Taking baby steps the right way

The past few days have been riotous on cyber space with deaths, conspiracy theories, a controversial magazine cover and what not! Among the many concerns doing the rounds one topic stood out –the rights of a baby model. Movies, advertisements, TV sops and shows always  feature children to woo the market with their cuteness. Though the issue of content has been raised by many time and again, not much discussion has gone into the legal rights of a child model and the provisions, if any, being followed in these spaces. 

Who decides the consent of a child? “Of course, the parent or the guardian,” says Sobha Koshy, chairperson of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. “The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Rules 2017 allow children to feature in advertisements and the entertainment industry under certain conditions, such as any production involving a child should be made only after obtaining the permission from the District Magistrate and consent of parents or guardian.

“Under the rules, a child should not be let to work for more than five hours a day or more than three hours without rest. If it’s an infant below one year, a registered nurse or midwife should be present 24x7 if the participation goes beyond one hour on a single day. “In a couple of cases, the Commission has found lack of adherence to certain rules by TV serials. The Labour Department is supposed to impose those rules, but there is a confusion regarding who will go and check that all these rules are complied with,” says Sobha, adding that the commission is yet to look into the e-mail complaint it received alleging a violation of the rights of a baby who is made to suckle on a breast that cannot lactate.

The rules state that no child shall be made to participate in any audio, visual and sports activity against his will and consent and the screening of films and TV programmes should carry a disclaimer that all measures were taken to ensure that there has been no abuse, neglect or exploitation of the child during the shooting. There should also be proper facilities for timely nutritional diet, safe and clean shelter and compliance to all laws for the child’s protection, including the right to education. Another clause states that at least 20 per cent of the income earned by the child should be directly deposited in a fixed deposit account in the name of the child.  Adult models enter into a contract with the film/ad/show makers, but there’s no such practice among child models.

Noted ad film maker Tanu Balak, who has shot several advertisements with children, says, “For adults, there is an agreement that specifies the period of the ad being aired or published, but for children, only the guardian’s consent is needed. For the making of an ad for a hospital, we needed a newborn and our production coordinators found an apt baby in the nearest hospital. Obtaining the parents’ consent, we went there and filmed the baby. It was done with utmost care and minimum crew,” says Tanu, who adds that never has he come across a baby model being put through harmful or dangerous situations while shooting. Kishor, the father of nine-year-old actor Akshara, vouches that his daughter was made very comfortable on the sets, be it of modelling, mini-screen or big screen. “She has been treated well everywhere since the age of four, when she started modelling,” he says. They too have never entered into contracts for her works.

“I don’t know if there are any laws, but we have never had any agreements for modelling. Never has any work been tedious for her. The shooting goes from a few hours to a few days, but the crew has ensured that Akshara is safe and has all facilities in place,” he stresses.  “It’s not that there aren’t laws; there are laws, but not enough ones,” feels Adv Sandhya J., a former member of the Child Rights Commission. “We have National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) guidelines to regulate child participation in TV serials, reality shows and advertisements, under which children below three years of age can’t take part in reality shows. Being part of an adult-oriented industry, children are often exposed to unsuitable anxiety and dangerous operational hazards and situations. The rules specify that on-the-spot inspections of studios and green rooms need to be carried out apart from the hours and conditions of participation,” says Sandhya, who, however, doesn’t feel that the photo in question has violated any rules or rights of the baby. 

Being a realm where there is always an adult involved in deciding for the child, a monitoring mechanism is the need of the hour to prevent any sort of exploitation. A baby may only be allowed to participate in a programme if one of the baby’s parents or a known person is present at all times. “Stringent rules need to be in place to ensure that the role, situation and content is appropriate for the child and doesn’t put him/her in embarrassing situations. No child should be made to perform or enact scenes or mouth dialogues inappropriate for their age or cause them distress or disrespect. Earlier, we had intervened when complaints were filed against TV programmes like Kuttippattalam and serials like Manjurukum Kaalam. But all those are one-to-one interventions. What we need is a comprehensive law that involves all aspects of child rights,” she says.  A baby in an advertisement or a TV show never fails to catch the eye, but what it misses are the seemingly-trivial, but very crucial matters like these.