Play therapy as a rehabilitative measure among child survivors of bonded labour

Play therapy as a rehabilitative measure among child survivors of bonded labour

A bonded labour condition is customarily because of relocation of persons due to the situations that are obligatory in nature. Bonded labour, which is characterized by a long-term affiliation between employer and employee, is usually congealed over a loan, and is entrenched complexly in India’s socio-economic culture - a culture that is a creation of class relations, a colonial history, and tenacious scarcity of resources among many citizens. The children living in such conditions face a lot of mistreatment and go through undeniable exploitation. The children present at the facility may or may not work with the parents yet go through a lot of pain, distress and abuse as the journey of cruelty and suffering is just the same as what their parent’s ordeal with. Children as young as 4 Years old are molested, beaten and abused on an average basis traumatizing the children before and after the rescue. These children are not permitted to enroll in schools as they do not have identity proofs or birth certificates. The only way of addressing the subject of emotional, physical and mental turbulence of the child in this perimeter is by enforcing play as a rehabilitative measure to help with past experiences and impending consequences. Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents or facilitators to engage fully with the children. Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. When forms of play like puppetry, art, story-telling etc are added the child conjectures unpleasant feelings which she cannot hide the child is better able to act differently in relation to what he/she is feeling. The study aims to see if play therapy is a technique of rehabilitating child survivors of bonded labour.

JOSEPH RAVEENA ADAM -1630038

Social Work

CHRIST (Deemed to be University)

2017