Child Protection Workforce Capacity Building to

End the Child Sexual Abuse in India

REPORT ON

District Level Training for Police on Laws, Polices and Standard Operating
Procedures in dealing with Child Sexual Abuse Cases

Place- ITDA Conference Hall, Phulbani

DATE-05/01/2021

Training Organized by: PECUC, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

In cooperation with: SAHARA Organization
Supported by: World Vision Germany, World Vision India and BMZ

CONTENT
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 1. Objective of the training (title, objective, rationale, expected outcome)

 The broad objective of the training is to enhance the knowledge and skills of the Police who are
involved with children on prevention and protection of children to address the problems related to
child protection like child trafficking, child marriage, child labor, child sexual abuse etc in an effective
manner.
 To develop understanding among the participants about the situation of children in India and
particularly state specific challenges faced by children and various legislations.
 To orient about different roles and responsibilities being carried out by and functioning provisioned
under the JJ Act& POCSO Act
 To understand the mechanisms for speedy disposal of cases working in close coordination with the
District Child Protection Unit
 To coordinate and function as a watch-dog for providing legal protection against all kinds of cruelty,
abuse and exploitation of children and report instances of non-compliance for further legal action
Rationale:
As a responsible citizen we have a number of responsibilities, obligations and duties in relation to the
youngest citizens of our country. Paramount among these is ensuring their safety. No childhood should be
shattered by abuse. No young life should live in the shadow of fear. While it is not always possible to prevent
all violence, nor possible to guarantee that no child will ever be harmed by neglect or aggression or
exploitation or predation. It is our duty to do everything in our power as a society to prevent such harm. This
begins by ensuring that children are safe and protected in all aspects of their lives-where they live, learn, pray
and play. To protect children and their rights State Government has taken several initiatives at different level
including Child Protection Committee at GP, Block and District level. All persons being contact with, or being
responsible for, children in the criminal justice system should receive education and training in human rights,
the principles and provisions of the Convention [on the Rights of the Child] and norms in juvenile justice as an
integral part of their training programs. Such persons include police and other law enforcement officials. This
is nothing but a step towards strengthening mechanism to prevent violence, abuse, exploitation and
unnecessary family separation.

Expected outcome:

Training and orientation to Police would enhance the basic understanding of Child Rights, Protection and
laws and policies particularly focusing on POCSO Act and JJ Act. The Project also expect police should
understand the child vulnerability and registration of CSA cases or Complaint on a priority basis and also
adopt child friendly procedure while handling the cases i.e., medical examination, collecting information,
involving women police, engaging translator if child is unable to express the views due to physically or
mentally challenged. At the same time, immediate reporting of cases to the concerned duty-bearer and
support in assessing the child safety measure and recording of information as per the Act. Guidelines and
protocol for police in maintaining prevention, protection, rehabilitation measures to be followed as per the JJ
Act and POCSO Act.
 Understand the importance of police training on child rights and child protection.
 Understand that police training is only one part of an overall strategy to improve police practice in
relation to children.
 Will have a vital role to play in identifying factors responsible for violation of child rights, gender
discrimination, child sexual abuse, child marriage etc. and take appropriate measures to mitigate
these issues.
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 2. Details of the Training (Venue, date, etc.)

In consultation with Stakeholders, training modalities like date, venue, physical arrangements were planned
and finalized. The training program was organized on 5 th January 2021 at ITDA Conference hall, phulbani.
Necessary arrangement in line with Government guidelines on Covid 19 preventive measures was done at the
training hall.

3. Participants (total- male, female, boys, girls)

As per plan Police Officers from the District were invited to participate in the training. There were----- nos. of
participants

4. Pre-training works

The following points were considered during the preparatory work for effective organization of the training
program.

Venue –As the venue for the training can make a big difference to a program’s outcome, we looked for a
comfortable and of a suitable size to accommodate the participants keeping the Covid 19 guideline in mind
and with the aim for an environment that provides opportunities for learning without distraction. Ensured
that drinking water facility, toilets and necessary catering facilities are available.

