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PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES AND THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN INDIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
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PROTECTION
OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES AND THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN INDIA: A CRITICAL
ANALYSIS
AUTHORED BY - PRAJWALA
SAMBYAL
ABSTRACT
Every year, more crimes involving
sexual abuse of children are committed in India because the laws on the subject
are not very effective. In 2012, the Indian Parliament enacted a law that made
it a crime to sexually abuse a child. But as time went on, it became clear that
the laws in this area were not working well enough. This research paper is a
study of the legal framework for sexual abuse of children. First, it looks at
whether the current legislation in India is enough to stop child sexual abuse
crimes, even after the POCSO Act of 2012 was put into place. Second, will the
latest change to the POCSO Act, 2012 make it work better? India's laws on
sexual crimes against children are effective, but they are not enough. The
latest changes to the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the POCSO Act, 2012, were a
must-have for making laws about sexual crimes against children more strict.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Child sexual abuse is a common issue
in India. The abuse can be physical, psychological, or physical and
psychological. In most cases, the abuser is someone the child knows, such as a
family member or a close friend of the family. This kind of abuse is not just a
western problem, it occurs throughout the world and affects children from all
socioeconomic backgrounds. Sexual abuse is usually carried out by men, but
women also abuse children sexually. It's difficult to determine how many
children are sexually abused in India; however, there is a growing awareness of
the issue due to increasing press coverage.
All forms of sexual abuse affect the
body and mind of the victim. The victim develops severe mental and physical
problems as a result of the abuse. Sexual abuse can have long-term effects on a
person's physical and mental health. Children who are abused have higher rates
of sexually transmitted diseases and are at greater risk of getting pregnant or
contracting HIV/AIDS.[1] They are
also more likely to commit suicide as a result of the trauma they've endured.
Therefore, it's important to help sexually abused children regain their sense
of self-worth and safety so that they can begin to heal from the trauma they've
endured.
Most sex crimes against children
occur in urban areas involving family members or acquaintances of the victim.
In India, people think child sexual abuse is an incestuous relationship between
a child under 12 years old and an adult. They also think that men are more
likely to commit sexual abuse compared to women. This attitude makes it
difficult for society to condemn these crimes and make perpetrators
accountable. Instead, people blame the victims for seducing their own
tormentors instead of holding the actual perpetrators accountable. If people
held perpetrators more accountable, they'd have less need to blame victims for
their actions when assaulted by them.
India has made some progress in
preventing child sexual abuse in recent years due to increased media attention
towards this issue. However, there is still work to be done in educating
society on why these crimes happen and how to prevent them, particularly
against young girls. People need to understand that these crimes are
preventable if society just makes the effort to stop sexual abuse against
children (and adults) when it occurs.
2.
RATIONALE
OF THE STUDY
This research was done to focus on
the children who suffer from sexual predation and as a consequence have
difficulties later on in life. It aims to study the state of affairs relating
to sexual abuse against children in India. Then it will elaborate on the
measure India has taken to protect its children from the sexual abusers. The
paper’s main aim is to do a critical analysis on the legal framework that has
been established in India to counter child abuse.
3.
REVIEW OF
LITERATURE
Child
Sexual Abuse in India: Current Issues and Research, (David K. Carson, Jennifer
M. Foster &Nishi Tripathi), 2013[2]
Analogous to how it's in numerous
other regions of the world currently, child sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant
and pervasive issue in India. Sexual abuse trauma can beget developmental
detainments and a variety of mental and emotional issues that some children and
adolescents may never completely recover from. When sexual abuse is not
reported, children are forced to suffer in silence without receiving the
protective and therapeutic support they require. This article provided a
summary of the studies to date and covered the types and prevalence of sexual
abuse of kids in India. Risk factors for CSA that are social, cultural, and
family are examined. The most typical conditions and symptoms linked to sexual
abuse are listed. The final section highlights potential consequences for
counsellors working with sexually abused children in India.
