IMPHAL, March 27: `The recent successful case against a Chowkidar offender, will definitely be a deterrent in the implementation of POCSO and performance of special courts in Manipur` remarked Th Rajkishor, Member Secretary, CWC Imphal West, speaking as the resource person at the State level consultation on POCSO Act organised by Manipur Alliance for Child Rights at the Manipur Press Club, Imphal.
He gave detailed profile of the Act to the audience, including several police officers. `The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012/Notification dated 14 Nov 2012 was formulated in order to effectively address the heinous crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children,` he said.
The Act defines a child as any person below 18 years of age, and regards the best interests and well being of the child as the paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child, he continued.
It recognises different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography, he added.
He said it defines sexual assault to be `aggravated` under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority vis-a-vis the child, like a family member, police officer, teacher, administrator or doctor.
People who traffic children for sexual purposes are also punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the Act, he said.
The Act also provides for mandatory reporting of sexual offences and recognises almost every known form of sexual abuse against children as punishable offences, he further said. It further prescribes stringent punishment graded as per the gravity of the offence, with a maximum term of rigorous imprisonment for life, and fine, he added.
The Act also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process. Thus, the police personnel receiving a report of sexual abuse of a child are given the responsibility of making urgent arrangements for the care and protection of the child, such as obtaining emergency medical treatment for the child, with or without lodging FIR and placing the child in a shelter home if required, he said.
The police are also required to bring the matter to the attention of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) within 24 hours of receiving the report, so that CWC can proceed to make further arrangements for the safety and security of the child, he explained.
The Act further makes provisions for avoiding the re-victimisation 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 as child-friendly as possible, Rajkishor said
K. Pradipkumar, Convenor MACR added that, `Above all, the Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported. It subjects the different agencies of the State, such as the police, judiciary and child protection machinery to collaborate in securing justice for a sexually abused child.
Another important provision in the Act is that it provides for the Special Court to determine the amount of compensation to be paid to a child who has been sexually abused, so that this money can then be used for the child`™s medical treatment and rehabilitation, he said.
Since mid 2013, we now have two functional Special Courts namely Session Judge Manipur East and Session Judge Manipur West. Several cases are surfacing, for instance we have 31 cases in Imphal West district and 16 cases in Bishnupur under POCSO. The challenge ahead is to spread more awareness to health and education sectors and those directly associated with children, especially in the frontiers, Pradipkumar said
Another new aspect of constraint was shared by the police department namely N. Inaocha Singh, Inspector/OC Bishnupur, regarding the defunct forensic service at Pangei. He suggest some financial availability either with the designated court or the women police station to meet the medical and related expenditures during the investigations.
The government has set up women police stations in all the districts. With the increasing crime rate in the state, hopefully there should be a corresponding increase in the staffs to encourage legal justice for children, Inaocha said.