Participants – Before finalization of training date and venue participants were consulted and appraised about
the objective of the training, training content, role and responsibilities of participants during training and
after completion of the training.

Specific planning and discussions on the training like guest contact, resource person contact was done well in
advance.

Training Logistics – Ensured and checked that the equipment we need is available and materials listed are
arranged. Proper sitting arrangement, audio visual aids including LCD projector, stationary for group work
like, chart paper, marker were arranged for effective organization of the training. Note book, pen and masks
were provided to the participants.

5. How the training was conducted (process, sessions, resource person information, etc.)

The Training started with a formal welcome address by Mr. Dharmendra Mallick, point person and organizer
from SAHARA followed by objective sharing. He said that protection of children is a collective, societal
responsibility. Police play a major role to see that children in need of care and protection are protected,
supported and empowered to make the best of their difficult circumstances; The focus that the police
Officers need to give in child protection to address harms caused to children is of utmost importance in the
society as always. Mr. Sukant Nayak said that every day, children come into contact with the police either
when they are in need of care and protection or in conflict with the law. This contact therefore occurs at
times when a vulnerable child is most in need of support and guidance. Police training is essential to ensure
that this encounter is always a positive one, where both sides emerge with dignity and respect. He thanked
the organizers for organizing such a training for police officers in the larger interest of the children and
requested the participants to take maximum benefit out of the training and enrich their knowledge.

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Adv. Bijoy Krushna, resource person discussed on ground rule of the training along with expectation of
participants from the training. To assess the entry level knowledge and understanding of participants of child
protection a pre course assessment was done through a structured questionnaire.

After tea break Mr. Nayak, discussed on Right based approach to children with regard to UNCRC. The
discussion points were as follows:

Rights-based Approach:

Rights-based approach promotes three main principles:

 The accountability of duty bearers,

 The participation of right holders,
 Equity / non-discrimination.

The Right based approach also strengthens accountability of duty bearer and support children to demand
their rights.

It aims to increase impact and strengthen sustainability by addressing root causes, bringing about policy and
practice changes, working together with others towards common goals and by changing power relations.

The primary role of a rights-based development organisation is to contribute to the fulfilment of human
rights by getting duty bearers to meet their obligations, and by empowering poor and exploited people to
claim their entitlements. Directly meeting needs and fulfilling rights helps people, but it does not necessarily
strengthen the accountability of duty bearers. It also does not strengthen people’s own ability to claim their
rights

Who are they?

Duty-bearers have obligations to fulfill, protect and respect children’s rights

• Parents
• Service providers
• State government
• Civil society groups/NGOs

Rights holders – children or their representatives are entitled to claim their rights, hold duty bearer
accountable, have responsibility to respect rights of others.

As per United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) every child has the right to survival,
protection and education. Every child has basic fundamental rights. These include the right to:

 Life, survival and development
 Protection from violence, abuse or neglect
 An education that enables children to fulfil their potential
 Be raised by, or have a relationship with, their parents
 Express their opinions and be listened to.
So broadly the child has the right to Survival, Development, Protection and Participation

After an open house question answer session Mr. Bijoy Krushna, Advocate and Member District Legal
Services Authority discussed on child sexual abuse, and laws and Acts to prevent child abuse.

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The discussion points were as follows:

As per the National Policy for children the “safety and security of all children is integral to their well-being
and children are to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, violence, maltreatment and
exploitation in all settings including care institutions, schools, hospitals, crèches, families and communities.

The State shall protect all children from all forms of violence and abuse, harm, neglect, stigma,
discrimination, deprivation, exploitation including economic exploitation and sexual exploitation,
abandonment, separation, abduction, sale or trafficking for any purpose or in any form, pornography, alcohol
and substance abuse, or any other activity that takes undue advantage of them, or harms their personhood
or affects their development.