Impact
of physical, psychological, and sexual violence on social adjustment of school
children in India, (Sibnath Deb &Kerryann Walsh), 2012[3]
This study set out to understand the
prevalence and consequences of sexual, psychological, and physical abuse on the
social adjustment of kids in the eighth and ninth grades in Tripura. The eight
English and Bengali medium schools in Agartala, Tripura, which housed the 160
boys and 160 girls who took part in the study were picked at random from their
respective classes. Data were gathered using a self-administered
semi-structured questionnaire for kids/students and a social adjustment scale.
These instruments were developed especially for the study using parameters from
earlier studies that were adjusted for the Indian setting. The results showed
that physical violence (21.9%), psychological violence (20.9%), and sexual
violence (18.1%) occurred at home for students, and 29.7% of the kids had seen
family violence. While girls were more frequently the targets of sexual
violence, boys were more frequently the victims of physical and psychological
abuse. Whatever the kind of violence, those who had experienced it scored much
worse on social adjustment scales than those who had not (p 0.001). Girls'
social adjustment was worse than males' (p 0.001). The study calls for early
identification and intervention for all subtypes of child abuse as well as for
children who have been exposed to inter-parental violence. It also emphasises
the crucial role that schools and school psychologists have in addressing the
issue.
Child
sexual abuse and the law in India: a commentary, (JyotiBelur&Brijesh
Bahadur Singh), 2015[4]
In India, the issue of child sexual
abuse (CSA) has just lately been highlighted in the media. The passing of the
Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) 2012 special law, which
makes a number of activities, including child rape, harassment, and
exploitation for pornography, illegal, is a positive move. To allow quick
trials in CSA instances, the Act mandates the creation of Special Courts. The
paper focuses on both the anticipated benefits and the potential unforeseen
consequences of the law's adoption in the Indian context. With the passage of
POCSO and the 2006 Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, two pieces of legislation
that aim to outlaw child weddings, there is no doubt that significant progress
has been made in guaranteeing children's rights and advancing the cause of
protecting children from sexual assault. The goal of the law, which considers
everyone younger than 18 to be a child, is to protect children against sexual
assault in both letter and spirit. It may be difficult to criminalise all
sexual activity among people under the age of 18 though. Age of consent, age
determination, and required reporting are the three key POCSO-related
difficulties that are discussed in this paper. These challenges underscore the
reality that even well-intentioned legislation may have unanticipated harmful
effects.
4.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
? How does sexual abuse affect
children and their lives?
? What are the measures taken against
the sexual offenders who target children in India?
? What is the current state of legal
understanding and framework regarding sexual offences against children in
India?
5.
HYPOTHESIS
Most of the children who become the
victims of sexual abuse are so young that they have no idea of what’s right and
what’s wrong. As a consequence they often don’t understand the damage they
endure when someone molets and rapes them. The measures taken against sexual
predators are becoming stronger with passing years and a lot of legal safety
nets have been established to apprehend these criminals. Although India as a
nation has progressed a lot in this area, it still has ways to go before it can
call itself a nation that is completely safe for its children.
6.
RESEARCH
OBJECTIVES
? To study the negative ways in which
a child is affected after being sexually abused.
? To examine the measures taken
against sexual offenders in India who target children.
? To understand the current set of
legal establishments aimed at helping the children who have been the victim of
sexual abuse in India.
7.
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
This research is doctrinal in nature
and is an original body of work. It is descriptive and analytical, and it aims
at bringing more clarity to the subject matter. This research aims to help
understand the importance of awareness surrounding child abuse and related
sexual offences and as such it analyses the current state of affairs regarding
the subject matter.
8.
ANALYSIS
8.1 How sexual abuse affects children
and their lives
When we think of childhood, we think
of it as a time of innocence, but childhood is not entirely free from trouble.
Childhood is a time of physical and emotional development. Children develop
quickly and learn new things throughout this time. However, there are dangers
to this development process. Physical and sexual abuse both affect a child's
development in negative ways. This is because abuse affects the child's mind as
well as his body. Physical abuse leaves scars on a child's body that can last a
lifetime. Sexual abuse can have similar effects on the child's psyche. Both
forms of childhood abuse leave lasting mental trauma on children.
Many childhood disorders have direct
roots in childhood sexual abuse. Many start in early childhood when the person
experiencing the abuse is still young. Childhood sexual behaviors can become
problems when the person experiencing the abuse is young enough to not
understand what he's doing wrong. It's common for someone who has been sexually
abused as a child to have promiscuous or sexually deviant behavior as an adult.
