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By- Akriti Choudhary, 3rd Year, B.A., LL.B (Hons.) Student at Institute of Law, Nirma University For the first time, the concept of rape was only identified as sexual behaviour because it generally ignores the violence that tends to complement it. Sexual violence is, therefore, a very broad concept that includes rape too. Firstly, we need to begin by understanding the history and the essence of sexual crimes that have happened overnight. In India, following the significant amendments, Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, retained the legal meaning of the word rape as "whenever a man performs sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent or will, it amounts to rape." Indian Penal Code, 1860 § 376. Rape is still known as an 'act of force or superiority' in India because patriarchy plays a major role in the harassment of women. In 1860, sexual harassment of women was limited to peno-vaginal penetration as a major factor until recently when it took a significant leap due to improvements in sexual assault legislation; it currently encompasses penetrative such as peno-vaginal, peno-anal, peno-oral, body parts and non-penetrative such as controlling, rubbing, and kissing. For the past years, India is making legislation on the issue of sexual violence. It includes The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), and many other acts and amendments to the already existing laws. When an offender deliberately causes sexual harm to a minor, it is a crime known as Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). CSA can be in several types, including sexual penetration, genital, oral or anal sex of some sort with a minor, exhibitionism, pornography in front of the minor or pressuring the minor to masturbate, the creation of minors' pornographic videos, human slavery and all other sexual activity that affects the physical, emotional and mental health of the minor. In India, medical professionals lack understanding. They are unable to recognize the existence of sexual violence on the child that may be due to a lack of skills, knowledge, and training to detect it because sexual violence does not always appear openly. For example, there was a 14 or 15-year-old girl who unexpectedly gained a lot of weight and her parents had her tested, all the medical records were fine but when she was taken to a psychologist it was discovered that she was regularly abused and raped by her cousin and stopping this she had started eating a lot of food and added weight to look hideous. According to her, this was a solution to stop sexual violence. In August 2019, India amended the POCSO Act, 2012, to allow the death penalty for rape of children under the age of 12 years. Swagata Yadavar, Death Penalty for Sexual Offences Up 53% In 2018. The implementation of the ordinance was the government's reaction to the worldwide condemnation of minors' abuses in the district of Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir, and Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. The cabinet said this change or adjustment was made because of the need to mitigate India's growing epidemic of CSA. The Union Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, gave his brief on the cabinet 's decision and said that this reform was introduced to ensure progress, improve the entire POCSO Act, and ensure responsibility for degradation of the childhood of innocent children does not fall upon the hormones. Many questions arose after introducing the death penalty for perpetrators of CSA: Will the death penalty act as a push for the change needed concerning CSA in the current social order of the society? Will the death penalty rather lead to the murder of the victims to avoid the reporting and identification of the accused? Since the POCSO has removed the burden of evidence, it has put the burden of proving the crime of sexual harassment on the victim instead of the defendant, in the worst possible sense, endangers the implementation of the death penalty. The reality that the POCSO trials' practicality shows us that it is still impossible for the courts to lift the presumption of evidence. There is also the possibility that the two-month time frame to finish the trial will only make the convicted walk away. "There is no knee-jerk reaction to the new ordinance. The death penalty will act as a deterrent, but not in isolation. This is a welcome step, but you need to complete the whole process expeditiously", said Alakh Alok Srivastava, a Supreme Court Advocate. Id. In India, the usefulness of punishment in decreasing crime is extremely questionable, given that for several reasons, the assurance of penalty itself is very small. Secondly, there is under-reporting of abuse and sexual harassment cases due to social isolation, deep-seated sexism, and a long-drawn and sometimes degrading prosecution and court process. The Delhi High Court had schooled the government, saying the death penalty puts the victim in the way of further harm, as the culprits want to make sure the victims don't survive to bear the testimony. It is not a well thought out regulation. For starters, a 12-year-old child was assaulted in the Paschim Vihar area on 4th August 2020. The accused attacked her with a pair of scissors and assaulted her. He stabbed her with scissors several times intending to kill her. The girl suffered injuries to her neck, head, and other areas of her body. Research has consistently indicated that it is impossible to convict crimes against children since they are typically committed by those known to them. The research of the Center for Child and Law revealed that those known to the victims were guilty of the abuse in 70% to 80% of the convictions surveyed in a few states. Therefore, in most situations, the survivor or family members cannot file a lawsuit against their own families because of this intention. "It is a worry that the death penalty's implementation would worsen the issue of under-reporting," said Anup Surendranath, director of the Death Penalty Center at National Law University, Delhi. The investigation for CSA progresses with the embarrassment and derogatory questions that the victim frequently encounters when having a complaint reported at the police department, by police officers who have no experience dealing with the victims. After the trial, there is insufficient therapy, a lack of sufficient legal and psychiatric care, and the habit of accusing the victim both publicly and covertly. Both causes lead to victims becoming violent or failing to begin appealing throughout the trial, resulting in a poor level of prosecution, diluting any potential deterrence by the death penalty. As we know, India is a society that revolves around families, which means that they value their society's women and girls. When a crime like CSA happens, it shakes Indian citizens' beliefs. Thus, these rules and punishments need to be enforced to a significant degree such that no one dares to expose an innocent child to such cruelty as to endure. But one common argument against the death penalty is that there is no reliable evidence to prove the effectiveness of such a penalty being a deterrent, according to the Law Commission of India's 2015 report on the death penalty. There are concerns that any penalty being enforced must be equal and rational. It is often claimed that lower-grade penalties will also contribute to the same desired outcome in certain situations. None of those, as mentioned earlier points, undermines the seriousness of rape as a criminal offense. However, what needs to be done is not a short-term, headline-grabbing compromise to amend the legislation, but instead to work in seeking a long-term approach that strengthens the investigation and judiciary process, and shifts societal and social standards that also validate rape culture. Only then can we save our children? (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Prabhat Kumar, Advocate (Patna High Court) & Guest Faculty (Vidhi Mahavidyalaya, Samastipur) THE PLACE OF WOMEN IN INDIA The situation of women in India is open to criticism in many respects. The weight of religion and traditions, as well as a considerable imbalance of the sex ratio endanger their fundamental rights. Due to the practice of dowry, infanticide, rape, prostitution, Indian women suffer from discrimination and see their freedoms violated on a daily basis. This is evidenced by the Thompson Reuters Foundation survey published in 2011, which found India to be the fourth most dangerous place in the world for women, indeed gives the Asian giant the first place in this area, just ahead of Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and Saudi Arabia. To establish the ranking, 548 experts spoke on six indices: medical care, discrimination, non-sexual and sexual violence, cultural oppression and human exploitation. India tops the last three categories, including infanticide, acid attacks and forced marriages. Since then, the reactions of the Indians have been strong. How does a democracy with solid institutions