"CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN INDIA"
By: (1)Ananyaa Ajay Kumar (2) Anushree S Nair (3)Siva Praneetha Sreeramula (4) Rahul Suresh (5)Srinandini Kar
Interns, Daksha Legal
INTRODUCTION
One of the most vulnerable sections of the society in any part of the world is children. They need to be protected from the dangers of the world. Even in their immediate surroundings or environment, children are prone to hurt. One of the least spoken about but highly life- threatening danger to children comes in the form of Child Sexual Abuse. The definition of Child Sexual Abuse as given by the 1999 WHO Consultation on Child Abuse Prevention states that “Child sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or that violates the laws or social taboos of society.” Abuse in any form of a child leads to a harmful impact on the child’s psyche thereby affecting not just the present but the future of the child as well. There are many physical, mental and psychological adverse effects faced by a sexually abused child. The major problem that we see is that most children do not know what has happened to them and those who do open up about their abuse are later on silenced by their families. In this article, we talk about the status of children in India, various Acts that deal with and protect children against abuse and discrimination, indicators of Child Sexual Abuse and the rights for children as given in the Indian Constitution.
STATUS OF CHILDREN IN INDIA:
According to the latest government reports a child is sexually abused in every 15 minutes in India. The laws protecting children from sexual abuse have been in much more focus after a 10 year old rape victim was forced to give birth last year (2017) and two of her uncles were sentenced to life imprisonment. The reports released by the Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi depicted 106,958 cases of crime against children were committed in 2016. India is considered to be a country with the highest number of sexually abused children in the world since many people avoid filing complaints against the wrongdoers as they worry about the public image of the victim due to which the original number of sexual abuse cases would be higher.
To prevent the increase of such number of cases and to bring it down to a controllable figure, many people have started taking steps towards the welfare of children in India by protecting them from sexual abuse and one of such people is Mr. Kailash Satyarthi. He had won Nobel Peace Prize to start a campaign called ‘Full Stop’ which raised awareness and educate others about child sexual abuse. The word ‘sex’ is a taboo in the Indian society and this has a direct effect on children in India because teachers and parents don’t show much interest in teaching such subjects since its considered to be bad to be discussed in front of others as a result children don’t acquire the proper knowledge about it.
INDICATORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE:
• They avoid social interaction with others especially when they are alone
• The child might become sexually active at a young age
• They could have knowledge about sexual language that you wouldn’t expect them to have
• Physical symptoms like unusual discharge, STD’s and pregnancy could also be present
• Emotional difficulties like anger, anxiety and low self esteem
• The child may fear to go to a certain rooms or part of the house.
• The child may have frequent nightmares and could wet the bed while sleeping
• The child might not show any interest in participating in physical activities due to body pain.
• She/he could face problem while parenting or in relationships.
The main indicators of child sexual abuse is considered to be the behavioral and physical symptoms which helps us easily understand that the child has been sexually abused. But the problem we face here that is all the children don’t show the same symptoms as it depends on how mature and strong enough they are to control themselves when put in such situation.
ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
1. PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS:
Psychological effects means how the event has affected the mind especially as a functioning of awareness, feeling and motivation Few psychological effects of CSA include anger, guilt, shame, helplessness, isolation , betrayal which affect the psychological condition of the individual .
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): This disorder includes
a) Recurrent and intrusive recollections of the event.
b) Recurrent distressing dreams of the event.
c) Sudden acting or feeling as if the event were recurring e.g. "flashback" episodes, hallucinations, illusions.
d) Intense psychological distress at exposure to events that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
2. BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS:
Behavioral changes of the individual include withdrawal from school and social activities, show a change in achievement patterns, problems with concentration and exhibit various learning disabilities. The individual changes his or her attitude towards the society, various events or situations taking place in the individual’s life.
Behavioral changes are short term effects it also includes regressive behaviors such as thumb-sucking or bed-wetting and engage in aggressive acting out, daydreaming or become suicidal, demonstration of emotional problems and distorted self-image, depression and self-destructive behavior.
3. INTERPERSONAL PROBLEMS:
It includes difficulty to relate to others, loss of trust towards other individuals, fear of sexual partners , betrayal , victimization.
These interpersonal problems lead to relationship problems between individuals.
But also the lack of positive models, learned expectation of abuse, and the feeling that coercion and violence is a component for these relationships. The victims often enter into abusive relationships that involved physical, emotional, or psychological abuse or relationships with addicted partners.
4. PHYSICAL/HEALTH PROBLEMS:
Individuals with CSA history are likely to have Cardiopulmonary Symptoms where the individual experiences shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, chest pain and heart pain.
