015, shall be set up by 31 January 2024,” the bench had directed on November 20 last year.

The top court had earlier said the child adoption process in India is 'very tedious' and that there is an urgent need for the procedure to be streamlined.

The apex court was hearing a PIL by 'The Temple of Healing' which sought simplification of the legal process for child adoption in India, saying only 4,000 adoptions take place annually in the country.

 
&nbsp;

According to the recent affidavit filed by the director of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in the Supreme Court, a total of 15,536 children and youth of both genders up to the age of 18 years were adopted in 11 states between 2021 and 2023 under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA).

According to the recent affidavit filed by the director of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in the Supreme Court, a total of 15,536 children and youth of both genders up to the age of 18 years were adopted in 11 states between 2021 and 2023 under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA). The parents adopted 9,474 girls in comparison to 6,012 boys during this period, indicating a rise in the number of adoptions for girls. The CARA is a statutory body of the Union ministry of women and child development and works as the nodal agency for the adoption of children in the country. It is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. There is no such trend but more girls are abandoned so that is why availability is high for adoption, the experts told PTI. Also Read | Kashmir: Sales of dates surge during Ramadan, becoming most sold food item this month Availability of more girl children results in their more adoption, said Bharti Ali, co-founder and the executive director of HAQ: Centre for Child Rights. “This (rise) may be because there are more girls available, more daughters are dumped,” she said. Child rights activist Enakshi Ganguly concurred with Ali’s views and said, “That's because more girls are abandoned or surrendered and, hence, more (are) available for adoption.” CARA, in its affidavit, gave details of the children falling under five categories -- orphan, abandoned, surrendered, unfit parents and non-visitation -- who are available for adoptions in the country, according to the data provided by certain states. A total number of 20,673 children (under the age group of 7-11 years and 12-18 years) have been identified so far in the states and Union Territories (UTs) during an identification drive comprising the five categories, it said. Also Read | Indian woman gives birth on moving train. This is what happened next Ten states and UTs -- Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Manipur -- have not provided the data on total adoptions during the period. In Punjab, a total of 7,496 adoptions were registered under the HAMA. Out of them, 4,966 were girls and 2,530 were boys. In Telangana, the couples preferred male children for adoption under the HAMA. The top court, on March 15, voiced displeasure over the failure to set up Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) meant to streamline the adoption process of abandoned and surrendered children in 370 districts across the country. It warned the states and UTs of 'coercive steps' for non-compliance of its directions. Watch | ISIS India Head Haris Farooqi & his associates arrested in Dhubri district, Assam × It lamented that out of 760 districts in the country, 370 do not have functional SAAs, a necessary legal requirement under the Juvenile Justice Act. The SAAs prepare the home study report of the prospective adoptive parents and after finding them eligible, refers a child declared legally free for adoption to them along with the child study report and the medical report of the child. The bench also asked the states and the UTs to provide the latest data by April 7 to the Union ministry of women and child development on setting up of SAAs and the number of adoptions, saying that it wanted to know whether the court orders have made any difference on the ground or not. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said the states should be asked to provide the data to the Union ministry for effective implementation of the court orders meant to smoothen the adoption procedure. “All states and Union Territories are peremptorily directed to ensure that within every district falling within their jurisdiction, SAAs as required by the Juvenile Justice Act 2015, shall be set up by 31 January 2024,” the bench had directed on November 20 last year. The top court had earlier said the child adoption process in India is 'very tedious' and that there is an urgent need for the procedure to be streamlined. The apex court was hearing a PIL by 'The Temple of Healing' which sought simplification of the legal process for child adoption in India, saying only 4,000 adoptions take place annually in the country.

India: More girls abandoned than boys, leading to rise in their adoptions, child rights activists tell SC

A heartbreaking story of a boy has shocked the small French town of Nersac in the Charente region where a mother left her nine-year-old son to live alone while she was staying with her partner in another apartment few kilometres away. The woman, last week, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for abandoning her child.&nbsp;

<h2>House without electricity or heating</h2>

The boy, who was not identified, was left to live alone in the family’s apartment from 2020 to 2022 while his mother lived five kilometres away with her partner and would only visit her son every now and then, according to media reports.&nbsp;

The 6th grader at the time would see his mother occasionally when she came to give him food sometimes. Media reports citing French police said that the nine-year-old most of the time fed himself with canned goods, cakes, and tomatoes stolen from the nearby balcony.

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According to the local media Charente Libre, the boy sometimes lived without electricity and hot water in an unheated apartment. He would reportedly wrap himself in several blankets to face the harsh winter months.&nbsp;

<h2>How did no one notice?</h2>

The French media reported that his teachers did not find anything unusual with the boy since he came to school every day, with a smile and was described as a good student.&nbsp;

“He was smiling, a good student, always clean, polite... No sign indicated that he was abandoned,” Mayor of Nersac, Barbara Couturier, was quoted as saying by Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.

While some of his classmates began to doubt how he was living, the boy told him that he ate by himself, took the bus to school alone and didn’t go out otherwise, a classmate told TF1.&nbsp;

It was actually the boy’s neighbours, who would sometimes help by giving him food, who eventually told the mayor who then called the police.

