‘Every child in conflict is one in need of protection’

Every child in conflict with the law is a child in need of care and protection, said senior advocate and former Chief Justice of Odisha High Court S. Muralidhar at the launch of the book Help! Can you hear us? here on Saturday.

“We need to re-look at how to deal with children in conflict with the law and children in need of care and protection. There is only a thin line between the two,” he said.

The biography, written by Vasanthi Sundaram, follows the experiences of Vidya Shankar Chakravarthy, former member of the Juvenile Justice Board, Chennai, and founder of Relief Foundation, in the world of juvenile justice. She shares the emotional, physical, and cognitive hurdles while navigating it.

On child sexual abuse, Justice Muralidhar said, “Our homes should be made safe spaces for children. There is a lot of violence against children in our homes. We are in denial.”

Narrating incidents of how children were picked up from other States, Ms. Vidya said, “Public conscience is a third eye. It needs to look at the life of children around us.”