which provision in the Constitution is for maltreatment?
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Answer:
The Constitution of India provides that the state, as a directive principle of state policy, must seek to ensure “that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.”[1] The rights to equality, to protection of life, to personal liberty, and against exploitation are enshrined in articles 14–17, 21, 23, and 24 of the Constitution. Article 15, which protects against discrimination on various grounds, contains an important proviso that “[n]othing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.“[2]
In addition to the above domestic laws, the government of India ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 12, 1992.[3]
On April 26, 2013, the government of India adopted a new National Policy for Children, 2013,[4] which replaced the 1974 child policy.[5] The new policy lays down the guiding principles that must be respected by national, state, and local governments in their actions and initiatives affecting children.[6] The National Policy states that the “safety and security of all children is integral to their well-being and children are to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, violence, maltreatment and exploitation in all settings including care institutions, schools, hospitals, crèches, families and communities.”[7]