The presence of anti-social elements in society compelled lawmakers to introduce an Act that would specifically deal with sexual offences against children. With an objective to make the mechanism of judiciary child-friendly, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO) was enacted. Any individual, irrespective of gender, who is under 18 years of age and faces any sexual wrongdoing can access remedies under this Act.
The most distinctive feature of this Act is mentioned in Section 19. It says that if a person has knowledge about the sexually suffering of any minor and still has not reported it to the local police station or the competent authorities, that person will be held liable to be punished under Section 21 with a fine or imprisonment. However, children are exempted from liabilities of not reporting the issue.
The trauma faced by sexually abused children can be so intense at times that it doesn’t let them do open up and report it immediately. In 2018, the Union Ministry of Law and Justice said that there is no time bar to report the abuse. One can report about it according to their convenience.
Also, the Act was amended in 2019 to oblige any person, corporation or institution that has contact with children to undergo periodic police verification and background checks on personnel who interact with children. Such an institution must provide frequent training to its personnel in order to educate them about child safety and protection. It must also implement a child protection policy that is founded on the idea of zero tolerance for violence against children. This policy must be consistent with the state government’s child protection policy in the state in which the organisation operates.
According to the survey of world vision India held in 2017, one out of two children are survivors of sexual offences in India. In the maximum of the cases, it is found that the accused is known to the survivor. As a result, the victim is hesitant to contact authorities for remedy.
The government of India should emphasise creating awareness in the society and should form a strategy to counter social stigma and dogma on an individual level, parents and guardians should keep track of their children and should curb the communication gap between them.