The trauma he endured created pathways in his brain that allowed him to act out
sexually without understanding why he was doing it. This makes it difficult for
an adult who was abused as a child to understand why he had these sexual
interests.
Another effect of sexual abuse on
the child is confusion about gender roles.[5]
Children who are victims of sexual abuse may grow up unable to identify with
either male or female traits. They may instead identify with their own gender
rather than adopting the one assigned to them at birth. This can cause severe
gender dysphoria in adulthood, which leads some people with these issues to try
changing their sex physically or mentally by abusing others as children. If
their childhood abuse affected their gender identity, they may choose to
identify with another gender altogether, which leads us back to our original
point about mischievous children growing into adulthood with severe mental
illness.
Childhood is a period of development
and growth for most people. However, it can also be full of trouble if someone
is mischievous or abusive enough to harm a child's development process. Sexual
and physical abuse leave mental scars that can later lead to mental health
issues in adults who experienced these atrocities as children. It's important
that parents monitor their children's behaviour and set boundaries when
necessary to keep them safe.
8.2 Measures taken against sexual
offenders who target children in India
India is home to over 1 billion
people, making it the second most populated country in the world. One of the
most populated states in India is Uttar Pradesh. In this state, the government
has made great strides in combating child sexual abuse by passing strict laws
and devising strict police controls. Some of these laws include: defining the
age of a child and criminalizing statutory rape, mandatory medical examinations
for all suspects, and mandatory prison sentences for certain crimes. They also
trained over 10,000 law enforcement personnel on identifying and prosecuting
child sexual offenders.[6] All of
this shows that India is making significant strides in protecting its children
from sexual predators.
One of the proposed laws defines
child sexual abuse in a new way. The Indian Penal Code defined sexual abuse
when it involved a person above age 14. However, the proposed bill extends the
definition of child sexual abuse to anyone under age 18.[7]
This makes it easier for authorities to prosecute people who sexually abuse
children as young as six years old. It also makes it easier to prosecute people
who rape adults with children as targets. The law would be more effective if
each state revised its laws to align with the new one and make them more
inclusive.
India has taken many measures to
protect its children from sexual abuse. One thing they did was pass an Act to
protect children from sexual offenders (POCSO) in 2012. POCSO gives police
powers to search homes and vehicles without a warrant and investigates possible
offences without complaint from victims or witnesses.[8]
It also allows victims' parents to file complaints on their behalf when their
children are abused. The government also implemented various helplines for
victims/survivors of child sexual abuse and created safe houses for them to
stay in when they come forward. They also implemented laws prohibiting adults
from travelling alone with children under 18 years old across state lines or country
lines. These measures have led to great improvements in how police handle cases
of child abuse in India.
The Indian government has also
prosecuted several child sexual offenders over recent years. One man was even
sent to death sentence after he raped a six-year-old girl multiple times and
filmed his crimes on his phone. Police found over 40 videos of him sexually
abusing her on this phone once they arrested him. The Indian courts have shown
they will not tolerate anyone who targets children sexually and will punish
them severely.[9]
Although there is still work to do,
India is making great strides towards protecting its children from sexual
abuse, especially against children under the age of 18. Their new proposed bill
will help authorities prosecute more child rapists, and current laws are
helping protect more children against sexual predators. The government has also
taken several important steps towards protecting its children such as setting
up safe houses for survivors of child sexual abuse or prosecuting child sex
offenders vigorously in court.
8.3 Legal framework for the
protection of children against sexual abuse in India
India is home to 17% of the world's
population, making it the second most populated country in the world. With over
1.2 billion citizens, India is a major economic force in the world. It also has
a rich cultural identity based on its religion, namely Hinduism. While India's
rich culture and traditions have gained worldwide appreciation, its treatment
of its children has been subject to criticism. Indian society has a poor record
when it comes to protecting and caring for its children.
India's legal consent age is
eighteen, and anyone under that age is subject to the country's criminal rape
statute. However, there are no laws in place to prevent sexual abuse by adults
on children under the age of eighteen. Additionally, child sex workers are
exploited by adults in society, and there is no law against this type of abuse.
