Mental health status and counselling of children in conflict with the law

Abstract

There is an acute shortage of evidence-based research, literature or empirical data on the mental health status of children in conflict with the law in India and the status of counselling being provided to them. Children in conflict with the law across the world are known to almost always have a history of several mental health problems and psychosocial adversities which places them at risk for coming into conflict with the law. The counsellor for children in conflict with the law, unlike counsellors in other settings for children, is therefore, required to play a specialized and multi-dimensional role, given the complexity of the psychosocial backgrounds of these children and the legal settings of the juvenile justice system. However, little is known about the access, availability or nature of counselling services for children in conflict with the law in India. Consequently, the mental health problems of children in conflict with the law in India have not been understood or addressed adequately or effectively. The present study was therefore formulated following an interdisciplinary approach combining aspects of counseling, psychology, law and child rights, in order to provide quantitative and qualitative evidence on the mental health status and counselling of children in conflict with the law in India. newline