International Missing Children’s Day 2022: May 25, Why This Day Is Important

International Missing Children’s Day on May 25 is celebrated worldwide in memory of missing children. It was formally recognized in the year 2001. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan declared National Missing Children’s Day, under which hundreds of children who go missing every year are remembered.

International Children’s Missing Day-History

A few years earlier, on May 25, 1979, six-year-old Eton Patz had suddenly disappeared on a bus to school. Until then, cases of missing children had rarely attracted national media attention. For the first time, Eton missing case caught the attention of the country and the world, and it created a stir in the media. His father, a professional photographer, distributed black and white pictures of his son everywhere to find the child. Because of this, too, this matter got so much media attention for the first time.

First, the United States started observing International Missing Children’s Day in memory of missing children, and then gradually, it was created in other countries around the world. The International Missing Children’s Day was formally recognized for the first time on May 25, 2001. All this was made possible by the joint effort of ICMEC, Missing Children Europe, and the European Commission. Recognizing the need to protect such children worldwide, more and more countries celebrate International Missing Children’s Day every year.

International Children’s Missing Day: Some Safe Tips About Keeping Children

• Keep children’s custody documents.
• Be sure to keep recent photographs of children.
• Keep medical and dental records up to date.
• Prioritize online safety.
• Complete background checks of child caregivers.
• Young children should never be put in a car seat and left alone.
• Whenever possible, don’t make children wear clothes bearing their names.
• Make your children know their address and phone number as much as possible.

International Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that aims to help children end child abduction, sexual abuse, and exploitation. Since 1998, ICMEC has trained more than 10,000 law enforcement officers from 117 countries. As a result, more than 100 countries are working to enforce laws against child pornography.

International Children’s Missing Day: Working With Governments.

International Missing Children’s Day has been celebrated since 2001 in more than 20 countries on six continents. A 23-member Global Missing Children Network, ICMEC is headquartered in the United States, with regional offices in Brazil and Singapore.

International Children’s Missing Day: A Look at the Status of Missing Children in India

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 73,138 children went missing in India in 2019. Hundreds of children go missing in the country every day. As per data, 63,407 children during the year 2016, 63,349 in 2017, and 67,134 in 2018 went missing.

Regarding the state, Madhya Pradesh continues to top the list with 8,503, 10,110, and 10,038 missing children in 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively, whereas West Bengal is in second place. Here 8,335 children went missing in 2016, 8,178 in 2017, and 8,205 in 2018. (NCRB 2019) Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, and Bihar have the most missing children.

Indore district has the highest number of missing children in Madhya Pradesh. Kolkata district has recorded the highest number of missing children in West Bengal. Patna district has recorded the highest number of missing children in Bihar. Rohini and the outer districts of Delhi have the highest number of missing children.

An analysis of the reasons for missing children by the Crime Branch, Delhi Police reveals that in most cases, children go missing at home due to parental scolding, pressure on studies, diversion, etc. No organized gang was found behind the kidnapping or begging of children in the city. A total of 5,102 children were traced in the year 2017 due to the efforts of the Delhi Police under Operation Smile-II and Operation Muskaan-II scheme. So far, 1,94,277 children have been photographed under Scheme Identification to create a data bank that can be used to locate the child in his disappearance.

International Missing Children’s Day: Children Missing In The Covid-19 Period

There have been 374 missing children cases due to COVID-19 and its effects. Ninety thousand two went missing in 2019, while 97484 children went missing in 2020.