Raghav JhunjhunwalaAIR 4 · CSE 2025 · 190 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening
POCSO Act marks a watershed movement in codifying Child Rights and protecting them for evil shadows Impact on Child Rights & welfare
Body · points and prose
sions)
- Defines various types of sexual offences against children
- mandates checklists for schools, etc
- clearly defines punishment & goes upto death penalty
- Guilty until proven (onus upon offender)
Impact on Child Rights & welfare
(1) Case reporting ↑sed. → Earlier, case reporting was minimal due to lack of faith & general/common approach to offences towards children.
(ii) speedy trials : special provisions courts wrt child abuse..
(iii) creation of deterrence : It is created only by certainty & not severity of punishment.
(iv) creation of child friendly infra by schools, etc. as part of compliances.
(v) mandatory background check of staff (Ryan school tragedy)
(vi) duty of public to report to authorities about possession of child porn by any person.
India is a signatory to UN-CRC (UN Convention on Rights of children) ; laws like POCSO stands as testament to India's unwavering commitment towards safe & healthy upbringing of children (DPSP Article 45 FD Article 51A
diagram India's overall legal framework for child protection
- Juvenile Justice Act
- Adoption
- Juvenile delinquency
- Children in need of care
- Child labour Prohibition
- RTE 2021
- POCSO
- POCSO adds the most critical layer to the mandate.
Shortcomings of POCSO
(1) Tribals: Due to their cultural acceptance, pre 18 yrs marriage consummation is often picked up by Police.
(2) Lack of scope for consensual relationships before 18 yrs.
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However, still POCSO remains a landmark legislation to uphold child safety & welfare in India.