In addition, child marriage is still prevalent in India despite being illegal
in the Indian states. Indian culture treats marriage as a sacred bond between a
man and a woman, with children as property of the parents. If Indian culture
were to change and give equal value to the life of its children, many current problems
with childhood protection policy would be alleviated.
India has a history of ignoring
cases of child sexual abuse specifically on children under the age of eighteen.
India's supreme court ruled in 2005 that there is no legal definition for child
sexual abuse in India;[10] this led
to a situation where government officials failed to act on cases involving
children between thirteen and seventeen years old being sexually abused by
older men. The fact that there is currently no law preventing these situations
from happening means that these cases fall outside of regular judicial
procedures, allowing perpetrators to go unpunished and victims to face
mistreatment instead of justice.
India has taken some steps toward
remedying this situation through its response toward an international treaty
known as Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) which
seeks to collect and send medical information to the United States so that
child victims can be identified and treated.[11]
Currently, CAATSA collects information from various government agencies so that
doctors can recognize symptoms of child sexual abuse when treating patients
under eighteen years old. This initiative aims to increase awareness among
healthcare professionals about child sexual abuse so they can report cases
without compromising patient confidentiality. In addition, CAATSA trains
healthcare workers about recognizing child sexual abuse and how to provide
treatment for victims under eighteen. All these efforts are commendable toward
remedying the current lack of legal safeguards for Indian children under
eighteen years old regarding sexual abuse.
With so much still needed toward
improving current practices regarding childhood protection policy for Indian
citizens, ongoing public attention toward this issue will help bring about
concrete change towards better care for Indian children growing up in poor
conditions without adequate protection from sexual predators and neglectful
family members alike. While there have been some improvements recently
regarding how Indian officials respond when their children are being sexually
abused, much work remains before all problems are remedied completely.
9.
LIMITATION
OF STUDY
This area of subject is so vast that
it cannot possibly be addressed in a single analytical research paper. Although
it aims to clarify and shine a light on the current state of affairs regarding
sexual offences against children in India, it is by no means exhaustive. The
main limitations are the disjointed nature of the subject matter because of how
big India is as a nation, making it difficult to analyse the complete impact of
sexual abuse on children. And as such, further research is necessary so that
the literature can be broadened.
10.
CHAPTERISATION
OF THE STUDY
10.1Introduction - In India, child sexual abuse is a
widespread problem. Physical, psychological, or physical and psychological
abuse are all possible. The abuser is typically a person the child knows, like
a relative or close family acquaintance. This type of maltreatment affects
children from all socioeconomic groups and is not only a western concern.
Although it is difficult to estimate the number of sexually abusing children in
India, there is an increasing awareness of the problem as a result of increased
press coverage.
10.2 Objectives - Following are the key objectives of
the study:
-To investigate how being sexually
molested negatively impacts a child.
-To investigate the measures
undertaken in India against child sexual abusers.
-To comprehend the current system of
legal institutions designed to aid Indian children who have experienced sexual
abuse.
-First
Objective - To investigate how being sexually molested negatively impacts a
child.
Child sexual abuse is a direct cause
of many disorders in the victims. Many begin when the victim is still a child,
at the early stages of the abuse. When a child is abused in a sexual manner and
is too young to realise what he is doing is wrong, the behaviour might develop
into a problem. Anyone who experienced sexual abuse as a child is more likely
to act promiscuously or sexually inappropriately as an adult. Because of the
trauma he had, he was able to act out sexually without realising why he was
doing it. Because of this, it can be challenging for an adult who experienced
abuse as a child to comprehend why he developed certain sexual interests.
-Second
Objective - To investigate the measures undertaken in India against child
sexual abusers.
India has implemented a number of
measures to safeguard its children against sexual assault. In 2012, they
enacted the POCSO Act, which aims to protect minors from sexual criminals.
POCSO grants police the authority to conduct warrantless searches of people's
homes and cars and to look into potential crimes without seeking the objection
of victims or witnesses. When their children are abused, it also enables the
victims' parents to make complaints on their behalf. Additionally, the
government established a number of hotlines for victims and survivors of child
sexual abuse and built safe places where they could remain when they came
forward. They also passed legislation making it illegal for adults to cross
state or international borders unaccompanied by minors under the age of 18.