Mr. Dibakar Pradhan focused on POCSO and JJ Act, CMPR Act. He spoke on the need to develop
understanding on the process of intervention based on Act, CP Institutional mechanism and Reporting
mechanism.

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 deals with two categories of children: “those who
are in conflict with the law (CICL), and those who need care and protection (CNCP). A “child” is defined under
the act as “a person who has not completed eighteen years of age.” A “child in need of care and protection”
is defined as; who is found without any home, who is found working in contravention of labor laws, is found
begging, or living on the street, who resides with a person who neglect and torture the child or mentally ill,
missing or run-away child, who is at risk of child marriage, who is found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted
into drug abuse or trafficking, who is victim of or affected by any armed conflict, civil unrest or natural
calamity.

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 provides for relief and rehabilitation of the
child, as soon as the complaint is made to the Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) or to the local police.
Immediate & adequate care and protection (such as admitting the child into a shelter home or to the nearest
hospital within twenty-four hours of the report) are provided. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) is also
required to be notified within 24 hours of recording the complaint. Under this Act, sexual assault to child is
crime punishable with a fine and a minimum term of imprisonment for 10 years, which can be extended to
life imprisonment.

Corporal Punishment (CP)- Every now and then we come across shocking incidents of innocent children being
subjected to corporal punishment in the grab of disciplining them. Corporal punishment means punishment
that is physical in nature. Even otherwise, children should not be and cannot be subjected to any punishment
as they are presumed to be innocent .The due process of law is to be respected at all times and it cannot be
bypassed in any situation, whatsoever .NCPCR has issued guidelines for eliminating corporal punishments
against children .Under these ,every school has also been required to develop a mechanism and frame clear
cut protocols to address grievances of students .Corporal punishments to children is tantamount to child
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abuse and it needs to stop. People need to be made aware of the laws against corporal punishment and most
importantly we need to change our mindset and adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards any sort of
violence against children.

He also tried to provide all participants with a clear understanding of how to recognize, reduce, prevent and
report suspected abuse or molestation. The role of police in addressing all these issues was also discussed.

Mr. Bijoy Krushna also discussed about the importance of internet safety for children with safety tips like;
 Be careful who you meet online.
 Be careful what you download.
 Do not forget to sign out as soon as your work is over.
 Be careful what you post.
 Practice safe browsing
Then there was a child safety pledge recited by everyone present in the hall that is
“Pledge to protect the children” was done to do everything to keep children safe. They are the future and if
they can make a difference one by one, it will change everything.

With question answer session the session winded up and break for lunch.
After lunch break Mr. Bijoy discussed on Guidelines and SOPs by union and state government with special
reference to NCPCR.
SOP for Police (JJ Act)

 Under Section 107(2), respective State Governments shall constitute a Special Juvenile Police Unit
(SJPU), in each district and city, headed by a police officer not below the rank of a Deputy
Superintendent of Police or above and containing all police officials designated as CWPO and two
social workers having experience in the field of child welfare, of whom one shall be a woman. The
SJPU, will be entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating all functions of police related to
children.

 Section 107(3) of the Act, highlights the need for special training for all the officials of SJPU.  Section
107(4) of the Act, states that Railway police dealing with children will also be included under the
Special Juvenile Police Unit.

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Standard Operating Procedure

In dealing with Child Sexual Abuse, POSCO 2012:

The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age, and defines different
forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as
sexual harassment and pornography, and deem sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain
circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed
by a person in a position of trust or authority vis-à-vis the child, like a family member, police
officer, teacher, or doctor. People who traffic children for sexual purposes are also
punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the said Act.

They have used visual aids and illustrations related to community experiences to further enable participants
understand. Live experiences and case studies were used as examples during the training and this made it
easy for the participants relate what they were learning to what is happening in their community. This was
done to make sure the training was relevant.

After question & answer session Mr. Sukant Nayak discussed on Child Friendly Police Station.

