What We Do

At Dhanak, our work with minor survivors focuses on protection, education, empowerment, and restoration.

• Legal Aid & Casework: We work extensively to ensure every child’s right to justice and protection is upheld. 

• We identify and rescue children in vulnerable conditions in collaboration with CWCs, local NGOs, police, and concerned citizens.

   

• We provide free legal aid and representation for survivors of child sexual abuse and children facing legal conflicts.

   

• We help families navigate legal processes under the POCSO Act, including filing complaints, securing interim and final compensation, and accessing survivor-friendly procedures like in-person visits.

   

• Our team coordinates with Special Courts, police officers, and government child protection units to ensure cases are handled sensitively and speedily.

   

• Support Persons & Counseling: Under the POCSO Act and JJ Act provisions, every child victim is entitled to a Support Person to guide them through complex legal and emotional processes.

• Dhanak appoints trained Support Persons who accompany the child and family during police reporting, medical examination, and court hearings.

   

• We provide psychological counseling for survivors and trauma care of abuse and their families, guide them through compensation processes, and offer ongoing emotional support.
• We promote and ensure improved communication with parents, with decrease in anxiety, guilt and fear.

   

• Our counselors help families understand their rights and support them in rebuilding safety and trust.

   

• Centre for Learning and Empowerment: We believe that education and skill-building are key to breaking cycles of poverty, neglect, and exploitation. 

Through our dedicated Centre(s) 1) CLE-C (Chilla Gaon) & 2) CLE-T (Trilokpuri):

• We enroll children from marginalized backgrounds, especially CNCP, into basic education programs focusing on literacy, numeracy, and life skills.

   

• We offer English language and computer training to equip children with practical skills for future employability.

   

• We promote extracurricular activities and creative learning to build confidence, social skills, and a sense of community.
• We ensure the children’s return to school to continue formal education through admission in vocational training courses and Enrolment in NIOS.
  (All programs align with the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009, and encourage reintegration into mainstream schools wherever possible)

• Collaboration with Child Welfare Committees (CWCs): Dhanak works closely with CWCs– the statutory bodies under the JJ Act that make crucial decisions about the care, protection, and rehabilitation of CNCP.

• We assist in the production and presentation of children before CWCs.

   

• We provide home studies, social investigation reports, and follow-ups as required under the law.

   

• We ensure all interventions are documented and reported to the concerned District Child Protection Units (DCPUs) in compliance with ICPS guidelines.

   

• Community Awareness & Advocacy: Many cases of abuse and neglect go unreported due to social stigma and lack of awareness. 

• We conduct awareness sessions and workshops for parents, teachers, and community members on child rights, the POCSO Act, Harmony and Diversity, Gender Equality, Incest, Identifying different types of violences, inclusivity of important dates and festivals, and Street Plays.
• Our awareness program also includes taking the 4 module sessions in schools for 8th and 9th std students. This self awareness training module includes: (Good child bad child) Parental Control and Expectations (kabhi haan kabhi naa), Decision Making, Romantic Relationships (Manchala Dil), Peer pressure and Consent, Honouring differences with kindness (Sab Rang Sang Sang). This session also includes Career Counselling for students.

   

• Community Awareness Games: Our theatre team at Dhanak trains local volunteers and frontline workers to identify and respond to child protection concerns responsibly and lawfully, through Games,Street Plays and Skits; Ghutan and Pari ki Shaadi.

   

• Engages with government bodies (schools) and stakeholders to advocate for better implementation of child protection laws and policies.

Our Commitment to Compliance:

1.  All our programs are designed and implemented in line with national child protection frameworks.

2. We maintain strict confidentiality of every child’s identity, as mandated under the POCSO Act.

3. Our staff and volunteers are sensitized and trained on child safeguarding standards and code of conduct.

4. We regularly report cases, outcomes, and rehabilitation progress to CWCs, DCPUs, and other government stakeholders, ensuring complete accountability and transparency.

Through our integrated approach, Dhanak helps marginalized children reclaim their childhoods, exercise their rights, and step into safer, more promising futures. Together with our partners, communities, and government bodies, we work to ensure that every child’s right to survival, development, protection, and participation is not just protected but championed everyday.