11/22/22, 10:59 PM Five things to know about the POCSO Act

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Five things to know about the POCSO

Act
November 12, 2021, 8:18 PM IST / Parinaz Madan in Developing India, India, TOI

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The POCSO Act was enacted to protect WRITE

children from sexual offences. Here are

key features of the act that you need to
TOP VOICES
know, especially if you work with children.
Parinaz Madan
Arun Ram
Parinaz Madan is a legal A 2019 Economist Intelligence Unit report
consultant to a leading Chennai Ta
Indian multinational examining the responses of 60 countries
corporation and works
on corporate and to child abuse revealed some interesting
Sanjiv Sh
commercial law matters. insights. It rated India’s legal framework
A member of iProbono, Cash Flow
she has provided leg ... for protecting children from sexual abuse
MORE
and exploitation the highest among all Santosh
the surveyed countries. On this metric, City City Ba

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11/22/22, 10:59 PM Five things to know about the POCSO Act

India outranked the United Kingdom, SA Aiyar

Sweden, and Australia, the top three Swaminom

countries considered to have the best

environment for children by the report.
TOP EDITORIALS
So, what are the primary laws against Decoding BJP’
1
child sexual abuse in India? became the de
sense in the sta
better statecra
The Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act, 2012, (POCSO Act) and its 2 Another day, an
expansion
corresponding rules were enacted with
the objective of protecting children from Can we create
3
a slew of sexual offences and introducing ourselves?

child-friendly judicial mechanisms for

dealing with such offences. Yet, despite
the existence of such comprehensive
child sexual abuse laws in our country, the
scale of such abuse is staggering.
According to a 2017 survey conducted by
World Vision India, one in every two
children is a victim of sexual abuse in
India. Further, in a majority of the cases,
the perpetrators are known to the victim,
leading to a reluctance on the victim’s
part in approaching authorities for
redressal.

Incidents of child abuse have also risen

exponentially since the Covid-19
pandemic, with new and insidious forms
of cybercrime rearing their ugly heads.
Moreover, as a recent study demonstrates,
the general level of awareness of the
POCSO Act remains woefully inadequate
in our country.

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11/22/22, 10:59 PM Five things to know about the POCSO Act

This month, as we celebrate Children’s

Day in India, it is a fitting time to foster
awareness about India’s child sexual
abuse laws. Here are five key things to
know about the POCSO Act, particularly if
you work with children in the
development sector:

1. It is a gender-neutral law

By defining a child as ‘any person’ below

the age of 18 years, the POCSO Act sets a
gender-neutral tone for the legal
framework available to child sexual abuse
victims. Consequently, a child of any
gender who has been sexually wronged
has access to the remedies provided
under the act. The act also does not
distinguish between perpetrators of child
sexual abuse on the grounds of gender,
and there have been instances where the
courts have convicted women for such
abuse.

2. Not reporting abuse is an offence

The flagship feature of the POCSO Act,

and arguably the most debated one, is
the mandatory reporting obligation
imposed under Section 19. It requires
every person who suspects or has
knowledge of a sexual offence being
committed against a child to report it to
the local police or the Special Juvenile
Police Unit.

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11/22/22, 10:59 PM Five things to know about the POCSO Act

Any person in charge of an institution

who fails to report the commission of a
sexual offence relating to a subordinate is
liable to be punished.

The act not only punishes the perpetrator

of sexual abuse, but also penalises those
who have failed to report the offence with
either imprisonment or a fine or both.
Any person in charge of a company or an
institution who fails to report the
commission of a sexual offence relating to
a subordinate under their control is liable
to be punished with imprisonment and a
fine under Section 21 of the act. The act,
however, exempts children from any non-
reporting liabilities. Over the years,
criminal actions have been initiated
against a number of individuals,
particularly those in charge of educational
institutions, for hushing up child sexual
abuse offences.

3. No time limit for reporting abuse

Typically, the trauma that child sexual

abuse victims endure prevents them
from voicing their complaints
immediately. Recognising this, in 2018,
the Union Ministry of Law and Justice
clarified that there is no time or age bar
for reporting sexual offences under the
POCSO Act. Consequently, a victim can
report an offence at any time, even a
number of years after the abuse has been
committed. Therefore, organisations
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11/22/22, 10:59 PM Five things to know about the POCSO Act

dealing with children in India cannot

shun child sexual abuse complaints raised
against their employees on the pretext of
lapse of time. On the other hand,
numerous states in the US and several
countries across the European Union
continue to impose limitation periods for
child sexual abuse victims seeking legal
recourse. Such limitation periods create
formidable barriers for victims who intend
on voicing their sexual abuse allegations
later in life.

4. Maintaining confidentiality of the

victim’s identity

Section 23 of the POCSO Act prohibits

disclosure of the victim’s identity in any
form of media, except when permitted by
the special courts established under the
act. A violation of this section can attract
punishments under the act, regardless of
whether such disclosures are made in
good faith. Reiterating this position, the
Supreme Court issued a host of directions
in 2018 forbidding, among other things,
revealing a POCSO victim’s identity on
social media.

5. New obligations under the POCSO

Rules

Last year the government introduced a

fresh set of POCSO Rules. There are three
chief takeaways from these rules for any
organisation dealing with children in

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11/22/22, 10:59 PM Five things to know about the POCSO Act

India. Firstly, any institution housing

children, or coming in regular contact
with them, is required to conduct a
periodic police verification and
background check of every employee
who might interact with a child. Secondly,
such an institution must impart regular
training to sensitise its employees on
child safety and protection. Thirdly, and
most importantly, it has to adopt a child
protection policy based on the principle of
zero tolerance to violence against
children. This policy must mirror the child
protection policy of the state government
in which the organisation operates.

Legal imperatives aside, child protection

policies are absolutely crucial for any
organisation involved with children. These
policies streamline procedures for dealing
with child abuse incidents and mitigate
arbitrary actions when such incidents
surface. This, in turn, prevents
reputational damage and enhances an
organisation’s credibility.

A well-drafted child protection policy will

clearly define the organisation’s child
abuse prevention measures and chart out
a redressal mechanism to resolve child
abuse incidents. In doing so, it will reflect
the mandatory reporting obligation
under the POCSO Act and vest authority
in a specified group of individuals within
the organisation to address child abuse

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11/22/22, 10:59 PM Five things to know about the POCSO Act

complaints and implement the policy.

Most significantly, a robust child
protection policy will inspire confidence
that an organisation will deal with child
abuse concerns fairly and in accordance
with the due process of law.
Children’s Day is a good time for
organisations to move beyond symbolic
gestures and implement effective child
protection practices and policies. After all,
what could be a more meaningful way to
honour the children under their care?
—
This article was originally published on
India Development Review.

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TOP COMMENT

S Padavil
203 days ago

Excellent! Finally, after myriads

victims,India has awakened to the sordid
reality!

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DISCLAIMER
Views expressed above are the author's
own.

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