-Third
Objective - To comprehend the current system of legal institutions designed to
aid Indian children who have experienced sexual abuse.
Through its reaction to the
international treaty known as Countering America's Adversaries Through
Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which aims to gather and convey medical information to
the United States so that child victims can be identified and treated, India
has made some significant strides toward resolving the threat of sexual abuse
on children. Currently, CAATSA gathers data from numerous government
organisations so that medical professionals can identify signs of child sexual
abuse when caring for patients less than eighteen. The goal of this campaign is
to raise awareness of child sexual abuse among medical personnel so they can
report cases without jeopardising patient confidentiality. Additionally, CAATSA
educates healthcare professionals on how to identify child sexual abuse and how
to manage victims who are under the age of 18. The efforts being made to
address the current absence of legislative protections against sexual assault
for Indian children under the age of eighteen are praiseworthy.
10.3Final Observations - To stop future incidences of child
sexual assault from going unreported, India's society must undergo significant
reform. Victims require improved assistance from the government and society, as
well as appropriate education regarding possible predators among India's young
people. It's crucial for young people to comprehend how they can keep
themselves from becoming victim to child sexual abuse as adults. In India and
around the world, child sexual abuse incidents will continue to go unreported
and expose future generations to this terrible crime against children until
these challenges are resolved.
11.
CONCLUSION
Child sexual abuse is a common
occurrence in India. The problem is compounded by the fact that children are
often unable to report their abuse and obtain justice. Child sexual abuse, or
CSA, refers to the sexual abuse of children. The most common forms of CSA are
sexual abuse and pornography involving children. This is due to the high number
of internet connections and access to technology in India. Under Indian law, it
is illegal to have sexual relations with children under the age of eighteen.
However, this law is not effectively enforced. There is a lack of awareness
regarding child protection laws among police officers and judges in India.
Furthermore, there is a lack of training on how to identify and treat victims
of child sexual abuse. This leads to cases being inadequately investigated and
treated leniently due to a lack of awareness on the part of authorities. There
is also a lack of laws protecting children from sexual exploitation by foster
parents, caretakers, and religious leaders. All this contributes to child
sexual abuse remaining shrouded in secrecy with the abuser free to molest more
children without consequence.
Victims of child sexual abuse should
receive more support from the government and society in India. There is also no
government funding for counselling for victims of CSA or for organisations
providing therapeutic services for these individuals. Further, there is little
awareness regarding incest among society members who have marital problems and
no jobs. Incest can be an important cause for social concern but goes
unreported by those experiencing it due to significant barriers faced by its
victims.
Educating your child to recognize
and avoid potential child predators is important. Schools educate students on
dangerous behaviours such as drugs, gambling, knife possession, and online
connection behaviour guidelines. In addition, schools have security officers
who make reports on any suspicious behaviour towards their students by faculty
or other staff members. Schools are doing what they can to keep their students
safe from harmful encounters with child predators when they're young adults
themselves.
CSA is a serious issue that requires
extensive change in Indian society to prevent future cases from going
unreported. Victims need better support from authorities and society as well as
proper education regarding potential predators among youth populations in
India. It's also important for youths to understand how they can avoid becoming
a victim of CSA themselves when they're young adults. Until these issues are
addressed, cases of child sexual abuse will remain hidden from detection
leaving future generations vulnerable to this horrific crime against children
in India and worldwide.
12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
[4]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283154821_Child_Sexual_Abuse_and_the_Law_in_India_A_commentary accessed on 7 October 2024
[7]https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-809-child-sexual-abuse-and-the-law-in-india.html accessed on 2 October 2024
[8]https://vikaspedia.in/education/policies-and-schemes/protection-of-children-from-sexual-offences-act accessed on 2 October 2024
[10]https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-4985-child-sexual-abuse-in-india.html accessed on 2 October 2024
[11]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countering_America%27s_Adversaries_Through_Sanctions_Act accessed on 2 October 2024
Article Information
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES AND THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN INDIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Authors: PRAJWALA SAMAL
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2025/03/07
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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