There is an association between CSA and other Pain disorders and have a greater risk for later musculoskeletal pain symptoms which include headache, backache, muscle ache, fibromyalgia, joint pain, and other general pain symptoms
Individuals with CSA history are at high risk of obesity as the developmental changes in BMI from childhood to early adulthood, the individual’s body mass increases.
PROTECTION AND PREVENTION OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Child sexual abuse is an alarming issue that is increasingly being reported in India lately. This abuse can be of various kinds including physical, mental, psychological or even in the form of neglect or exploitation. Child sexual abuse in India can be found everywhere including cities and villages, urban and rural areas. Wiping out child sexual abuse from India will require complex strategies and immense support.
Before 2012 there were no specific laws governing child sexual abuse and all kinds of violence against children was dealt under the Indian Penal code. However in recent times many laws like Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act of 2012 (POCSO) and Immoral traffic (prevention) act have been introduced and strengthened in their aim of fighting against child rights violation. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) 2012 was formulated in order to effectively address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. The Act received the President’s assent on 19th June 2012 and was notified in the Gazette of India on 20th June, 2012. The act defines a child as any person below the age of eighteen years and also defines different forms of sexual abuse including penetrative and non –penetrative assault and also sexual harassment and pornography.
The act provides for mandatory reporting of sexual offences and casts a legal duty upon persons who have knowledge of such offences to report the same. If they fail to do so they may be punished with six months imprisonment and/ or a fine. The Act further makes provisions for avoiding the re-victimization of the child at the hands of the judicial system. It provides for special courts that conduct the trial in-camera and without revealing the identity of the child, in a manner that is very child-friendly. Hence, the child may have a parent or other trusted person present at the time of testifying and can call for assistance from an interpreter, special educator, or any other professional while giving evidence. The Act also stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.
The immediate impact of both emotional and psychological trauma is immediately felt which can have long lasting effects in the minds of children. For the prevention of such abuse parents must educate and warn children about sexual advances and through the concept of unacceptable 'bad touch'. This communication must be constant and honest.
There are many NGOs too which have dedicated themselves towards fighting against child sexual abuse, providing rehab to victims and also engaging themselves in programmes such as communicating with teachers and parents and conducting camps by engaging children and educating them about child sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse of a child is often not spoken about or dealt with. It is essential for parents and guardians of the child to get sensitized and understand the degree of the problem. It is also crucial for the parents to create a protective environment for the child and to guide their children on how to protect themselves from sexual abuse.
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN UNDER THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
The Constitution of India guarantees several rights to children and enables the State to make provisions to ensure that the tender age of children is not abused. Article 15 of the Constitution of India, prohibits discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth. But, clause (3) of Article 15 provides that nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children. Prohibition contained in the Article shall not prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children. The provision is a social justice measure and specially enacted to protect the women and children. The fundamental right a child should get is the right to live under Article 21, including right to live a healthy life free from exploitation and abuses.
Article 39(e) creates a duty to the State to ensure health and strength of children. The Constitution requires the State to provide for protection of tender age of children and their protection from abuses. Engagement of children in vocations, generally forced, which are unsuitable to their age or strength are areas where the State has the duty to take care of. So is Article 39(f) which mandates the State to ensure the children gets opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in condition of freedom and dignity. It includes the State to ensure facilities for the development of children and to protect the childhood and youth against exploitation as well as moral and material abandonment.
RECENT AMENDMENTS:
The number of sexual assault cases against minor has been on a rise for the past one decade. In response to this rise, there has recently been various Acts that have been amended to meet the changes. The Indian Cabinet has approved the amendment of the criminal law amendment ordinance, 2018 which amended the IPC, the Evidence Act, and the Code of Criminal Procedure and POCSO which added the provision for sentencing the convicts to death penalty.
The cabinet also recently approved an ordinance seeking death penalty for rapists of girls below 12 years of age and stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape particularly below the age of 16 years. The minimum punishment of rape of women has been increased from imprisonment of 7 to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment. The punishment for gang rape of a girl less than 16 years will be life imprisonment. Gang rape or rape of a girl child below the age of 12 years will be 20 years of imprisonment, imprisonment for life or death.
CONCLUSION
Child Sexual Abuse or even for that matter any kind of abuse of children is a complex phenomenon which is deep rooted in the Indian society. It can be said that a major reason for this is the high levels of poverty and illiteracy in the country. Once the public is educated on this matter and the required awareness is spread not just in urban areas but more so in the rural areas, we can move forward to reduce the number of sexually abused children and provide a safe environment for them. Child sexual abuse today has turned into one of the world’s most silent crimes but the time has come to raise our voices and break the silence that enshrouds the light that should be shining upon the children.
