Protection For The Child In POCSO Act, 2012: A Socio-Legal Study

Abstract

Understanding child sexual abuse in India can be highlighted with six phrases such as ‘helplessness’, ‘entrapment’, ‘conspiracy of silence’, ‘delayed disclosure’, ‘Investigation’, ‘courtroom traumas’ and ‘delayed-convictions’. The superficial legislative changes addressing sexual abuse in the existing acts have failed to consider the ‘physio-psychological trauma’ that a child has to undergo because of the offence. The justice system has failed in addressing the real abuse, prolonged delivery of cases, cross examinations of the abused child. All such situations put a child in the disadvantaged position in its legal process. Thus, considering the crimes committed on a child it was decided to bring laws in India to safeguard the child sexual victims and to punish those criminals. It started firstly by ratifying the “Optional Protocol of CRC”, the spearheaded movements by various NGO’s and civic groups on protection of children rights have finally led to the enactment of the POCSO Act,2012. HYPOTHESIS HYPOTHESIS 1: Whether this dissertation initiates to understand and recognize the ‘four general principles of the Convention of Rights to Child’ through the POCSO Act 2012? HYPOTHESIS 2:Whether the Special Courts initiated under the POCSO Act 2012 is making a difference through its substantive and procedural functionality in various Courts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh?