New hope for 'lost' teenagers

By Prashant Pandey

NEW DELHI, JULY 22. An alarming number of teenage girls are fast disappearing from the jhuggi clusters and unauthorised colonies of the Capital. No, there is no gang or racket involved in their disappearance, it is simply a case of ``Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega''.

A small gift, a word of appreciation or even a promise of marriage is all that it takes to lure these gullible teenagers away from the shelter and security of their homes. Ironically, most such girls who run away from their families are treated as ``lost'' and end up in the trafficking net!

Fear of social disapproval, considerations of family honour and lack of trust in the police restrain these families from lodging a formal complaint. To reach out to these families, the South- West Delhi police has now initiated a project in collaboration with the Swanchetan Society for Mental Health -- a non governmental organisation working closely with the department on trauma issues.

``Fear of getting stigmatised and the complex nature of police functioning prevent these families from coming out in the open. Sometimes they also live under the constant fear that the family of the accused can do them harm,'' says Dr. Rajat Mitra, programmes director of Swanchetan Society for Mental Health.

Another way by which the families try to escape from reality is by packing off their daughters to their native village and getting them married which in effect serves as ``good riddance''. In one odd case, family members tried to patch up with a rape accused with whom their 15-year-old girl had eloped. Both were recovered from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Since the girl was found to be pregnant, the accused was arrested on charges of rape.

``Under these circumstances, it becomes all the more necessary not only to bring the culprit to book, but also counsel the victim,'' says the Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range), Mr. Amod Kant.

``Meri Suraksha'', as the project has come to be known, has covered more than 10,000 girls aged between seven to 14 in schools under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Sustained interaction with the victims reveal some useful insights into the reasons for such elopement. Most girls belong to single parent families -- mostly the mother. Since they have to earn the bread for their family, they are away from home most of the time. ``The girls grow all by themselves and are virtually on the road,'' Dr Mitra says. It is the mother who is primarily responsible for teaching the nuances of body language and how to detect danger, he argues. Thus, in the absence of proper guidance, these girls become gullible.

When a man enters their lives with promises and gifts, it is but natural that they fall for them. ``A nice suit, a chocolate or even a word of appreciation can win them over,'' says Dr. Nidhi Mitra, an active Swanchetan member. These men are able to make easy inroads into the hearts of these girls as they come across ``care'' for the first time, which increases their self worth. It is only later that they realise that their ``prince charming'' has turned ``villain''.

The project caters to two categories of girls -- victims and potential victims. While the former are counselled to help them come out of their trauma, potential victims are taught how to deal with immediate and long-term dangers.

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