Child Safety, Welfare and Well-being: Issues and Challenges

This book provides a focused and comprehensive overview of the status of children across society, with special reference to emerging features and measures of child safety, welfare, and overall well-being. The book is arranged into four parts covering various dimensions of child welfare and well-being. In this second edition, highly experienced academics, researchers, child rights activities, and policymakers from both developed and developing countries have contributed chapters on topics such as status of children living under institutional care, sexual abuse of male children and tribal girl children, issues and challenges faced by children living in conflict zones, children living on the streets, COVID-19 and its impact on the education of children. The status of marginalized children gets special importance in the second edition. The new chapters include field-based experiences of researchers in protecting child rights and preventing child abuse. It also considers the promising strategies and promising future directions in enhancing effective prevention, intervention and responses to child abuse and neglect. This volume is essential for a wide range of professionals and researchers from the social sciences, law, medicine, and behavioral sciences. It is also beneficial for policymakers and law enforcement agencies working with children.

Sibnath Deb, Ph.D. and D.Sc., is Director of Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) , Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India. Prior to joining RGNIYD, he taught at the Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University (A Central University), and at the University of Calcutta. In 1994, he completed an intensive course on ‘HIV/AIDS and Qualitative Research’ from the University of Western Australia. During April 2009 to August 2009, he visited the School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia, as Visiting Faculty. Currently, he is also Adjunct Professor of the School of Justice, Faculty of Law, QUT, Australia. He has 31 years of teaching, research, and administrative experience and has published a large number of research articles in leading national and international journals as well as in edited books. He has written six books and edited five books. His latest book titled ‘Disadvantaged Children in India: Empirical Evidence, Policies and Actions being’ has been published by Springer in 2020. His other books include Upholding Justice: Social, Psychological and Legal Perspectives (Routledge, 2021); Delivering Justice: Issues and Concerns (Routledge, 2021); Community Psychology: Theories and Applications (Sage, 2020); Childhood to Adolescence: Issues and Concerns (Pearson, 2020); Social Psychology in Everyday Life (SAGE, 2019); Positive Schooling and Child Development: International Perspectives (Springer, 2018); Child Safety, Welfare and Well-being (Ist Edition, Springer, 2016), and Distance Education: Prospects, Challenges and Way Forward (Pearson, 2018). His research interests include child safety, students’ mental health, adolescent reproductive health, family relationships, child care, happiness, and applied social psychology. He has got three international and five national awards for his contribution in academics and research including an award from the Asiatic Society, Kolkata (an institute of national importance under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India) in 2018 and “Visitor’s Award 2019” from Hon’ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind for his contribution in the field of child protection, students’ mental health and HIV/AIDS.