Meet the lawyer defending child victims of rape and exploitation

CHILDREN are often the preferred targets of criminals because they are considered “easy prey”. The dangers of the world are not yet known to children and at their age most children are sheltered from the fact that crimes such as rape and exploitation even exist. Therefore, when children are exploited and become victims of crimes such as rape and child labour, their minds are unable to register what is happening to them and they cannot understand why adults – who they have been taught to trust – are hurting them. 

 

India is equipped with strong laws such as POCSO that exist to protect children from crimes and ensure there is access to justice when such crimes against children happen. There are specific laws that outline the rights of children and ensure there are redressal mechanisms in place. But far too often, disadvantaged communities are left out of these systems and lack access to the justice their children deserve. For underprivileged families whose children have been exploited, there is a lack of access to legal representation which helps criminals evade justice. 

Law Power Association is an NGO that stands in the gap as a bridge to help people from underprivileged communities access their legal rights. Founded in 2018, Law Power Association has helped secure justice for thousands of children who are victims of rape and child labour or bonded labour. These children are from families who would otherwise not be able to afford the legal costs of fighting a criminal case in the courts. Law Power Association is passionate about ensuring disadvantaged children are not taken advantage of and uses its legal abilities to get justice.  

 

The 1992 riots and labour rights in Punjab

The seeds of Law Power Association were planted during the troubled time of the 1990s. The founder of Law Power Association is Yogesh Parshad who, along with his family, was caught in the maelstrom of the riots that swept across India in 1992 and led to the deaths of thousands. In the aftermath of this chaos and catastrophe, Yogesh Parshad witnessed how it was almost impossible for the poor and disadvantaged to get access to justice. In their suffering, people still had no access to their legal rights. This stayed in his mind for decades. 

 

Fast forward to 2018 and Yogesh Parshad was in Punjab where he witnessed people fighting for their labour rights. By then, Yogesh Parshad had graduated with a Master’s degree and an LLB Post Graduate in Forensic Science and had a deeper understanding of legal systems. But then he encountered a girl around the age of 11 who was pregnant as a result of rape. He was unable to accept that this innocent girl’s childhood was ripped from her. His research revealed there were over 300 cases of child rape in Ludhiana and he realized he needed to help. 

 

How Law Power Association helps child rape victims

Yogesh started Law Power Association in 2018 to help victims of child rape and child labour with legal support to help them get access to justice. When Law Power Association comes into contact with a child whose family is seeking justice, the NGO sees to it that the children are in a safe location since the perpetrators of crimes and their accomplices often attempt to coerce or intimidate the children and their families on their way to or from the courts. This fear and intimidation is a tactic many criminals use to discourage the victims from pursuing justice. 

The NGO crucially provides medical assistance resulting from sexual abuse that has occurred. It has often happened that the children suffer from serious injuries that require advanced treatment or surgeries. In other cases, minor girl children who have been raped become pregnant, and this warrants different medical interventions. The NGO realizes the seriousness of the abuse and provides counseling, therapies and rehabilitation to help these children recover from the trauma of sexual abuse and look to the future with optimism – an uphill battle for anyone, let alone a child.

 

In fighting for justice for their children, many families face discrimination and often lose their jobs and sources of income. These families are suffering from the mental and emotional anguish of their child having been forced to endure one of the worst crimes – rape. In addition to that, their loss of livelihoods and income exacerbates the problem. Law Power Association provides economic support and food rations for the families to help them get through the challenging ordeal of fighting for justice in the courts, which is a long and arduous process. 

Helping child labour victims

In addition to child rape victims, Law Power Association also helps child labour victims. In underprivileged communities, children are often forced to toil in hazardous factories and other work sites where injuries and abuse are common. In many disadvantaged communities, bonded labour also affects children who are stuck in a cycle of exploitation. Law Power Association rescues children from these dangerous work sites and rehabilitates them and their families through access to education and government compensation.  

 

Support Law Power Association

The environment we create for children is meant to encourage them to experience happiness in all the good things the world has to offer. Just think of the cartoons, toys, games and books we allow children to play with – they are good, innocent and make children feel safe. If we are to continue raising children in this environment for the first few years of their lives, as we should, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that the world we are bringing them into contains that goodness and safety and has systems in place to help them if and when crimes take place. 

 

Support Law Power Association

 

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