The Act makes it very clear that the police is required to file an FIR immediately. In reality, it takes about 7-10 hours after parents have approached the police for an FIR to be filed. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, POCSO Act, POCSO cases, CSA, POCSO implementation, sexual abuse, FIR, Rati Foundation director, Badlapur school, Bombay High Court, Indian express news. The sexual abuse of two four-year-old students by a contractual staffer at a school in Badlapur in August brought into spotlight the issues in implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The Bombay High Court slammed the police machinery for not working unless there is a public outburst.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
Three police officials were also suspended for not investigating the allegations and the school management is also named in the FIR for not reporting the incident. Lawyer and director of Rati Foundation, Persis Sidhva, who has been working on the issues of enactment of POCSO Act, speaks with The Indian Express on the Act.
How do you think the POCSO Act fares in dealing with protection of children?
If you read the law, it has adequate child-enabling provisions and the punishment is very stringent. Now, there is even death penalty under certain circumstances. So, I do not know how the punishment can get anymore stringent. Incidents like the Badlapur cases unfortunately are happening every day, where children get sexually abused at school or by someone known to them and the police response is beyond pathetic. In such cases, many schools also do everything in their power to prevent an FIR from being filed.
The Act makes it very clear that the police is required to file an FIR immediately. In reality, it takes about 7-10 hours after parents have approached the police for an FIR to be filed. This was the case 12 years ago when the Act was introduced and this continues to be case today. When cases like the Badlapur incident get highlighted, governments take the easy way out to say that laws will be made stringent. The actual answer is how do you implement existing laws and how do you make stakeholders accountable.
What are the major flaws in implementation of the law?
When you enter a police station, you are made to wait. Many attempts are made to directly and indirectly dissuade you to file the complaint. The law says that the statement is to be recorded by a lady officer but usually more than one person is present when taking the statement, making the child uncomfortable. It takes time for the statement to be finally recorded as there is multiple back and forth between the many officials at the police station. Police will usually give the reason that they are building a strong case but it only ends up confusing the child and the parents.
Ideally the child should not be taken to the police station. In many cases, parents are not aware so they take the child with them. Once they come to the police station, they must be given priority. They should be made to comfortable, taken to the women’s cell within the police station for privacy. Under the rules of the POCSO Act, there is a FORM A. At the time of registration of the FIR, the police officer has to hand over the copy of the form to the family which lists the various rights that they have like compensation, special educator, free legal aid. The police are also expected to explain this to the parents. But that never happens. In a city like Mumbai, even the medical examination takes about 2-3 days to complete. All these experiences end up re-victimising the child and the parents.
For sensisting the authorities, training sessions are recommended. Do they help?
I feel training has become something very similar to the demand for stringent punishment after such incidents. There is again talk of the need for training of police officials and school authorities. Most police officials are exceptional in training but may end up going back to doing the same practices. Hence, training is not the only answer. In the Badlapur case too, the police officials who are suspended may have attended training too in the past 12 years since the POCSO Act was enacted. Police should do an audit on what is the response to the trainings. How many go back and implement what they learn?
The police are generally the first place where the parent or a child goes to and therefore their lack of response is critical to the non-implementation of the law. Action must be taken against senior police authorities too. If something like this is happening at the police station, clearly the senior authorities up the hierarchy are also responsible. The conversation needs to be around accountability.
What can a parent who is dissuaded from filing a complaint or is not given access to proper provisions of the law do?
There is a need for citizens to know the law. There is an increase in schools now requesting for training to their staffers on POCSO Act. As much as it is important for staff to be trained, parents too need to be made part of it so they know their rights. In many cases, they will get better response at the police station if they are accompanied by a lawyer or a person from an NGO but many will not be able to access these services either.
I feel that in cases where the parents feel that they are not being helped at the police station, they also must know that they have options to escalate. Most DCPs for instance, are available after 3-4pm at their offices to hear grievances of the people. Although again, all of it comes down to accountability of the police in implementing the law.
What about the response of schools?
Schools too are reluctant to file an FIR as they are worried about their reputation. They are happy to educate children on personal safety by conducting sessions but the critical aspect is when a child comes forward after such sessions, what is their response? I feel that instead of being reluctant to report, they should take a proactive step which shows their willingness to stand by the child and report.
