The Royal Bhutan Police have reported a slight increase in cases involving children in conflict with the law, with the majority of offences linked to substance abuse and alcohol. However, professionals emphasise that this rise should not be seen as children being inherently problematic but rather as an indicator of deeper underlying issues that require understanding and timely intervention.
In 2023, 60 cases of children in conflict with the law were recorded. This increased to 67 last year.
According to the police, these cases mainly involved substance abuse and alcohol consumption which led them to commit other crimes such as battery and larceny among others.
However, behind these data are stories of children navigating troubled circumstances through treatment programmes.
The Centre for Mind and Wellness, under the Chithuen Phendhey Association, is one of the key service providers offering residential-based treatment for individuals, including children. The Civil Society Organisation focuses on creating a safe environment to address the lasting impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), trauma, and addiction among others.
The centre’s treatment approach is a blend of scientific methods with Buddhist values of compassion and care, offering a unique and holistic rehabilitation programme.
The treatment programme spans five months, beginning with counselling and motivation. It then progresses to reintegration.
20-year-old Rinchen is one of the beneficiaries. He joined the centre when he was 17. Rinchen shared that the centre has not only given him a newfound motivation in life but a second chance to continue his studies.
Rinchen said, “I started abusing drugs at just 13, and it got worse over the next six years. I did not receive the love and care I needed from my family or the people around me. I was neglected, and the physical abuse kept escalating. On top of that, I was expelled from several schools because of my drug problem.”
Rinchen’s parents got divorced when he was just 4 and his father died soon after. His childhood has been transient, moving from one home to another, sometimes to his mothers, and sometimes to his paternal relatives. He shared that he feels like he did not get the emotional support he was seeking as a young boy.
He said, “I feel very lucky to have come to the centre. There must be many children like me struggling with drugs, not knowing what to do. It would be better if schools do not expel these children directly and instead send them to rehab centres where they can transform.”
Today, Rinchen is preparing to complete his class 12 with newfound motivation to continue his sobriety.
A counsellor at the centre shared that, like Rinchen, most children in conflict with the aw also come from dysfunctional families and those with socio-economic problems.
According to a child advocate, a child needs to grow up in a positive environment during his or her formative stage.
“If the parents give unbearable stress and worries to the child before the child’s full brain development; for example, parents getting divorced, it greatly affects the child’s developing brain. Similarly, even if the parents are together if they exhibit behaviours such as abusing substances, or getting in altercations in front of the child, it also affects the child,” said Tshewang Tenzin, Adverse Childhood Experiences Advocate.
Although individuals are required to pay a fee to attend the residential-based programme, the association offers scholarships when clients are not able to afford them.
Similarly, Nazhoen Lamtoen, another CSO, has also supported children in conflict with the law, successfully reintegrating nearly 70 children into society over the past eight years.
With services available and interventions made, children like Rinchen, who have once strayed from societal norms are transformed and given a second chance at life.
Tashi Dekar
Edited by Kipchu