end up in front of Afghanistan or Syria? "Countries better ranked than India yet have women who do not even have the right to speak in public," challenged Rekha Sharma, of the National Commission for Women. "Would it be more acceptable to go after Syria?" Quipped feminist Sharanya Gopinathan. In this extremely difficult context, however, feminist movements have emerged who work day after day to defend the place of women and to develop a society still rooted in dangerous patriarchal traditions. Historically, Indian women have not always suffered so much from this male domination. Many authors report that women enjoyed an important status, especially during the Vedic period. India today is however dominated by the traditions resulting from Hinduism, which, despite certain texts promoting femininity and motherhood, advocates an almost total subordination of women to men. Actress Shabana Azmi (journalist and former popular actress) declared in 1988 that “the glorification of Indian women can constitute an eminently dangerous trap which closes on her. (...) By idolizing him, we rob him of any possibility of defending himself, of fighting or of having his rights respected”. Girls are thus brought up with the idea that they have a duty to serve and satisfy men. This is evidenced by the Laws of Manu, a founding legal text of the Hindu dharma tradition, according to which “in childhood, a woman must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband and when her master dies, to her sons; a woman must never be independent (...) a woman is not made to be free ”. This is a major pillar of Hindu traditions currently persisting in Indian society, which partly explains the place that women occupy today. Child marriage: Marriage is a sacred institution. In a society marked by the submission of women to men, it is the main objective of families for their daughters, who are still subject to forced marriage, often very young. Until 1892, the legal age of marriage for girls was raised to 10 years, but it was pushed back to 12 years by the implementation of the Age of Consent Bill, before finally being raised to 18 in 1929. However, child marriage remains common. In 2015, India was the second country in the world to perform child marriages, and, according to official records, 51.8% of girls in Jharkhand state are married before their 18th birthday. Since 1950, the average age at marriage has dropped from 15 to 19 for women and from 21 to 25 for men. These arranged marriages are widely practiced in the country, Dowry practice and violence: This eagerness of families to marry their daughters should not obscure the economic misery that this sacred institution projects on them. The practice of dowry, although prohibited by the “Dowry Prohibition Act” of 1961, remains extremely common. It represents a considerable financial burden for families, sometimes amounting to more than half of their capital. This phenomenon is at the origin of many acts of violence against women, often perpetrated by their own families or by their future in-laws. Between 1975 and 1978, for example, 5,200 young women were "accidentally" burned by their husbands or their in-laws, on the grounds that their dowry was not sufficiently large, or because of non-honored dowries. This violence is often deadly. A woman dies every hour in India because of the dowry. According to the National Criminal Registry Office, 8,233 women died in 2012 as a result of dowry disputes. In addition, the conviction rate for these crimes was only 32% in 2013. This is a real trivialization of violence against women, implicitly endorsed by these legal loopholes. Infanticides: Wives and future wives are not the only victims of this violence. As the dowry represents too great a financial constraint, families sometimes prefer to see little girls disappear. Many are killed at birth or neglected and abused until they die. This phenomenon largely explains the sex-ratio imbalance in India. The right to abortion, legalized in 1971, has, however, considerably improved this situation. A 1994 law amended in 2001 also prohibited any abortion based on the sex of the foetus. However, many abortions of female fetuses are performed illegally, sometimes in deplorable sanitary conditions. The desire of families not to give birth to a girl gives rise to a veritable "abortion market", which benefits unscrupulous doctors. Also it seems that the will of the legislator alone is insufficient to remedy this murderous phenomenon. Only an in-depth change of mentalities is possible to fight against these traditional sexist practices. Rapes: A particularly striking current illustration of the recurrent violations of women's rights and the violence they face on a daily basis is the scale of the number of rapes in India. The official rate of rape is not higher than in France; however most victims do not file a complaint for fear of reprisals that could result, while their attackers are not always convicted. Here, the number of crimes does not matter but the fact that they are an expression of the collective representation of women. Informal judicial bodies (village justice, council of elders...), without any real legal existence, thus exercise their moral power by condemning, sometimes girls and young girls to gang rape. These illegal sentences are often carried out in the public square and accompanied by torture, which can lead to the death of the victims. The media coverage of the New Delhi gang rape case on December 16, 2012, however, helped lift the veil on a real social problem that was the subject of a significant taboo in India. This crime sparked exceptional protests across the country and around the world. The government has strengthened its policy to protect women, by implementing significant awareness-raising and prevention measures, notably through the broadcasting of video clips in cinemas and radio spots. But India, which was in fourth place in the same poll in 2011, has it done enough? According to the National Crime Records Bureau Report between 2007 and 2016, crimes against women were increased by 83% which is highly questionable. Moreover this spectacular jump which is explained in particular by the fact that more and more victims now dare to file a complaint against their attackers. Instead of rejecting the poll, human rights activists are calling on the authorities to introspect. "Our situation is very bad and we should instead be thinking about how to improve it," commented famous women's rights activist Kavita Krishnan. "We have to admit that we are a patriarchal society with inherent structures of discrimination against girls and women ," said Zakia Soman, another important figure in the struggle for women's rights. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Ayushi H. Desai and Devanshi B. Desai, 4th Year (B.B.A LL.B) Students at Unitedworld School of Law, Karnavati University, Ahmedabad BACKGROUND India is classified as a common law country that runs with an adversarial system of trials. The foundation of the criminal justice system lies in a sacrosanct principle that states that every person accused of a crime are assumed innocent until proven guilty. It means the prosecutor must prove all the essential factors about the crime in question. However, the Presumption of Innocence is a basic human right but not a fundamental right under Part III of the Constitution.[1] Reverse onus clauses, however, constitute a singular exception to this fundamental rule, supplanting the 'golden thread'[2] of criminal law with a presumption of guilt. This article would examine the sweeping shift from the presumption of innocence to a presumption of guilt. The POCSO Act is a special act enacted by the legislature, functions in a comportment that is best apt for a child's welfare and interest. CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF PRESUMPTION CLAUSES The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act enacted in 2012 contains two special provisions, i.e., Section 29 and 30. Section 29 explicitly states that whenever a person is prosecuted for committing, abetting to omit or attempting to commit an offense under Section 3, 5, 7 and 9 of the Act, the Special Court shall presume that the offence has been committed, abetting or attempted to commit the offence unless the accused can prove to the contrary.[3] Section 30 deals with the 'presumption of culpability of mental state' of the accused with regards to any offence committed under the POCSO Act until the defence proves it otherwise.[4] Further, sub-clause (2) states that the defence has to prove the innocence of the accused beyond reasonable doubt and not based on the preponderance of probabilities.[5] The cardinal principle of 'presumption of innocence' seeks to protect the rights of the accused, whereas 'reverse onus clauses' seeks to protect the victim and aid the prosecutor in a case. Hence, in such a situation, it isn't easy to ascertain as to which right should be given weight-age over the other. The POCSO Act was conceived keeping in mind Article 15[6], where clause (3) of the Article empowers the state to make special provisions for women and children.