A Child First, and Then an Artist: An Open Letter to Daisy Irani

Dear Daisy,

We felt terrible angst and helplessness while reading your horrific experience of being assaulted by your guardian at the tender age of six. Our heart goes out to you. At the same time, we also recognise that it takes tremendous determination and courage to come out in the open and recount this experience. It is most unfortunate when the ‘protector’ turns ‘perpetrator’. When the very person a child trusts, take the utmost advantage and violates her body and scarring her heart and mind for life, it is indeed a deep sense of helplessness and betrayal for the child.

We understand that you have decided to make this incident public as you see more and more young children enter the show business and wish to highlight the dark side of living under the limelight. In our country, in the last decade, there has been a 500% increase in crime against children, and with respect to crimes that are sexual in nature, and most of the time it is carried out by people known to the child (either by a guardian or a neighbour or a caretaker). It is only when all get together to break the silence and develop zero tolerance towards violence against children will this trend be reversed.

Despite the large number of children in the entertainment industry, there is very little knowledge about status of child artists in the country. The Census 2011 data on working children reveals that there are around 2.3million children in Arts, Entertainment and Recreation within the age group of 5-14 years. The disaggregated data specific to Child Artists is currently unavailable. This dearth of knowledge stems from the lack of attention towards the issue and the ensuing lack of research on the subject.

Crime against children in entertainment arena though commonly found, surfaces in the true sense only when courageous people like you open up or parents of the child artists choose to report to the police and concerned authorities.

We are in complete agreement when it comes to parental responsibility in ensuring that the education of a child must not get hindered and that the child must not be used as a pawn to gather wealth and fame. Coping with quickly earned fame and public adulation (or the decline of it) is also not something a child can comprehend, as you rightly pointed out, and it is the duty of the parents to help the child in processing emotions related to them. Unresolved issues during childhood could impact their mental health as adults as well.

However, we also feel that the buck doesn’t stop there. It must be the responsibility of all adults to ensure that rights of child artists are protected. A child does not have the authority to decide how, when and where a shoot will be held. She does not have the capacity to cope with studies if she is subjected to long and rigorous working hours with little time to rest and play. Therefore, it would be the responsibility of the parents as well as the production house to ensure that shoots do not disrupt the child artists’ education, play or recreation.

Basic protocols on privacy for child actors, background checks of their appointed guardians, and vigilance is crucial to minimise risks of sexual, physical or emotional abuse of child artists.

Finally comes the responsibility of the government in overseeing and supporting the working of production houses. While we do not propagate government interference and stifling of a creative process, we must bear in mind that the onus of protecting children lies as much with the government as it does with parents and other adults. The amended child labour legislation does put in certain safeguards for child artists, but they need to be made more robust. For example: The child labour rules do not mandate the development of a child protection policy for production houses and what it should contain. They also do not take into account the importance of capacity building of adult supervisors on child care and protection. Without clear accountability frameworks and mechanisms, child artists will go on facing difficulties, with limited avenues for redressal.

You speaking out on such an important issue has the potential to not only awaken parents to their responsibilities, but also change the way the law and society at large views child artists. You also bring to light the fact that violence of any kind faced during childhood, especially sexual violence leaves a lasting imprint. We sincerely hope that monitoring mechanisms would be built by the government through convergence of various concerned ministries and of course the production houses would take more onus in making sure childhoods are safe, healthy and happy.

In reel we have moved from black and white to colour. Let’s take care of our children and not scar their colourful lives by pushing them into darkness.

Warmest Regards,

CRY