Comprehensive Care for Victims of Child Abuse - Multi Disciplinary Child Protection Center (MCPC) in Mumbai, India

Cases of child abuse are very common in occurrence in India. But very few cases of child abuse are reported to the authorities, even when the problem gets identified, lack of social awareness on the gravity of this issue and ways to deal with it makes it difficult to ensure any kind of support to the victimized child. The vulnerable population often approach hospitals with health related complaints. The health service providers are in a position to identify signs of abuse upon their patients. Thus the medical system is potentially powerful and capable of providing treatment beyond physical healing.

The MCPC (Multi-disciplinary Child Protection Center) works within the medical system and coordinate with the other support services holistically to protect the best interests of the child. MCPC, a joint venture of TNMC & BYL Nair Ch. Hospital, Mumbai and UNICEF, was started in February 2006 with Forensic Medicine as the nodal department for this initiative.

The case management for such victims follows a multi-system approach, where in Forensic Medicine coordinates with all concerned departments within the hospital as well as outside. The main effort of this approach is to prevent re-traumatisation of the child and to ensure that the victim has access to proper medical, legal and psycho-social care through a single unit. Multi-system approach makes the services less intrusive, more child sensitive and child friendly thereby making them more responsive to the needs of children who have been abused or sexually exploited.