[7] Further, Article 39 that forms a part of Directive Principles of State Policy mentions that states shall direct policies for children to ensure that they are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy approach and environment of freedom and dignity.[8] The Article also adverts that policies should be formulated for the protection of youth against exploitation, moral, and material desertion. Reverse Onus Clauses are not to be seen as the dilution of 'innocent until proven guilty'; they are only an exception to this general principle of Criminal System. Such Reverse Onus Clauses are statutory exceptions that can also be found in the NDPS Act, Negotiable Instruments Act, Indian Evidence Act, Prevention of Corruption Act, etc. The Constitutional validity of Section 29 and 30 of the POCSO Act was time and again debated. Reports suggest that half of the country's children face some form of sexual abuse, with 21% having faced several sexual abuses. Boys account for around 53% and girls for 47% of all children reporting abuse.[9] The Ministry of Women & Child Development (2007) survey revealed that the prevalence of all forms of child abuse is extremely high, precising physical abuse (66%), sexual abuse (50%), and emotional abuse (50%).[10] In the case of Namit Sharma v. Union of India[11] court stated that 'to test the constitutionality of a statue or its provision, one of the most relevant factors would be the object and reasons as well as the legislative history of the statue which would turn helpful in assessing the reasons as to the enactment of a statue to find an ultimate impact vis-à-vis the constitutional provisions.' Therefore, taking into account these alarming and disturbing facts into record, it is apparent that the lawmakers deliberately enacted Section 29, i.e., the presumption of guilt. Notably, legality and validity of reverse onus clauses can be inspected in Noor Aga v. the State of Punjab[12], where Court relied on a decision of its own to hold that presumption of innocence is not an absolute right. The Supreme Court was dealing with identical provisions of Section 35 and Section 54 of the NDPS Act, 1985 has held the same to be valid. Section 30 of 2012 is the same provision in words as that of Section 35 of the Act of 1985, and Section 54 of the Act of 1985 is also exactly alike to Section 29 of the POCSO Act. Section 29 and 30 of the POCSO Act uses the word 'shall presume,' which is a rebuttable presumption. This means the prosecution gets an opportunity to prove its case, and it is not that accused only based on presumption is considered guilty. The accused to prove his innocence is given a chance to rebut the presumption under said sections. Hence, the POCSO Act gives a chance to the accused to prove his innocence. In Dhanwantrai Balwantrai Desai v. the State of Maharashtra[13] it was observed by the Court that, 'presumptions, are rules of evidence and do not conflict with the presumption of innocence of the accused, for, the burden, on the prosecution, to prove its case, beyond all reasonable doubt, still remains intact.' The Court opined that 'When the facts give rise to a presumption of law, the prosecution must be considered to have discharged to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, which also stands the obligation of the prosecution. And thus, to prove the contrary, the onus is shifted to the accused. It is important to note that, although a presumption of fact by explaining be rebutted by the accused, is it reasonable and likely, whereas, most importantly, the explanation must be proved to be true in case of presumption of law, in which the explanation cannot be considered alone.'[14] Section 29 of the POCSO Act mandates the Court to draw the presumption unless the contrary is proved.[15] As expressed by an eminent jurist, one has to keep in mind, that presumption is bats in law, they fly in twilight but vanish in the light of facts.[16] To get the workability of statutory presumption, it is important that the prosecution first proves the foundation facts. In the case where the statutory presumption is triggered, the burden on the accused is not to rebut the presumption beyond a reasonable doubt. It will be enough if the accused has some serious whereabouts about the authenticity in the case from prosecution. Suffice it if the accused is in a position to create a serious doubt about the integrity of the prosecution case, or the accused brings on record material to render the prosecution version highly improbable.[17] In regards to the standard of proof required in case of presumption, the burden is on the prosecution to prove foundational facts beyond a reasonable doubt. In contrast, the defendant would only have to rebut the presumption on the preponderance of probabilities. Once the foundational facts are proved on the part of the prosecution side, the accused gets a chance to prove his innocence by proving the negative of what is shaped by the prosecution part. It may be done by establishing evidence of such nature that a man of ordinary prudence would perhaps draw an inference of innocence in his favour. The accused may attain such an end by leading defense evidence or by discrediting prosecution witnesses in the course of effective cross-examination. Reversed burden of proof in Section 29 and 30 of POCSO Act in which there is presumption regarding commission and abetment of certain offences and presumption of the mental state of the accused respectively is due to the pervasive nature of crimes committed upon a vulnerable soul who in many cases is also not in a pose to comprehend the gravity of these crimes. Due to this, the legislature deemed it apt to employ a reversed burden of proof in these cases. CONCLUSION Thus, statutory presumption underneath Section 29 of the POCSO Act does not intend that the prosecution version is to be handled as gospel reality or authenticity in each case. The presumption doesn't do away with the imperative responsibility of the Court to analyze the proof on record in the mild of unique functions of a specific case such as innate infirmities within the prosecution version or exercise of entrenched enmity between the accused and the victim giving upward thrust to an impossible inference of falsehood inside the prosecution case at the time of figuring out whether or not the accused has discharged his onus and mounted his innocence within the given records of a case. The Term 'Unless the Contrary is proved' in Section 29 needs to be examined first, and its miles the duty of the prosecution to set up & show its case, and only then a presumption below fragment of Section 30 may be drawn. The presumption under POCSO Act is essential provisions to ensure the well-being of a child who has restricted capacities and capabilities of positive reception and understanding the mental states of others and even of himself. The presumption seeks to ease the burden and vulnerabilities of an already vulnerable child. References [1] Shahid Hossain Biswas v. State of West Bengal, (2017) 3 CALLT 243 (HC). [2] Woolmington v. D.P.P., [1935] A. C. 462. [3] Section 29, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. [4] Section 30, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. [5] Section 30(2), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. [6] Article 15, The Constitution of India, 1950. [7] Article 15(3), The Constitution of India, 1950. [8] Article 39(f), The Constitution of India, 1950. [9] Child Abuse Report, Women and Child Development India, 2007. [10] Ministry of Women and Child Development, Study on Child Abuse: India 2007, Government of India, http://www.wcd.nic.in/ childabuse.pdf. [11] (2013) 1 SCC 745. [12] (2008) 16 SCC 417. [13] 1964 (1) Cr.L.J. 437 (SC). [14] Ibid. [15] Sachin Baliram Kakde v. State of Maharashtra, 2016 ALL Mr. (Cri.) 4049. [16] Ibid. [17] Amol Dudhram Barsagade v. State of Maharashtra, Criminal Appeal No. 600/2017, Decided on 23.04.18 (Nagpur Bench). (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Archit Vyas, 3rd Year Student at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar The persistence and prevalence of violence against women and children have been defined by UN Women as “a pandemic “and by the World Health Organization as a “public health problem of widespread proportions”, affecting at least 35 to 70 percent of women and children all over the globe according to national studies. [1]In 2013, the WHO stated that when more than one in three women worldwide (35.6%) have reported having faced sexual or physical violence then violence against women evidently “saturates all corners of the globe. Further, it puts women's health at risk, limits their participation in society, and causes great human grief. Given the high rates at which girls and boys experience violence, this presents a disturbing picture of the extent to which children have to live with the effect of violence, in the absence of support or services. [2]Violence against women and children is a multifaceted problem with