Bill to protect children from sexual offenders

[1]

Sexual abuse of children is an ugly truth, which for long has been brushed under the carpet. Now, the landmark Protection of Children from Sexual Offences bill, seeking to prevent sexual abuse of children, with provisions for stringent punishment for such offences has been cleared. But the million-dollar question is, how? The major hitch, according to activists, could be the implementation, as mostly the cases of abuse go unreported.
Sanjay Gupta, director Chetna, an NGO working for children, agrees that the bill would make sense only if people come forward to seek help. “Unfortunately, parents don’t report abuse for fear of putting their family’s honour at stake. This is because the abuser is generally someone from within the family,” he says.
Interestingly, this Bill provides for treating sexual assault as “aggravated offence” when it is committed by a person in position of trust, including a member of the security forces, police officer, public servant, staff at the child’s home, hospital or educational institution.
Ritu Dingra, CBSE counsellor, recalls the recent incident when the father of an eight-year-old boy filed an FIR against a doctor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for molesting his child who was undergoing treatment there. “This bill will not only act as a deterrent, but will also give further courage to such parents,” she adds.
The punishment for penetrative sexual assault has been proposed at a minimum of five years in jail and a minimum fine of `50,000. Sexual assault also includes fondling the child in an inappropriate way, and will invite a penalty of a minimum of three years in jail.
According to the report by the National Crime Records Bureau, Delhi reported the highest crime rate in relation to children with an average of 16 cases per one lakh citizens when compared to the national average of 2 cases per lakh. Also, the “Crime in India 2009” report puts the number of rape of minors at 296 and incest at 11 in the capital. The figures are alarming, yet activists believe that actual figures can be much higher. “Often the matter is hushed up by the police because of which the official data does not mirror the true social conditions,” says child rights lawyer Heena Sabha.
“This was a long-awaited bill, and is a brilliant piece of legislation. It covers many areas which were left out by other acts,” adds director Council for Social Research, Dr Ranjana Kumari. “But it needs support from other quarters of the society to bear results,” she adds.