C hild delinquency and criminality are on the rise. But so far, there is only one Child Correction Centre (CCC) in Nepal offering juvenile offenders proper counselling facilities and helping them ease back into mainstream society. During a recent survey, the 57 children in the centre demanded, among other things, skilled counsellors, schooling facilities, supportive police and the right to privacy. The government seems to be listening. More CCC’s are in the pipeline and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare has collected suggestions from the centre authorities, delinquent children, their parents and police personnel to help develop proper guidelines to run both the existing and planned centres.

According to the psychologists involved with underage offenders, most of these kids, like their non-delinquent counterparts, want to earn a decent living through good education and vocational training. The society owes it to them to create an environment that is conducive for both their physical and psychological growth and development. Towards this end, correct psychological evaluation of such offenders is vital to spot and treat the cause of their delinquency. This can only be done with the help of trained child psychologists, a rare lot in the country. The CCC’s, on their part, should bar the use of corporal punishment and provide a nurturing environment for underage delinquents, who are, more often than not, the victims of their circumstances.