causes at the individual, close relationship, community, and societal levels, so it must be simultaneously opposed on several different levels. The societal ecological model serves a dual purpose in this regard, as each level in the model denotes a dimension where both risks and opportunities for prevention co-exist. Dealing with violence against women and children, therefore, involves implementing measures to: create nurturing, sustainable and safe family environments, and provide dedicated help and support for families at risk of violence; eradicate unsafe environments through physical changes; diminish risk factors in public spaces (e.g. schools, gardens, restaurants ) to reduce the threat of violence; discourse over gender inequities in relationships, the home, school, the workplace, etc.; change the cultural attitudes and practices that back the use of violence; implement legal frameworks that prohibit all forms of violence against children, women and limit youth access to harmful products, such as alcohol and firearms; accessible quality response services for women and children affected by violence; eradicate the cultural, social and economic inequalities that contribute to violence, close the wealth gap and ensure equitable access to goods, services, and opportunities; and coordinate the actions of the multiple sectors that have roles to play in preventing and responding to violence against them. STRATEGIES TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM AND ERADICATE THE ROOT CAUSE 1. Implementation and enforcement of laws Developing and strengthening legal protections and policies for children and women, in combination with the means to enforce these protections, is a prudent step in preventing violence against them. [3]Support the development of a legal framework for effectively addressing violence against women and children. Ensure that legislation covers all forms of violence against women, including marital rape, age of consent, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment. 2. Norms and values Changing attitudes and norms in society is an important part of preventing violence against women and children. However, it requires altering deep-rooted social and cultural norms and behaviours – in particular, the idea that some forms of violence are not only normal but sometimes justifiable. Examples include teachers hitting children because violent punishment is seen as legitimate; male peers coercing younger boys into gang violence as a “rite of passage”; girls forced to have sex because of the sexual entitlement felt by boys and men; accepting child marriage or wife-beating as normal, and girls and boys not reporting violence because of fear of stigma and shame. 3. Safe environments Creating and maintaining safe community environments is an effective strategy for reducing violence against women and children. It focuses on community environments other than homes and schools, as these are covered in the “Parent and caregiver support” and “Education and life skills” strategies in this package. [4]The current evidence base supporting community-level interventions to prevent violence does not show the protective impact by age; therefore, for the purposes of the strategy, it is assumed that operative community-based interventions assist children, youth, and women alike. 4. Income and economic strengthening [5]Income and economic strengthening interventions can benefit women and children by protecting them from maltreatment and reducing intimate partner violence, thereby curtailing the chances of women and children facing such violence, including the potential that they themselves become victims or perpetrators of violence. The objective is to achieve substantial coverage of the poor and vulnerable and ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal socio-economic rights. For example, access to basic facilities, appropriate new technology, and financial services, including microfinance, ownership, and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources. 5. Response and support services Basic health services, such as emergency medical care for violence-related injuries and clinical care for victims of sexual violence must be in place. For example, including post-exposure prophylaxis against HIV in cases of rape when indicated, must be available before the provision of the more focused counselling and social services are contemplated. [6]Guidance on emergency medical care and on clinical care for victims of sexual violence is already available. [7]Treatment programs for juvenile offenders in the criminal justice system can also reduce the possibility of further violence on their part, and are called for in the UN model policies and practical actions on the elimination of violence against women and children in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. 6. Education and life skills Gains in education for both girls and boys, as measured by school enrolment and attendance, protect against both ill-treatment and perpetration of certain forms of violence, including childhood sexual violence, youth violence, partner violence, and childhood marriage. [8]Life skills training can prevent violence against women and children by improving their communication, conflict management, and problem-solving skills, and assisting them to build positive peer-to-peer relationships. THE ROAD AHEAD [9]As per the statistics, child and women abuse and maltreatment are still highly prevalent among the general population of the world. These findings lay down strong links between childhood experiences of abuse and the experience of violence against women in adults, and that this cycle of violence is determined by gender inequality and social norms. It is important to recognize the importance of these macro-level factors with regard to both violence against women and children. This indicates that the environment in which a child develops is extremely essential for violence prevention, complementing other emerging evidence on the drivers of violence. Data gathering and a clearer understanding of the complex inter-relationship of many factors relating to violence are essential to achieving these goals. At this stage, many countries worldwide lack the essential data to evaluate the progress against the violence and a much-needed direction for prevention and intervention is the need of the hour. It has to be stressed that interventions must change attitudes regarding violence in the home and society. It should further promote positive parenting practices, and tackle the inequality that allows the normalization of violence and male-controlled power over women and children. Violence does not occur in seclusion and it is necessary to recognize the interconnectedness of its different forms as they often share common root causes. Upcoming research must (i) identify opportunities and challenges across existing policies and programs that overlap both fields, (ii) promote dialogue between violence against women-children practitioners and policy-makers, and (iii) finding evidence on what works to accomplish mutually reinforcing results across both fields and scope opportunities for greater collaboration. These three areas of research could eventually lead, promote and accelerate the achievement of the 2030 SDGs, i.e. to eradicate both violence against women and children. References [1] WHO. Global status report on violence prevention 2014 Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014. 2. Hillis S, Mercy J, Amobi A, et al. Global prevalence of past-year violence against children: a systematic review and minimum estimates. Paediatrics. 2016;137(3):e20154079 [2] Amnesty International (2006) Violence against Women: Not Inevitable, Never Acceptable. Amnesty International [3] UN Secretary-General’s Campaign to End Violence against Women (2009) The Asia-Pacific UNiTE Campaign to End Violence against Women. Outcome Document and Proposed Strategic Directions. Regional Consultation Meetings on the UNSG UNiTE Campaign. United Nations [4] Kyegombe N, Abramsky T, Devries K et al. What is the potential for interventions designed to prevent violence against women to reduce children’s exposure to violence? Findings from the SASA! Study, Kampala, Uganda. Child Abuse & Neglect. 2015;50:128–140 [5] Florence C, Shepherd J, Brennan I, Simon TR. An economic evaluation of anonymized information sharing in a partnership between health services, police, and local government for preventing violence-related injury. Injury Prevention. 2014;20:108-14 [6] Hillis SD, Anda RF, Felitti VJ, Nordenberg D, Marchbanks PA. Adverse childhood experiences and sexually transmitted diseases in men and women: a retrospective study. Paediatrics. 2000;106(1):E11 [7] Tharp AT, Degue S, Valle LA, Brookmeyer KA, Massetti GM, Matjasko JL. A systematic qualitative review of risk and protective factors for sexual violence perpetration. Trauma Violence & Abuse. 2012;14 (2):133–67 [8] Knerr W, Gardner F, Cluver L. Improving positive parenting skills and reducing harsh and abusive parenting in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Prevention Science. 