Child Abuse: Psychology Modification Caused By Law

“To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation—is that good for the world?”  Anonymous

Child abuse does not come in one single package, but it created a life hell, Child sexual abuse has reached a critical situation in India. Child sexual abuse is a form of child maltreatment that includes sexual activity with a minor. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) as “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…”

Child sexual abuse does not need to include physical contact between a executioner and a child. Most of culprits are somebody the kid or family knows. Upwards of 93 per cent of unfortunate casualties younger than 18 know the abuser. A culprit doesn’t need to be a grown-up to hurt a kid. They can have any relationship to the kid including a more seasoned kin or mate, relative, an educator, a mentor or teacher, a guardian, or the parent of another youngster. As per 1 out of 6, ‘Child sexual maltreatment is the consequence of harsh conduct that exploits a youngster’s weakness and is not the slightest bit identified with the sexual direction of the oppressive individual.

India has one of the largest populations of children in the world, and Protection of children by the state is guaranteed to Indian citizens by an expansive reading of Article 21 of the Indian constitution. Child sexual abuse laws in India have been implemented as part of the nation’s child protection policies.

But in today’s world as with the spreading of the number of cases of child abuse, there are number of laws which are implemented by the parliament but our matter of concern is whether these laws are sufficient in dealing with the issue of child abuse or whether these laws can bring out the child from the trauma of child abuse

As in today world law in a statue and law in practice are totally different, As the Parliament of India passed the ‘Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Bill, 2011’ regarding child maltreatment on 22 May 2012 into an Act. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012 was established to give a strong lawful structure to the assurance of kids from offences of rape, lewd behaviour and erotic entertainment, while defending the enthusiasm of the kid at each phase of the legal procedure.

It is well known that the cases of child sexual abuse are usually not disclosed. Further, knowing and disclosing child sexual offence is highly difficult and highly personal decision for many family members and also for survivors. Both survivors and family members feel abashed and ashamed bearing the guilt, anger, frustration and emotional turmoil of the act. The fear of re-victimization because of medical examination, criminal justice system and poorly informed society members keeps them silent and undergo torture for long duration.

It also provides for various procedural reforms, making the tiring process of trial in India considerably easier for children. A sexually maltreat child is considered as ‘child in need of care and protection’ under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Police officer should therefore inform the Child Welfare Committee about every case under the Act within 24 hours.  It can appoint a support person for the child who will be responsible for psycho-social well-being of the child.

Though the POCSO Act, 2012 is an extremely good piece of legislation and it recognizes almost every known form of sexual abuse against children as punishable offence, a few challenges remain to be answered. There are few loopholes which are need to be rectify with the passage of time but the main concern that is remain about the psychology of a child which cannot be changed by any law or where law doesn’t work only work the environment in which the child live. Psychology of a child cannot be changed easily but it can only be changed with the passage of time.  A multi-dimensional, multi-agency team and multi-tier approach including access to psychosocial support is to be made available to deliver comprehensive care under one roof for victims of child sexual abuse.

“Childhood is a promise that is never kept” – Ken Hill