more-in There is need to create awareness among officials and the police so as to bring about a significant change in their approach to children, Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairman P. Suresh has said. He was speaking after inaugurating a workshop organised by the commission with the aim of strengthening child protection committees at the local self-government institution level. Forty such workshops for creating awareness among local self-government institutions will be held this year. Mr. Suresh said the functioning of the child protection committees, various agencies, and government departments would be unified. Commission member C.J. Antony who introduced the subject said children should be given a space in village offices. Often children were not safe in their own homes as local bodies, schools, and agencies involved in child protection did not provide their support to children, he said. The administrative machinery too had the responsibility of protecting children as parents had. But this could be discharged only if there was a proper data collection at the local level. There should be a change so that problems of children did not have to come to attention through the media. KILA child resource centre chairperson Peter Raj, commission members Sr. Biji Jose, M.P. Antony, and Sreela Menon spoke.

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