2013;14(4):352-63. doi: 10.1007/s11121-012-0314-1 [9] Child Protection in Crisis Network’s Livelihoods and Economic Strengthening Task Force. The impacts of economic strengthening programs on children. New York: Colombia University and Women’s Refugee Commission; 2011 (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Akshita Bhardwaj, 3rd Year student at The Northcap University INTRODUCTION As cities and towns across China locked down, a 26-year-old woman named Lele found herself entangled in more arguments with her husband, with whom she now had to spend every hour in their home in Anhui Province, in eastern China, quoted in the New York Times. On March 1, while Lele was holding her 11-month-old daughter, her husband began to beat her with a highchair. She is not sure how many times he hit her. Eventually, she says, one of her legs lost feeling, and she fell to the ground, still holding the baby in her arms. This is the price a woman pays if her man stays at home most of the time now. “During the pandemic, we were unable to go outside, and our conflicts just grew bigger and bigger and more and more frequent,” she said. “Everything was exposed,” Lele quotes. Intimate terrorism is the term for such behavioural biases occurring due to frustration or monotony in the household. After escalation, it converts into the form of domestic violence, which is a crime as per the laws of various countries. In India, it is punishable under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Men do not realize the implications, nor so even think about how helpless a woman would feel. Think about it; the only place in the world where you are supposed to feel ‘safe’ from all difficulties in life turns out to be the worst possible place for a person to stay despite spending more time with each other than they ever have. It is saddening to witness this brutality against women, who are merely paying the price for staying in their homes now because their husbands cannot get to work and lash out all their frustration at them. This is a grave concern regarding all the families facing a counter-reaction of spending more time with another. A lot of couples must be finding it difficult to spend this much time with their spouse as it has been years that they were not used to spend days and nights together. PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN The everyday routine that has now been disrupted has led to severe consequences among the structure of a household. Parents and children are now spending more time than ever, and it would be safe to assume this change can only be appreciated for a short time. Children and teenagers can also feel trapped in toxic households as so many children were able to keep their mental health in the balance as they were away from their families, and now the notion of ‘having their own life’ has been compromised. What I mean by this is Intimate Terrorism is not only subject to women; it can be subject to anyone living in that household who is facing a change in lifestyle. However, the person in power in the household, which is, in most cases, men; assert dominance over all other members. It is a helpless and unchangeable situation. Everything boils down to the one fact that what can we as citizens, police officers, lawyers, government officials, peers, friends, parents, husbands, and wives do to spread the control of such behaviour? It does not seem like a very easy question to answer. No matter what or how disastrous a situation may be, households within our country have their evils and wars to fight before even getting to think about the need of the hour. What is even more concerning is the nature of such abuses. It is not only physical abuse or emotional torture, financial or economic abuse seems to hold a greater impact on people. Section 3 of the Protection of women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 gives the legal definition of “Domestic Violence which specifies it as: a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well‑being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse, and economic abuse; or (b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or (c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or (d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person. INITIATIVES AND SUGGESTIONS Abusers can tend to make people feel helpless by providing a realization that without them, the victim would be nothing on their own. It is this feeling which allows people to accept abuse. Accept defeat. Hence, SHEROES is an app that allows for direct counselling sessions with one specialist who has expertise in stress management. Ankhee Gupta, a psychological counsellor, believes from all her experience that the only reason a person is ever abused is that people treat them the way they allow themselves to be treated. If people can find adequate legal help channels or have any awareness regarding the consequences their partners can face, this can drastically decrease. It is just as simple as the absence of fear in the abusers in our country. Many foundations have been a knight in shining armour for such women by helping them come out of their toxic families. One such example is the Aks foundation, a platform that takes calls and listens to the problems women face. They can even take legal action on their behalf if the problem continues to persist. Thanks to Bombay High Court 2015 judgment that domestic violence cases can now also be resolved outside the court with the help of NGO’s and counsellors. Barkha Bajaj, the executive director of this foundation, got in touch with naree.com and spoke about their work. She stated the graveness in the problem, “80% of our calls are for domestic violence.” “Women often call out of confusion; they love their partners but are just fed up.” “They are bound to take action against this due to the stigma present of guilt and conscience in society.” She is a psychologist herself clearly states; you can only change someone willing to change. Trying to rescue and change someone not worthy is an already lost battle. we can all agree to what she has said. Women often live in the misconception that their men will change for the better but often spend all their lives under abuse for believing this. It all begins with sharing. Even if there is one person besides you who knows about this, they will make sure to make you realize this is torture, and you need to get out of it. Women who keep it to themselves, suffer alone, and eat up all their problems are the ones whose lives function on abuse. Just a slight argument or dissimilar interest about an issue, and we know what the consequence is. All these helplines and channels can only be useful in the end if a person decides to go this path, which most women do not. A fear of income, family, children, and livelihood makes them fear abandonment if they do not follow through with this behaviour. This change in the mindsets, this change in the way women perceive their husbands can only be achieved if every woman no matter what social hierarchy she is a part of needs to be counselled and at least informed with the functioning of the current world and how can they bring the abusers forward, into the light. Social media and television are two platforms that are not accessible by all people in society, and domestic violence is far greater in households that do not have such provisions and money. Most of the women do not have not the slightest clue regarding what to do. How can we expect them to call helplines? This is surely not a one-day process, but change begins with innovation. And I am extremely sure with the speed at which word of mouth passes in this country, if one woman in a poor household had her husband arrested for domestic abuse, all her neighbours and relatives would learn a thing or two. This is how one day, every villager in that village would know that they can be arrested and put in a cell for raising a single hand on their wives. CONCLUSION Domestic Violence is not easy to conclude in any sense because this is a battle we have not even begun fighting. We can understand the pain that a person faces in such a time. We shall be the ones to take it forward. Tell our housemaids, our garden ladies, our fruit sellers, and all women we see to make sure that they know something of this sort exists, and they can reach out whenever, however, and wherever. They certainly do not know they can. Once all these women are empowered, it is a matter of time before men realize that what they call a “little fight,” “argument,” or “just a slap” can cause them to be in the worst possible place they can imagine. These women are ours to save, ours to love, and ours to cherish for being the creators and keepers of this world. Anyone in power can be brought down if there is enough evidence against them and in this case, we do not even need much. