Out of 440 million children in India, over 176 million are in urgent need of care & protection. The protection of children is the primary goal of DEHAT, so we have divided our efforts into three areas: preventing violations of children’s rights, implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other relevant legal means of protecting children. At DEHAT we believe that the most vulnerable children are those who are not safe in their own homes. Substance abuse, domestic violence, child marriage and criminal activities are some common examples of destructive forces throughout childhood. Most children we work with have undergone severe trauma & abuse at different stages in their life but do not have sufficient, if any, access to counselling that would help them with recovery and rehabilitation.We believe that protection against trafficking and other forms of violence can only be achieved when the following are in place:

1. Personal Safety – Safe home environment.
2. Educational Rights – Access to quality education.
3. Financial Stability – Access to all financial instruments by children’s parents.
4. Freedom from Exploitation- To give children the ability to fight against exploitative elements.

• Every year, an average of 44,476 children are reported missing in India. Out of these, an average of 5,452 are girl children and 11,008 children remain untraced. However these kids are not just ‘missing’ – many of them have unfortunately been trafficked.
• India itself has the sixth highest prevalence of child marriages in the world. South Asia is home to almost half (42 per cent) of all child brides worldwide; India alone accounts for one third of the global total.
• Children are not seen as individuals with rights. As a result:
  1. Children’s basic rights are abused and neglected.
  2. Children are the easiest targets for trafficking.
  3. Children are not involved in decisions affecting their life.
  4. Children are treated only as extensions of parents.

• Restoration of thousands of missing and trafficked children to their families in India and Nepal.
• District mapping of hotspots for trafficking and key regions, roads, and railways where interventions are most needed.
• Provided vocational training, counseling, and educational support to hundreds of victims of trafficking and vulnerable families.
• DEHAT’s MCA network has brought together child protection stakeholders from police, media, civil society, legal associations, and governments in both India and Nepal.
• Provision of shelter and medical assistance, repatriation and protection from abuse for 86 children through 1098 CHLDLINE hotline.
• Direct outreach to over more than 15,000 vulnerable families through door-to-door contact.
• Compilation of trafficker’s profiles and trafficking-prone villages for direct action against child trafficking.
• A sensitized community including police officials, media, advocates and community leaders to protect children.