Title: Statute Reform Proposal Report on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) Act, 2012
Name: Manaswini Vakulabharanam
Date: 06-11-2023
Course: B.A.LL.B (from Pendekanti Law College, Hyderabad)
Introduction
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 was enacted to protect
children from sexual abuse and exploitation. It was introduced in 2012 and came into effect
on November 14, 2012. The primary objective of the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences(POCSO) Act is to provide legal protection to children under the age of 18 from
various forms of sexual abuse and exploitation. The act acknowledges the vulnerability of
children to sexual offenses and seeks to ensure their safety and well-being by defining and
criminalizing specific acts, establishing procedures for reporting and addressing such
offenses, and setting out stringent penalties for those found guilty of committing sexual
offenses against children.
The Act has been hailed as a landmark legislation, but it has also been criticized for being
ineffective in some areas. This report proposes a number of amendments to the POCSO Act
to make it more effective and to address its shortcomings.
Shortcomings of the Act
The POCSO Act has a number of shortcomings, which have limited its effectiveness in
combating child sexual abuse. These include:
1. Low conviction rates: The conviction rate for child sexual abuse cases in India is
very low, at around 30%. One of the primary reasons for low conviction rates is the
lack of awareness and understanding of POCSO Act among the general public law
enforcement and even judicial personnel. In many cases victims and their families
may face social stigma and pressure, shortage of specialised courts and personnel is
also one of the reasons, and the difficulty of proving child sexual abuse in court.
2. Long pendency of cases: Child sexual abuse cases often take many years to be
disposed of in court. Delayed court proceedings and long pendency of cases can
subject child victims to prolonged trauma and emotional distress. It often means that
victims and their families have to endure the stress of legal proceedings for an
extended period, exacerbating the psychological impact of the abuse they
experienced. When cases drag on for an extended period, there is a higher risk of
witness intimidation or coercion, especially if the accused parties are influential or
have the opportunity to exert pressure on the victims and their families during the
extended legal process.
3. Weak punishments: The punishments for child sexual abuse under the POCSO Act
are relatively weak, ranging from three years to life imprisonment, the act specifies
imprisonment terms, but the duration of these sentences may be seen as too short for
the severity of the crimes. This does not deter many people from committing child
sexual abuse.
4. Lack of support for victims: Victims of child sexual abuse often do not receive the
support they need to recover from their trauma. This includes access to medical
care, psychological counselling, and legal aid.
Proposed Amendments
To address the shortcomings of the POCSO Act, the following amendments are proposed:
1. Improve the conviction rate: To increase the conviction rate of POCSO cases the
government should take steps to bring adequate training and resources to the police
officers and prosecution. Fastrack courts and designating and increasing the number
of special courts launch of public awareness campaigns and support the development
of victim support services.
2. Reduce the pendency of cases: The government should take steps to reduce the
pendency of child sexual abuse cases. This includes increasing the number of courts
and judges dedicated to child sexual abuse cases, and providing fast-track trials for
these cases.
3. Increase the punishments: The punishments for child sexual abuse under the
POCSO Act should be increased to make them more deterrent. For example, the
minimum punishment for child sexual abuse should be increased to five years in
prison.
4. Provide more support for victims: The government should provide more support to
victims of child sexual abuse. This includes access to medical care, psychological
counselling, and legal aid. The government should also provide financial assistance to
victims and their families.
5. Make the law more gender-neutral: The POCSO Act currently only protects
children from sexual offences committed by persons of the opposite sex. The Act
should be amended to protect children from sexual offences committed by persons of
the same sex as well.
6. Expand the scope of the Act: The POCSO Act currently only covers sexual offences
committed against children below the age of 18. The Act should be amended to
expand its scope to cover sexual offences committed against children of any age.
7. Create a specialized child protection agency: The government should create a
specialized child protection agency to investigate and prosecute child sexual abuse
cases. This agency should be staffed by trained professionals who have expertise in
dealing with child sexual abuse.
Legal and Practical implications
1. Providing more discretion to judges in sentencing: The current sentencing
guidelines under the POCSO Act are very rigid, and do not allow judges to take into
account the individual circumstances of each case. The report proposes to give judges
more discretion in sentencing offenders, so that they can tailor the sentence to the
specific facts of the case.
2. Introducing more progressive measures for rehabilitation of offenders: The
current focus of the POCSO Act is on punishment, rather than rehabilitation. The
report proposes to introduce more progressive measures for rehabilitation of
offenders, such as counselling and therapy. This would help to reduce the recidivism
rate for child sex offenders.
3. Providing training to judges and judicial staff on the POCSO Act: Proving
training to training to judges and judicial staff for the cases of POCSO, this would
help to ensure that cases are handled fairly and efficiently.
4. Setting up victim-friendly courtrooms and procedures: Victim friendly
courtrooms and procedures are very important for children to support their tender
minds; this would help to reduce the trauma that victims experience during the trial
process.
5. Providing financial assistance to victims and their families: Providing of financial
assistance to the victims of these types of crimes, due to lack of speedy trial there is a
huge of amount of expenditure for the families of victims if court or the respective
government provides assistance to the family of the victim it would help the victim
suffering and also help in rising the conviction rate.
6. Launching awareness campaigns about child sexual abuse and the POCSO Act
Most of the victims facing the abuse are unaware of what they are facing, it very
important to make children aware of what is sexual abuse and how to report and
handle the situation, conducting mor and more campaigns and awareness drives, this
would help to prevent abuse and encourage victims to report it.
Conclusion
The proposed amendments to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,
2012 will make it more effective in combating child sexual abuse. The amendments will
address the shortcomings of the Act by improving the conviction rate, reducing the pendency
of cases, increasing the punishments, and providing more support for victims. The
government should take immediate steps to implement the proposed amendments. This will
help to protect children from sexual abuse and to ensure that perpetrators of child sexual
abuse are brought to justice. By implementing the proposed reforms, the government can
make the POCSO Act more effective in protecting children from sexual abuse and in
ensuring that perpetrators of child sexual abuse are brought to justice.
References
https://thecourtdirect.com/loudoun-county-circuit-court/
https://vakilsearch.com/blog/sexually-provocative-dress-dilute/
