POCSO ACT since 2012, its implementation, impact, and future pathways.

Policy Perspectives Foundation

Author

“POCSO ACT SINCE 2012: ITS IMPLEMENTATION, IMPACT AND
FUTURE PATHWAYS”

The POCSO Act 2012 is a crucial legislation in India aimed at addressing child sexual abuse (CSA) and ensuring justice, rehabilitation, and protection for victims. Despite its significance, challenges such as resource shortage, weak investigative processes, and low conviction rates have emerged as serious challenges to its  effective implementation. Existing literature highlights these aspects but lacks comprehensive analysis across diverse regions and stakeholders. Current trends indicate a rise in reported cases of CSA, underscoring the urgency for improved implementation. This study aims to assess India's progress in implementing the POCSO Act since 2012, considering regional disparities and stakeholder perspectives, to identify areas for enhancement and promote effective access to justice for sexually abused children.

OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of the study are to:

1. Analyzing the cases reported under the Act between 2012 and 2022;
2. To gain insights into prevalence and patterns of CSA across different age groups;
3. Identify any trends or patterns in terms of the frequency, location, and nature of reported cases;
4. To obtain geographic zone-specific observations, understand challenges faced in different regions, and gather suggestions for improving the effectiveness of the POCSO Act; 5. Identify the key challenges to effective implementation of the Act; and
6. Recommend specific measures to strengthen effectiveness of the Act.

Methodology, Methods and Data Cleaning

The study employed a combination of rights-based, exploratory, and empirical approaches, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection and analysis. Desk research involved analyzing NCRB data and relevant literature to understand trends and contextual factors related to the implementation of the
POCSO Act. Interactions with experts, interviews with teachers, students, NGO representatives, parents, and the general public provided diverse perspectives on regional variations and challenges. Data cleaning ensured accuracy and consistency of inputs, while quantitative analysis was conducted using MS Excel and SPSS,
generating tables, charts, and mapping visualizations. Qualitative data were analyzed through coding and thematic analysis to identify patterns and insights relevant to the study objectives.

SALIENT FINDINGS

Legislative Framework and Provisions:
The POCSO Act aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation, incorporates crucial provisions for mandatory reporting, gender-neutral protection, and child-friendly procedures. However, there are challenges arising from conflicts with other legal statutes, procedural ambiguities, and contextual hurdles,
necessitating ongoing refinement and adaptation to ensure effective enforcement.

Regional Trends and Patterns:

 Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra emerge as states with the highest reported cases of child sexual abuse, indicating the need for targeted interventions in densely populated regions.
 Years like 2019 and 2020 witnessed a decline in reported cases possibly due to the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of adapting responses to external crises.

Gender Disparities and Vulnerable Groups:
 Female children constitute the overwhelming majority of victims, emphasizing the urgent need for gender-sensitive interventions and prevention strategies.
 Marginalized communities, particularly Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), are disproportionately affected, necessitating intersectional approaches to address vulnerabilities.

Pre-Trial stage challenges:

 There is a variation in quality amongst support persons and inadequacy in number of organisations which offer counseling services.
 There is a lack of a standardized framework for the training of support persons
 Resource constraints, and privacy breaches hinder effective case registration and victim support, exacerbating trauma and impeding prosecution efforts.
 The FSL has experienced delays in providing reports in some cases, citing a shortage of manpower and specialists as the primary challenge.
 Deficiencies in infrastructure, staffing, and coordination between agencies impede the pre-trial stage of POCSO cases.

Trial Stage Challenges:
Logistical constraints, infrastructure deficiencies, and personnel shortages continue to be areas that need attention; while challenges in evidence collection and witness reliability impact conviction rates.

Rehabilitation related Challenges
In addition to the absence of a proper protocol for rehabilitating children post-incident in some Child Care Institutions (CCIs), there may be deficiencies in providing appropriate education tailored to each child's needs, as well as opportunities for vocational training and economic empowerment.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Child Protection and Support Measures There is a need for:
 Increasing availability of support persons and legal advisors for victims.
 Improving educational facilities in Child Care Institutions (CCIs) to minimize disruptions in children's education.
 Establishing district-level support networks and departments for effective service provision.

Child Welfare Committee (CWC)

There is a need for:
 Extending safety measures to street children and expand the scope of the CWC.
 Maintaining autonomy of the CWC and provide training and awareness programs for CWC members.
 Need for greater attention towards data standardization amongst the CWCs.
 Encouraging greater adherence to protocols in preparing and implementing Individual Care Plans (ICPs) for children affected by POCSO.

Support Persons
There is a need for:
 Establishing clear guidelines for the role of support persons.
 Ensuring sufficient financial provisions for support persons.
 Clarifying and standardizing procedures for victim production before the CWC.
 Establishing a district-level cohort of support persons.

Counselling Services
There is a need for:
 Practice Effective counselling in schools for early detection and prevention of CSA.
 Need for the presence of counsellors at police stations to assist victims during reporting.

Police Personnel
There is a need for:
 Allocating sufficient resources for child-friendly infrastructure.
 Conducting comprehensive training programs for police officers on child rights and handling cases involving child victims.
 Creating child-friendly environments in police stations and courts.

One Stop Centres (OSC)
There is a need for:
 Ensuring OSC, supporting women and children facing violence, including sexual assault and harassment, have adequate, dedicated staff, especially in hospitals with high numbers of child sexual abuse (CSA) cases.

Compensation
There is a need for:
 Ensuring standardized implementation of guidelines on victim compensation.
 Increasing awareness about compensation options amongst victims.

Functioning of Forensic Science Laboratories (Fsl)
There is a need for:
 Increasing the number of forensic labs and scientists to reach rural and semi- urban areas.
 Implementing better monitoring and supervision mechanisms.
 Setting up a different specialized unit in the lab should be set up in order to ensure speedy results. This may be introduced in form of an elaborative framework such as a ‘separate POCSO unit’ which directly examines any exhibits received for such cases to ensure efficiency and speedy results
 Considering a ‘zone -wise collection’ by FSL from a central point in each zone obviating the need for each Police station to dispatch the samples individually. FSL may be given adequate resources to collect the samples from these zones, where police will deliver them from local hospitals.

Awareness
There is a need for:
 Conducting detailed studies of guideline compliance in collaboration with parents and within schools to get a granular view.
 Introducing meaningful workshops for parents and engaging activity sessions for children as avenues to impart education about the POCSO Act and sex education. Additionally, consider incorporating these topics into school assemblies, guest speaker sessions, and interactive classroom discussions.