Nepal, Aug. 23 -- Last week, Bal Krishna Dangol, the director of Bal Mandir, the country's oldest non-profit organisation for children, was arrested on charges of child trafficking. This week, there are reports about nine minors being rescued from a children's home in Baphal and three of its employees being arrested. With protectors turning into predators, such news stories put the spotlight on the dismal state of shelter homes and lack of regular government oversight to administer them. With these incidents, a time-bound social audit of childcare has become even more important.

Cases of sexual abuse in shelter homes and their sorry state reveal not just the systemic failure of the state to protect its most fragile, but also the many ins...