Couturier, according to BFMTV, said, “I met his mom on May 2022. She came to tell us that she had financial problems, and we gave her four vouchers for food, but she took some processed food products instead so that got me suspicious.”&nbsp;

She added, “Some residents told me that there was a child living alone, so I connected the two things and I called the local police and the national police.”&nbsp;

<h2>Mother sentenced to 18 months in prison</h2>

The mother reportedly identified as Alexandra, 39, pleaded not guilty and denied all the allegations laid out by authorities before the court.&nbsp;

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During the hearing, she insisted that her son was going to Sireuil – where she lived with her partner – by bus while she followed him on a scooter, but the judges found that hard to believe.&nbsp;

Alexandra also claimed that her son was living with her. However, the French police, upon investigation found she spent her nights in Sireuil and did not take her son to school and none of her neighbours in Sireuil had even seen the boy.

Her lawyer eventually conceded by saying that she is in “denial”. Alexandra was convicted of “abandonment of a minor” and faces 18 months in prison out of which she will spend six months under surveillance with an electronic bracelet.&nbsp;

The child had been placed under the care of social services in 2022 and eventually transferred to a foster family after Alexandra’s custody was removed. She has only seen him twice since the transfer, while the boy has said he does not want to see her.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

A heartbreaking story of a boy has shocked the small French town of Nersac in the Charente region where a mother left her nine-year-old son to live alone while she was staying with her partner in another apartment few kilometres away.

A heartbreaking story of a boy has shocked the small French town of Nersac in the Charente region where a mother left her nine-year-old son to live alone while she was staying with her partner in another apartment few kilometres away. The woman, last week, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for abandoning her child. House without electricity or heating The boy, who was not identified, was left to live alone in the family’s apartment from 2020 to 2022 while his mother lived five kilometres away with her partner and would only visit her son every now and then, according to media reports. The 6th grader at the time would see his mother occasionally when she came to give him food sometimes. Media reports citing French police said that the nine-year-old most of the time fed himself with canned goods, cakes, and tomatoes stolen from the nearby balcony. ALSO READ | Indian-American couple lures cousin with false US education promises, inflicts horrific exploitation According to the local media Charente Libre, the boy sometimes lived without electricity and hot water in an unheated apartment. He would reportedly wrap himself in several blankets to face the harsh winter months. How did no one notice? The French media reported that his teachers did not find anything unusual with the boy since he came to school every day, with a smile and was described as a good student. “He was smiling, a good student, always clean, polite... No sign indicated that he was abandoned,” Mayor of Nersac, Barbara Couturier, was quoted as saying by Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. While some of his classmates began to doubt how he was living, the boy told him that he ate by himself, took the bus to school alone and didn’t go out otherwise, a classmate told TF1. It was actually the boy’s neighbours, who would sometimes help by giving him food, who eventually told the mayor who then called the police. Couturier, according to BFMTV, said, “I met his mom on May 2022. She came to tell us that she had financial problems, and we gave her four vouchers for food, but she took some processed food products instead so that got me suspicious.” She added, “Some residents told me that there was a child living alone, so I connected the two things and I called the local police and the national police.” Mother sentenced to 18 months in prison The mother reportedly identified as Alexandra, 39, pleaded not guilty and denied all the allegations laid out by authorities before the court. ALSO READ | Ruby Franke, mother of six and parenting advice YouTuber, pleads guilty to child abuse During the hearing, she insisted that her son was going to Sireuil – where she lived with her partner – by bus while she followed him on a scooter, but the judges found that hard to believe. Alexandra also claimed that her son was living with her. However, the French police, upon investigation found she spent her nights in Sireuil and did not take her son to school and none of her neighbours in Sireuil had even seen the boy. Her lawyer eventually conceded by saying that she is in “denial”. Alexandra was convicted of “abandonment of a minor” and faces 18 months in prison out of which she will spend six months under surveillance with an electronic bracelet. The child had been placed under the care of social services in 2022 and eventually transferred to a foster family after Alexandra’s custody was removed. She has only seen him twice since the transfer, while the boy has said he does not want to see her. (With inputs from agencies)

France: 9-year-old boy left to live alone for 2 years without electricity and heating; mother convicted

Kids can be seen cleaning windshields or juggling in clown makeup on street corners in Guatemala&#39;s cities. 
 
But there&#39;s no fun involved: many of these children are abandoned street urchins or &quot;rented out&quot; by their parents to networks that exploit them - effectively slaves. 
 
These child workers are a gold mine to the illegal groups that deploy them throughout Guatemala&#39;s capital and other urban centers. 
 
Many are indigenous, and all are from the poor 60 per cent of this Central American country&#39;s population of 16 million. 
 
They are &quot;recruited by groups that arrange deals with the parents, who receive a fee for renting out these kids, who come here to the capital to work or beg for money,&quot; Rosy Palma, director of the charity El Refugio de la Ninez (Childhood Refuge), told AFP. 
 
