Welcome To
GLOBAL NETWORK
FOR EQUALITY (GNE) - India
Global Network for Equality (GNE)-India" which is a registered organization in Tirunelveli that mainly aims to reconstruct the lives of children of crime victims in India and to eliminate their social stigma by providing appropriate care, education, emotional support and a conducive environment to enable them to cope with the deprivation of parental care, and further to reduce the rate of intergenerational crimes by enabling and implementing restorative justice practices.
Any discussion on prisoners in a sympathetic manner evokes a sharp response: “Why do we have to care about criminals?” They are dangerous criminals! Murderers! And so on… It is a general perception of people that prisoners are dangerous criminals and, hence, deserve no mercy. We also have noted that every year, more children are separated from a parent by crime than by divorce; GNEquality-India has identified children afflicted due to parental imprisonment and crime. The children of prisoners are up to three times more likely to suffer mental health problems. The children of prisoners are seven times more likely to commit crimes than others. Therefore, we at GNEquality-India are pleased to make an effort to take care of the children whose parents have committed crimes due to imbalanced emotions.
Positively Impacted the lives of over
500+
Children and Continuing
Empowering Children across
12+
Districts in TamilNadu
Ensuring Equal Rights for All
80+
Legally Intervening in 80+ Cases in India
Problem Statement
"Creating Opportunity for All: The Need for Equality in India"
There are two sets of major problems that we have identified and are working hard to find solution for these problems by working closely with Indian Prison Department and the local communities.
Many domestic disputein-between married couples go up to the extent of murder and one of the parents would be in the jail and so the children are in difficult situation.
India is home to almost 19 percent of the world's children. More than one third of the country's population, around 440 million, is below 18 years. According to a study 40 percent of these children are in need of care and protection, which indicates the extent of the problem. In a country like India with its multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious population, the problems of socially marginalized and economically backward groups are immense. Within such groups the most vulnerable section is always the children. For the Ministry of Women and Child Development the challenge is to reach out to the most vulnerable and socially excluded child of this country and create an environment wherein, not only is every child protected, but s/he also has access to opportunities and education for her/his all- round growth and development .
The total number of convicts in Jails in Tamilnadu is 4648 as on December 31st, 2017.As on May 31st, 2018, there are 22 inmates in the Palayamkottai central prison awarded for life term for spouse murder cases under section 302 of Indian Penal Code and 23 inmates remanded in the Palayamkottai Central Prison for spouse murder cases under section 302 of Indian Penal Code. These 45 inmates have left their children without parental care. There are 47 boys and 51 girls who have been deprived of both parental care due to crime and imprisonment and in most cases the children are eye witness of the crime. They live with the support of ailing grandparent who could not able to meet these children’s basic emotional and educational needs at all because of no income.
-
Children between the ages of 2-6 can feel separation, anxiety, impaired socio-emotional development, traumatic stress and even survivor guilt.
-
Children between the ages of 7-10 may experience developmental regressions, poor self-concept, acute traumatic stress reactions, and impaired ability to overcome future trauma.
-
Children from ages 11-14 may experience rejection on limits of behaviour and trauma-reactive behaviours.
-
Children from the ages of 15-18 may experience a premature termination of their dependency relationship with their parents, and it may lead them to intergenerational crime and incarceration.
Children become the secondary victims of crime, experiencing residential disruptions, school changes, separation from siblings, foster care, or periods of time spent with convenient but inappropriate caretakers. They may have witnessed a traumatic scene at the time of the crime and their parents’ arrest. They feel shame, isolation, abandonment, confusion, grief, and loneliness. Well-meaning family members encourage keeping the secret from friends and teachers, adding to the sense of stigma and isolating them from potential support.
Moreover, parents’ imprisonment often affects families already challenged by poverty, inadequate housing, abusive or exploitative partners, mental illness, substance abuse and the legacies of child abuse. Even after their parents return, children are forever changed simply by knowing they could be gone again. In a pilot study conducted by GNEquality-India during the years 2013 to 2016, we were able to identify through our field visits the above-mentioned issues faced by the children of inmates with respect to Palayamkottai Central Prison. We have also interviewed the inmates in the Madurai Central prison during 2018 and identified children in the Madurai Region from 2018 to 2019. We don’t know about the cases in other central prisons of Tamilnadu where alarming numbers of inmates of the prison left their children without parental care.
Newsletter
"Keeping You Informed: The Latest from the Global Network for Equality (GNE) - India"
