Thiruvananthapuram: Widespread abuses against children who were affected by AIDS (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome) disease were occurring in the country, New York based Human Rights Watch said in a report "Future Forsaken: Abuses against children affected by HIV/AIDS in India".

A synopsis of the report released in Thiruvananthapuram by the city based Foundation for Integrated Research in Mental Health stated that Indian Government's failure to address the abuses was undermining the anti-AIDS policy. The report wanted the India Government to enact a legislation prescribing discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

Among other things, it wanted the legislation to specify that children may never be barred from school solely because they were HIV-positive.

Many orphanages and other residential institutions reject HIV-positive children and some schools expel or segregate children because they or their parents were HIV-positive, the report said.

Misinformation and fear also cause some families to reject HIV-positive children. Some State Governments have started programmes to educate the public about the disease, the report noted.

The report said although the Government has not conducted studies to find the number of children affected by AIDS, some experts calculate that one million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents due to AIDS.