Child Friendly Police Station:

Child Friendly Procedures in police station would play an important role in better delivery of services as it
would ensure a child friendly environment in a police station where a child can communicate without any
fear and would also receive proper care and protection.

Keeping in view the provisions under Section 19, 24 and 33 of the POCSO Act, 2012, the provisions of the
Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and Juvenile Justice Model Rules, 2016, every Police Station should have either a
child friendly room or corner where children who are victims under the POCSO Act, 2012 can be dealt with in
a sympathetic manner.

Section 107 (1) of the JJ Act mandates “In every police station, at least one officer, not below the rank of
assistant sub-inspector, with aptitude, appropriate training and orientation may be designated as the child
welfare police officer to exclusively deal with children either as victims or perpetrators, in co-ordination with
the police, voluntary and non-governmental organisations.” Section 107 (2) provides for the creation of a
‘Special Juvenile Police Unit’ in every district, to coordinate all functions of police related to children.

Objective of Child Friendly Police Station:

Child Friendly Police Station is an initiative to make police and policing system sensitive to needs of young
citizens

 To guide the police officials in addressing issue of child protection.

 Develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills of police officers so that every child who
comes into contact with them is treated as they would want their own child to be treated.

 Give police a better understanding of laws that relate to children and their practical application.

 Bridge the gap between theory and practice relevant to policing and child rights / child protection so
that police are able to act in the best interests of children.

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  Enable police to distinguish between a child in need of care and protection, a child who is in conflict
with the law as also an adult criminal.

 Motivate the police to take an active part in bringing about positive changes in the lives of children in
difficult circumstances.

 To help the children to file their complaints in a friendly atmosphere.

After open house discussion, post course assessment was done, and the training winded up with vote of
thanks

6. Training output/outcome:

Improved police attitudes and practice in relation to child rights and child protection. However, the
positive outcome of police training is not limited to the child alone: society also benefits from a
culture where human rights, justice and compassion are valued and where its most vulnerable
citizens are protected

7. Analysis of pre-post test

Attached in excel sheet separately.

8. Conclusion and Suggestions

After completion of the training program, we need to analyze and plan an overall strategy to improve
Practice of police in CSAE case management and case intervention.

Annexures Attached: Training Agenda

Time Topics Contents Methodology Resources

10.00- Registration NGO -KALYANI Staff &
10.15 Dharmendra Mallick
10.15- Inaugural Self-introduction, introduction Icebreaking, interactive,
10.30 Session & purpose sharing, Ground Lecture, PPT on
rule setting, Pre-assessment, introduction & purpose Dharmendra Mallick
Keynote address by Chief sharing, filling-up Pre-
guest, assessment questionnaire
10.30- Right-based Understanding Right-based Participatory, PPT,
11.15 Approach to Approach for Children, reading material Sukant Nayak
Children UNCRC,
11.15- Child Sexual Understanding Child Sexual Participatory, PPT, Bijoy Krushna
12.00 Abuse Abuse, dynamics of child reading material, film Pattanayak
sexual abuse, Impact on
Child’s Mental Health, signs
and symptoms of victim, online
safety
12.00- Child Sexual Focus on POCSO and JJ Act, Participatory, PPT, Bijoy Krushna
1.00 Abuse & Law CMPR Act. CP institutional reading material Pattanayak
mechanism, reporting
mechanism
1.00- Role of Understanding role Participatory PPT
1.30 Police/SJPU Sukant Nayak
1.30- Lunch
2.15
2.15- Guidelines and Guidelines, SoP by Participatory PPT, NCPCR guidelines for
3.15 SOPs government (Union & State), handling children

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 NCPCR,
3.15- Child Friendly Govt. guidelines (Union & Open house discussion, Rabindra Kumar SAhu
4.00 Police & Child- State) Lecture, film
friendly
Environment in Organising gathering protocols
Police Station (Outside)
4.00- Concluding Feedback, Post questionnaire Rabindra Kumar SAhu
4.30 Session Post Assessment and windup

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