Child abuse: India

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This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content.

Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO)

The Times of India, Jul 09 2015

Child abuse, state-wise; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Jul 09 2015

Himanshi Dhawan

8 cases of child abuse every day 6,816

Eight cases of sex crimes against children have been registered every day in the last two years. About 6,816 police cases were registered from November, 2012 -when the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO)--came into force up to March, 2015. The highest number of FIRs has been registered in Rajasthan followed by Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala according to data available with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).The number of convictions is only 166 that is 2.4% of the total cases registered while in 389 cases accused were acquitted.

There is a rising trend of crime against children. This is also borne out by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data that has recorded 33,052 Cases, 38,172 cases and 58,224 cases during 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively . According to a study conducted by the WCD ministry in 2007, over half of the children surveyed reported having faced some form of sexual abuse, with their suffering exacerbated by the lack of specific legislation to provide remedies for these crimes.

While rape is considered a serious offence under the Indian Penal Code, the law was deficient in recognizing and punishing other sexual offences, such as sexual harassment, stalking, and child pornography , for which prosecutors had to rely on imprecise provisions such as “outraging the modesty of a woman“. Recognizing the problem, the government introduced POCSO to address rampant child sexual abuse through less ambiguous and more stringent legal provisions, championed the introduction of a specific law to address this offence.