Child Protection and Maltreatment in India: Understanding the Burden, Legal Framework, and the Role of Paediatricians

Abstract

Child maltreatment remains a major public health concern in India. Child abuse includes physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect-related harm. Risk factors operate across individual, family, community, and societal levels. Legal protections are extensive but unevenly implemented, despite comprehensive legislation, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Juvenile Justice Act; the burden of abuse remains high with persistent underreporting.
National health programs support early identification. Persistent clinical challenges include limited training, unclear pathways, and rising digital threats. Strengthened training, structured screening tools, multidisciplinary collaboration, and enhanced community awareness are essential to improve child protection. This review summarises the epidemiology, types of abuse, risk factors, legal frameworks, national health programs, and current management approaches. Gaps in paediatric awareness, challenges in reporting, inconsistent enforcement, and emerging threats such as cyber abuse are also highlighted.