Issues and challenges in the implementation of POCSO ACT: A review

Abstract

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 was implemented with the aim of protecting children from sexual offences. Special courts were established for the trial of child sexual abuse matters which was provided by the POCSO Act. But, implementation of this Act has been delayed because of corruption and obsolete legal proceedings. It is therefore has become a heated topic at the present scenariowhen the general public would like to know more about how effective this Act would be inprotecting children from sexual abuse with the help of the Law. The paper discusses the perpetrators of the Sexual abuseand their relationship with the victims. Through the help of the study made by the Women and Child Ministry it is known that a large majority of the victims are girls though boys were also part of it. The research paper discusses the main factors which are responsible for the delay in implementation of this Act. In this context, the paper wishes to say that there should be a serious, careful and continuous study of the obstacles in the implementation of POCSO Act. It is important to understand that how boys and girls face some crucial problems when reporting sexual abuse from people known to them. Most of the victims experiencethe terrific social humiliation and feelings of shame and guilt when they report that they are sexually assaulted. In spite of its loopholes POCSO Act has been amended recently as the Union Cabinet has agreed to strengthen it by charging death penalty for serious sexual assault on childrenin its recent meeting which was held on 10th July 2019. India is facing many social problems today among them isthe issue of Child Sexual Abuse, which is widespread across the country and affecting children of all ages. “Half of the country's children face some form of sexual abuse with 18.3 percent were physically abused and 8.6 percent were sexually abused in 2017.A national estimate of 1,720 children died from abuse and neglect in fiscal year 2017 compared to 1,750 children who died in fiscal year 2016”. (Child Abuse Report, Women and Child Development India, 2019). When a person uses a child for his/her sexual gratification is termed to be known as Child Sexual Abuse. Child Sexual Abuse is mostly committed by someone who happens to be in relation or in a position of trust, or of power and/or authority. Most of Child abuses take place in a relationship, as it is much safer and easier for a person to take advantage of the child's weakness andhelplessness. Child Sexual Abuse may be verbal, visual and physical in nature and it is physical as well as moral violation of the child's body and trust which is against nature and law. “Although the state is required to give wide publicity to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, the law is relatively unknown even to those who need to apply it” says Anil Malhotra in his article “Strong Provisions and Weak implementation”.According to Malhotra, the importance and provisions are unknown even to the people belong to executive class though they are very much interested in implementing the Act. In spite of its great prevalence, most of the violence done against children are often hidden, unseen or under-reported. In a conventional country like India sexuality is considered as a taboo, so discussing sexuality and sexual abuse is unimaginable. Parents or guardians often do not have the knowledge to safeguard their children either by educating the children about sexual abuse or by being watchful in order to prevent abuse on their children. In such a context, it is the responsibility of our education system to provide the basic knowledge to children about how to identify unsafe touches and situations and also about self-defense. But only has been made by our education system to address it. There are also some studies say that Child Sexual Abuse can have a worst impact on the mental health of the child and if it is not healed at the earlier stage it would even affect at adulthood. In order to prevent all these problems one needs to undergo therapy and counselling. But the major problem is that only a few NGOs are active in counselling, guiding and sheltering the abused children. Whereas, one cannot expect this kind of support either from government offices or from central Ministry as there won't be any resources, proficiency and country-specific research available to guide training. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 was implemented in order to protect children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse; and to support them through legal provisions.