Her group helps state institutions carry out operations to rescue exploited minors, many of whom come from predominantly indigenous provinces in the mountainous west of Guatemala. 
 
Authorities estimate around one million children work in the country. But there are no known official statistics on how many of them work the streets or beg. 
 
&#39;Forced to work 16-hour days&#39; 
 
&quot;Because of this population&#39;s economic situation, many organised criminal groups have managed to get hold of them,&quot; said Harold Flores, who works as a child protection official within the state prosecutor&#39;s office. 
 
He explained that the children are often forced to work 16-hour days, during which they are told to bring back at least $13 or face punishment. 
 
&quot;In some cases, they are told that they are coming to study, or coming to learn a trade, or that they will have a better life than where they are coming from.&quot; 
 
Usually, though, they are put up in dingy hotels and receive nothing more than bread and water, Flores said. 
 
Palma from Refugio de la Ninez said the phenomenon is lucrative for the gangs running them, and that there is a regular increase in the number of boys, girls and teens being used this way. 
 
The parents who loan them out receive around $25 a week - a significant sum for families barely eking out a living, she said. 
 
An official survey published in late 2015 found that poverty in Guatemala&#39;s indigenous western highlands reached 79 per cent. 
 
Official figures show indigenous Guatemalans making up 40 per cent of the population. But native leaders give a far higher proportion, of 60 per cent. 
 
Child exploitation is concentrated in Guatemala&#39;s central province, where the capital is located, and in the west and in towns along the Mexican border in the southwest, according to Refugio de la Ninez. 
 
&#39;State has not done enough&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The prosecutor&#39;s office said that, nationally, 68 children were rescued from these labor gangs in the first half of this year - a modest figure given the official estimate of the scale of the problem. 
 
Gloria Castro, a child and adolescent defender in the Ombudsman&#39;s office for human rights, noted that the operations were insufficient. 
 
&quot;Unfortunately, the state, through its institutions, has not done nearly enough on this issue,&quot; she said, urging prosecutors to step up probes into human trafficking rings and the government to focus on families battling poverty. 
 
Her office also sees the exploitation of children as one of the motivators for the big migration flow from Central America to the United States. 
 
It has found several of the children made to work in Guatemala&#39;s streets ended up moving to Mexico or the United States to escape their slavery. 
 
(AFP)

Child workers are a gold mine to the illegal groups that deploy them throughout Guatemala's capital and other urban centres

Kids can be seen cleaning windshields or juggling in clown makeup on street corners in Guatemala's cities. But there's no fun involved: many of these children are abandoned street urchins or "rented out" by their parents to networks that exploit them - effectively slaves. These child workers are a gold mine to the illegal groups that deploy them throughout Guatemala's capital and other urban centers. Many are indigenous, and all are from the poor 60 per cent of this Central American country's population of 16 million. They are "recruited by groups that arrange deals with the parents, who receive a fee for renting out these kids, who come here to the capital to work or beg for money," Rosy Palma, director of the charity El Refugio de la Ninez (Childhood Refuge), told AFP. Her group helps state institutions carry out operations to rescue exploited minors, many of whom come from predominantly indigenous provinces in the mountainous west of Guatemala. Authorities estimate around one million children work in the country. But there are no known official statistics on how many of them work the streets or beg. 'Forced to work 16-hour days' "Because of this population's economic situation, many organised criminal groups have managed to get hold of them," said Harold Flores, who works as a child protection official within the state prosecutor's office. He explained that the children are often forced to work 16-hour days, during which they are told to bring back at least $13 or face punishment. "In some cases, they are told that they are coming to study, or coming to learn a trade, or that they will have a better life than where they are coming from." Usually, though, they are put up in dingy hotels and receive nothing more than bread and water, Flores said. Palma from Refugio de la Ninez said the phenomenon is lucrative for the gangs running them, and that there is a regular increase in the number of boys, girls and teens being used this way. The parents who loan them out receive around $25 a week - a significant sum for families barely eking out a living, she said. An official survey published in late 2015 found that poverty in Guatemala's indigenous western highlands reached 79 per cent. Official figures show indigenous Guatemalans making up 40 per cent of the population. But native leaders give a far higher proportion, of 60 per cent. Child exploitation is concentrated in Guatemala's central province, where the capital is located, and in the west and in towns along the Mexican border in the southwest, according to Refugio de la Ninez. 'State has not done enough' The prosecutor's office said that, nationally, 68 children were rescued from these labor gangs in the first half of this year - a modest figure given the official estimate of the scale of the problem. Gloria Castro, a child and adolescent defender in the Ombudsman's office for human rights, noted that the operations were insufficient. "Unfortunately, the state, through its institutions, has not done nearly enough on this issue," she said, urging prosecutors to step up probes into human trafficking rings and the government to focus on families battling poverty. Her office also sees the exploitation of children as one of the motivators for the big migration flow from Central America to the United States. It has found several of the children made to work in Guatemala's streets ended up moving to Mexico or the United States to escape their slavery. (AFP)

'Rented out' by parents, child labourers toil in Guatemala's streets