Supreme court for separate law to deal with child rape

Supreme court to parliament   

• Crimes against children was an indication of the abysmal depths to which society is falling.

• Rape of infants and children below 10 years was nothing but brutal perversion.

• It asked Parliament to enact a separate law providing for harsh punishment.

• This is the first time the Supreme Court has distinguished infants and children below 10 from the general description of “minors” given by law to anyone below the age of 18.

• Parliament had to separately define the word “child” in terms of rape.

• The court pointed out how Section 376 (2) (f) of the Indian Penal Code only talked of rape of a “woman below 12 years of age.” The Code had no specific provision dealing with punishment for raping a girl below 10 and infants.

• It argued that a special Act like Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 has not been able to prevent crimes against the children from rising.

IPC Section 376 (2) (f) :

Who ever commits rape on a woman when she is under twelve years of age shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may be for life and shall also be liable to fine: Provided that the Court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment of either description for a term of less than ten years.

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 :

Click here to read the complete Bill

• The Bill seeks to protect children from offences such as sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography. India is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child since 1992. 

• Any person below the age of 18 years is defined as a “child”.

• If an offence has been committed by a child, it shall be dealt with under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.

• A total of 8,904 cases were registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act during 2014.

Sexual assault against child in India and need for new law:

Nineteen percent of the world’s children live in India, which constitutes 42 percent of India’s total population.

The study’s main findings included: 53.22% of children reported having faced sexual abuse.

Among them 52.94% were boys and 47.06% girls.

Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi reported the highest percentage of sexual abuse among both boys and girls, as well as the highest incidence of sexual assaults.

Children on the street, at work and in institutional care reported the highest incidence of sexual assault.

The study also reported that 50% of abusers are known to the child or are in a position of trust and responsibility and most children had not reported the matter to anyone.

The number of child rape cases registered is indicative of sexual assault against the female child. A total of 48,338 child rape cases were recorded from 2001 to 2011.

These include 2,113 cases in 2001 and 7,112 cases during 2011.

The cases of child rape have been consistently increasing and India saw an increasing of 336% of child rape cases from 2001 (2,113 cases) to 2011 (7,112 cases).

A total of 8541, 12363 and 13766 cases of rape of children below 18 years of age were registered in the country during 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively (NCRB report).

The first five months(JAN-MAY) of 2015 saw 1,585 cases of rape and5,261 others of molestation and attempted rapes 

These are just the tip of the iceberg as the large majority of the cases of child rape are not reported to the police while female children regularly become victims of other forms of sexual assault too.

what does International law tells?

Africa had the highest prevalence rate of child sexual abuse (34.4%), primarily because of high rates in South Africa; Europe showed the lowest prevalence rate (9.2%).

Child sexual abuse is outlawed nearly everywhere in the world, generally with severe criminal penalties, including in some jurisdictions, life imprisonment or capital punishment.

 The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is an international treaty that legally obliges states to protect children’s rights. Articles 34 and 35 of the CRC require states to protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.

This includes outlawing the coercion of a child to perform sexual activity, the prostitution of children, and the exploitation of children in creating pornography. States are also required to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children. 

Article 37 of the Convention prohibits sentencing children under 18 years old to death or life imprisonment with no opportunity for parole. The United States does not comply with this article in its entirety,hence it is still not a party to it.