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Sanighdha, 3rd Year, B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) Student at University Institute Of Legal Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh "The presence of even a single poor child on the street means a million defeats for mankind.” – Mehmet Murat Ildan INTRODUCTION Children, as we often quote, are a precious gift of God for mankind. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as “every human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the child, the majority is attained earlier.” In India, the definition of a child varies according to the law applicable to a particular situation that involves the child. For example, the age of majority under the Indian Penal Code (1860) is 12 years, unless otherwise stated in the context; the age of majority under the Hindu Marriage Act (1955) is 18 years for a girl and 21 years for a boy; under the Indian Majority Act (1875) the age of majority is 18 years and above, along with a provision that specifically mandates that a person under lawful guardianship attains the age of majority at 21 years; the age of majority according to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (1986) and The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009) is 14 years; and according to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2015, the age of a juvenile is determined based on the intensity of crime committed and can be either 16 years (heinous offense) or 18 years (non-heinous offense). STREET CHILDREN AND COVID-19 As many laws as we have that define the term ‘child,’ there is no legislation dealing with the street children either at the international level or at the national level. The World Health Organisation (WHO), in its Report “A Profile of Street Children,” categorizes street children into four main categories. They are- a. A ‘child of the streets’: Such a child has no home and lives on the streets. The reason for having no permanent dwelling can range from being abandoned by family members or having lost all of them, somehow or the other. The dependence of a street child in this category is completely based on overt aid and assistance by a friend, a government authority, or NGO. b. A ‘child on the street’: A ‘child on the street’ means that the child often visits his/her family or relatives at night, but spends most of the day’s hours on the streets either begging or selling other products. This category of a street child is different from the former category as the child included in the earlier definition has no home, where he/she can go and spend the night. Also, the dearth of relatives or a family is a clear-cut basis of differentiation between the two. c. A ‘part of a street family’: Street family means a whole family dwelling or residing on the street. A child who’s part of such a family is undeniably a street dweller, with no permanent housing or shelter, either for him/her self or the immediate family members. Street families can usually be found in big cities where internal immigration is profoundly visible due to better job opportunities for low-income families and a relatively good standard of living. However, most of these immigrant families are forced to make streets their permanent housing, because of the congested city area and high population burden. This, in turn, affects the growth and development of the child with severely impairing his/her mental, cognitive, social, and economic prospects. d. A ‘child in institutionalized care’: Such a child is stated to have come from a state of homelessness and is at an increased risk of becoming homeless being once again. It is cognizable from the propositions mentioned above that a street child lives a jeopardized life, which is constantly and incessantly imperiled by the atrocities of his milieu and circumstances. Children usually take to the street for earning money for themselves or their respective families; for finding an adequate shelter or escaping rejection of the family members and to flee away from the work demands at home. A rejection attributed to the child maybe because of some physical disability or mental shortcoming conjoined with a feeling unwanted by family members. Having more children than can be supported on the family income also leads to ignorance faced by a child by other members of the family. While the world stays at home, there are innumerable children on the global streets facing myriad problems in today’s difficult times such as- hygienic conditions for living, proper sanitation facilities, safe drinking water, et al. India has the largest number of street children in the world, with Mumbai raising a big chunk (1 lac) of the same in its lap. According to a report, calls for and by distressed children have increased by 50% in the lockdown, with at least 8% of them dealing with missing or runaway children. The rise in the number of children exposed to domestic violence during the initial lockdowns is estimated to have increased from 27.1 to 69 million (UNICEF). According to the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights, 70000 children who live on the streets of Delhi had learned to earn and sustain themselves somehow. Still, the present unprecedented times have acted as looming ruination in their already gloomy future. With street children facing a serious threat of getting trapped in the net of bonded labour, the legal chasms to deal with the problem are now clearly visible. Amidst the present chaos, the right of street children to access the highest attainable standard of health is also imperiled. LEGAL PERSPECTIVE - SUGGESTIONS & CHALLENGES Street Children are generally looked down upon and categorized as ‘neglected children’ in Indian society. Section 2(2) of the Children Act (1960) defines a neglected child as a child- Is found begging; Found having any home or settled place of abode or any ostensible means of subsistence, or is destitute (orphan or not); Or has a parent or a guardian who is unfit to or does not exercise proper care or control over the child; Or lives in a brothel or with a prostitute. With no specific law governing their state of indignity, intermittent policy decisions are a major relief for tackling their problems. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), in collaboration with Save the Children, released the “Standard Operating Procedures for Care and Protection of Children in Street Situations” in 2017. The SoP recognises the growing sight of street children in India and emphasizes the need to provide all the necessities to them. The SoP not only categorizes the street children but also provides procedural safeguards while rescuing and rehabilitating street children in India. It mandates strict maintenance of database pertaining to street children so as to fasten the efforts of reaching “every last child” in India, as expounded by the National Plan of Action for Children (2016). A critical evaluation of the SoP reveals that the document covers all aspects of street children, but fails to fix the responsibility on a specific authority or an organ in cases of negligent behaviour meted out to a street child. This becomes highly relevant in the present scenario because the police forces have been constantly accused of using force and unnecessary coercive methods with the destitute street children. Article 15(3) of the Constitution of India is an enabling provision for formulating specific laws for children and women. Article 39 (Part IV) of the Constitution is a Directive Principle of State Policy that directs the State to prevent abuse of the tender age of children. Along with that, the UDHR (1948) also provides protective measures for abused children. Despite requisite legislation, the problem of street children is an ever-growing one. The same can be tackled with the effective implementation of the laws. However, a specific law will do more good for protecting the street children. A comprehensive database concerning the needs, facilities, and amenities required by the street children in India is the need of the hour. Setting up a special home where street children can reside, get an education, and train themselves in vocational courses is also a step forward. Providing vocational training to the street children can aid in the advancement of the Skill India Programme and the Atman Nirbhar Abhiyan. The glaring non-mention of street children in the New Education Policy (2020) is a step down from the policies formulated until now. It points out the level of seriousness with which street children are viewed in the government echelons. CONCLUSION Engaging community participation and awareness programs to enlighten the masses about this hidden problem is the sure way forward. The government must focus more on the issue and form a targeted policy strategy to achieve zero children on the street. It will not only aid in the development of the nation but will also assist in achieving sustainable development goals in a phased manner. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Ajitesh Arya, 2nd Year Student of NALSAR University of Law Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his recent address to the nation, stated that no individual had died of hunger during the lockdown caused by COVID- 19 outbreak. The claim sounds alleviating, but the reality is often disappointing. Even during healthy days, many children lose their lives to hunger and starvation. As per the National Family Health Survey 2015-2016, 59% of children under the age of 5 years suffered from malnutrition, and 36% were underweight. These stats make us wonder about the status of a child’s right to food in India and its implementation. The article shall venture to locate the answers to these pressing questions. INTERNATIONAL RIGHT TO FOOD The Child’s Right to food is not a concern specific to India only, but a pressing issue at the global level. Article 25 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights is one of the first provisions talking about a right to food, which got finally reflected in Article 11 of the International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This provision provides that the state parties (India being one) shall ensure an adequate standard of living and food for the citizens to prevent starvation. The states should respect, protect, and fulfill these rights. Article 2.1 of the same puts the burden on the state-parties to ensure the right with the help of maximum available resources at hand. Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in its General Comment 12 has expanded the scope of the right to include nourishing, sustainable, and safe food under Article 11 while explaining the State’s obligations. In this regard, Article 24 of the International Convention on Child Rights is also of great importance, ensuring the right to healthy food and water for children. Several organizations like FAO (Federal Agriculture Organization) have also issued guidelines towards the sustainability of food for children. RIGHT TO FOOD IN INDIA The right to food in India is not presented in the Constitution. Still, it can be located in Article 39(a) directing the state to ensure adequate means of livelihood to the citizens; one cannot expect sustenance of livelihood in the absence of adequate and nutritious food. To fulfill the requirement, Article 47 directs the state to ensure an efficient increase in the nutritional level of the citizens to improve the standard of living. These articles are merely directive principles and lacked proper implementation. There was a need to concretize the laws. The Supreme finally in the universally cited case of PUCL v. Union of India, through an interim order, raised the right to food to the pedestal of the fundamental right to live enshrined under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also, through its decision, held that Article 39(a) and 47 are to be read with Article 21. Therefore, the right to food can finally be enforced in the Courts as a fundamental right. Finally, section 5(a) of the National Food Security Act, 2013 provides for free food for the kids up to six years of age and mid-day meals for students till VIII standard. Section 6 also talks about provisions for children struck by malnutrition. MID-DAY MEAL The mid-day meal program is a scheme of the central government under which students up to standard VIII get meals in the schools. It was started to increase the retention, admission, and attendance of the students in the schools. Initially, the mid-day meal was unveiled in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat. The central government unveiled the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education on 15th August 1995 in 2408 blocks under which mid-day meal was to be provided to the children of class I to V. By the year 2009, the plan was expanded to all the blocks, including all government, public, government-aided private schools, and Madarsas. The scheme also included students in standards VI to VIII. There are plans of MHRD to extend the scheme up to class X. It is expected that the students at the primary level get the calorie intake of 450 from a meal; the figure rises to 700 for children in upper primary education. Currently, Food grains worth Rs. 100 and 150 are also provided to the students of primary and upper primary levels, respectively. The Mid-day meal scheme and the right to food, though, appear theoretically to be perfect. Still, a single search on Google shall turn in hundreds of results of failure in the implementation and other misgivings, be it the demise of 23 children because of poisoned food in Bihar or salt-roti being served in UP. A report published in “the Mint” has shown that only 82% of the children in government schools enjoy the meal. Despite the various requirements and guidelines on nutritional values, a lot of poor school-going children suffer from malnutrition. The discrepancies can be attributed to several factors. The money spent on a child’s meal at the primary level is merely 4.48 Rs, which becomes—Rs.6.71 at the upper primary stage. Similarly, the usual served pulses and cereals in the mid-day meals may fail to provide a requisite amount of digestible proteins to the students. The cooks are also not incentivized to cook better meals with a mere honorarium of 1000 Rs per month and an additional 0.40 Rs. for each meal. Just like any other scheme, corruption deeply inhibits the mid-day meal scheme as well. As per CAG report, 2015[1], 8 states diverted funds worth Rs.123.34 crores meant for mid-day meals. Casteism is another prevalent social evil restricting the full enjoyment of the right to food and education for many children. A recent example of casteism inhibiting the right to food can be seen in Madhya Pradesh, where children refused the food prepared by a Dalit cook. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has raised serious problems for the children, not only does the financial condition of their household is strained, but also they are deprived of their mid-day meals at schools. The children in Bihar are forced to return to the hazardous occupations of labour, garbage-picking, etc. to sustain themselves. High Court of Patna has taken suo-moto cognizance of the matter. The children and their families have to wait for the verdict, but we have reasons to be hopeful as the Supreme Court in Swarajya Abhiyan v. Union of India held that in harsh conditions like drought provisions are to be made for the children under the mid-day meal scheme. CONCLUSION The right to food is both universal and national. The failure in the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme and a high rate of malnutrition raises compelling interdisciplinary questions on a child’s right to health and the rights of women. There is a need for a more vigilant implementation of the scheme. The expenditure per meal should be increased. The Supreme Court can play a major role in ensuring the right to food to the citizens of India by using the powers of writ conferred upon it by Article 32 of the Constitution. The courts should be quick to take cognizance of cases where the right to food is abrogated. They have to realize that the mid-day meal scheme and other such food security schemes are not benevolent or moral rights created by the state but rather obligatory rights mandated by the great Constitution of India. Reference [1] Performance Audit of Mid-Day Meal Scheme (2009-10 to 2013-14), CAG Report 36 of 2015, 68-69. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Vagish Yadav, 4th Year Student at Amity Law School, Lucknow Recently, the Uttarakhand High Court has upheld using a Judgment and order dated 24.07.2020 in the case of Smt. Tanuja Tolia v. State of Uttarakhand and others that a contractual employee is also entitled to Child Care leave. The development of recognition of Child Rights and Child Care Leave (hereinafter called “CCL”) can be vividly seen in the journey of legitimizing Child Care Leave and establishing the granting of it as the norm as in the instant case. In this article, I will analyze and trace the origins of CCL and further analyze in the context of contemporary approaches to the rights of the child. THE ORIGIN By means of Government of India, DoPT Notification (The Central Civil Services (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2009) dated the 1st December 2009, Rule 43C, which provides for Child Care Leave was inserted in the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules 1972. It is pertinent to note certain eye-catching provisions of the original rule: It is to be noted that the Rule applied only to a Woman Government Servant when the provision was brought into existence. Later, it was amended to include single male Government Servants also. A total Child Care leave period may be granted for a total of 2 years, i.e., 730 days, and the salary to be paid must be equal to the pay drawn immediately before the leave. That CCL is not detrimental to any other leave and is to be granted in addition to any other kind of leave. Clarification in (4) that the CCL may be available in more than one spell means that the general practice is to grant the 730 days leave in continuation. That the CCL is granted shall only be for the first two children and not for subsequent children. This last part is a result of predecessor orders and notifications by DoPT, Govt. of India[1]. In the circular dated 29th September 2008, it was notified that the CCL might be granted only for two surviving eldest children. In the case of Kakali Ghosh v. Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Administration and Others, the court analyses the rule and notifications in light of Rule 7 of CCS (Leave) Rules. Under Rule 7, it is stated that the leave cannot be claimed as a Right, and such leave can be refused when the exigencies of public services so require. In this case, leave for 730 days was prayed for, and the authority had granted 45 days leave by means of the impugned order, which was set aside by the tribunal. The order of the tribunal was challenged in the High Court, which set aside the order of the tribunal and reversed the judgment. Hence, the Apex Court, while observing that the authority did not state reasons for refusing the 730 days continuous leave, upheld the order of the tribunal. In this judgment, the analysis and the grant of the CCL were done only based on the provisions of the Rule 43C. No accord or heed was paid to the relation of CCL with the Rights of the child. THE ADVANCEMENT IN GENDER NEUTRALITY AND OTHER ASPECTS In this part, we will see the development of Child Care Leave as an important part of the service of an employee on the precursor of not a benefit for the parent but as a benefit for the child. In the case of Dr. Rachna Chaurasia v. State of Uttar Pradesh, the Court had held that the child care leave must not be restricted only to the regular female employees but may be availed by the contractual employees. The issue, in this case, was whether the The reasoning in the judgment of the court is derived from the concerns of Article 14, 15(3), and the Maternity Benefit Act 1961. Payment under the Maternity Benefit Act is granted under Section 5, clause (3) of which states that such period shall not be more than 12 weeks, not more than six weeks before the expected date of delivery. The Court provided that the maternity benefits and child care benefits shall be extended to all female employees, temporary, permanent, or contractual. Hence, in this case, the ambit of employees for the CCL was increased by the inclusion of contractual employees. The DoPT, Govt. of India by means of a notification dated 11.12.2018 amended Rule 43C and induced an important child care element in the provision. It is to be noted that the child care leave shall not be only granted to the females, but it should be granted analysing each case considering its circumstances. To neutralize the bias, the provisions were amended to include “Single Male Government Servants.” Single Male Government Servant means “an unmarried, widowed, or a divorcee male government servant.” The benefit of child care leave was granted to single male defense Civilian Industrial Employees at par with the Female counterparts. This inclusion of the males aligns with the transformative reading of the constitution of India, as suggested by Gautam Bhatia in his book “The Transformative Constitution.” This stereotype encompassed by the original Rule is based on the “Public-Private Separate Spheres Theory”. The theory propounds that the private sphere is the responsibility of the females, and the public sphere is that of the males. This stereotype has still not been completely broken even after the amendment as the amended rule only includes single male government servants. CHILD RIGHTS AS A FOUNDATION If the child is made the centre of the provision, the principles of non-discrimination, best interests of the child, development of the child, and the considering of the views of the child must be observed and obeyed. Under the UN Convention for Rights of the Child, it is provided in Article 18 that both the parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child. Hence, the best interest of the child will be the basic concern. The best interest principle is very important and must always be kept in mind by the lawmakers and policymakers while dealing with the law that affects a child. Moreover, it is also pertinent to reiterate the settled law[2] that the court of law shall directly follow the Customary International Law not inconsistent with the Indian Law. When a child is kept at the centre of the society, all the decisions shall ipso facto be in the best interests of the child. Hence, in a way, the Rule 43C for Child Care Leave is partially in conflict with the Best Interest Principle as enunciated in Article 3 of the UNCRC. Now, the recent judgment of Uttarakhand High Court in the case of Smt. Tanuja Tolia's case (Supra) notices that the Child Care leave is not much of recognition of a woman’s right as it is that of the child. The judgment further highlights that India is a signatory to the UNCRC, and child care leave benefits neither the father nor the mother but the child. Since the provision is child-oriented, the best interest of the child must be read with the provision. However, the issue in the case was whether a woman appointed on a contractual basis is entitled to Child Care leave to which the court ordered in favour of the woman citing various judgments. But the important aspect in this judgment is that the Court held that a denial of CCL to a contractual Government Employee is a violation of the rights of a child under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. CONCLUSION Hence, as per my observations, the analysis done hereinbefore percolates down to these fine points: The best interest of the child must be incorporated in the CCL provision. In doing the same, the mother and the father shall be viewed at an equal footing, at least for the later years of the child’s life under Article 18 of UNCRC. The provisions of Law, like CCL, which are in connection with the children, must be child-centred. The Social-Ecological Model, whereby a child is kept at the conspicuous centre of the Society, must be followed in bringing laws and policies. Child Care Leave is a child-centred provision, and the denial of the same in an arbitrary manner is a denial of the rights of the child under Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The legislation must endeavour to include the male government servants also, and the CCL grant must be decided on the individual case basis, looking at the circumstances of the case as this will be an unblemished, justified, and analytical approach. References [1] Government of India, Department of Personnel and Training, O.M. Nos. 13018/2/2008-Estt. (L) dated 11th September 2008 and 13018/2/2008- Estt. (L), dated 29th September 2008. [2] Soman v. Geologist, 2004 (3) KLT 577, ¶15. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Arunabh Srivastava, 2nd Year Student of Symbiosis Law School, Noida Human Trafficking means trafficking of persons within a state or across borders without their consent. Earlier, this term was given the name Slavery, but certainly, in today’s world, we have been quite successful in the abolition of slavery. However, human trafficking is a broader term. Human trafficking is done for sexual exploitation, forced labour, etc. Human Trafficking has been taken care of by the United Nations (UN), The United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) meet in 2000 adopted the protocol to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children. It was criminalized in a convention of the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime (UNCTOC), 2013, which has been ratified by most of the member nations. This Convention has been duly ratified by India as well. This adoption would help member nations draft and build strong impositions on human trafficking offenders. To decrease such activity, the Convention asks for the strict following of 3P’s, i.e., Prevention, Protection, and Prosecution. 1. Prevention: This deals with the prevention of Human Trafficking in states. 2. Protection: This deals with the protection of victims of Human Trafficking. 3. Prosecution: This deals with the prosecution of Human Trafficking offenders The global report on trafficking of persons released by United Nations Offence on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) states that the most common form of human trafficking is Sexual Exploitation, which amounts to approximately 79% of the total human trafficking cases. The victims of Human Trafficking are predominantly women and girls. In about 30% of the nations, women make up the largest proportion of trafficked persons. Surprisingly, in some nations, women trafficking is the norm. The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labour, which amounts to approximately 18% of the total human trafficking cases. This is a sad reality but, worldwide, almost 20% of the victims of human trafficking in the form of forced labour are children. TYPES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING There are many types of Human Trafficking, but these are the most common: 1. Forced Labour: When a family is unable to take care of their child, due to lack of money, or any other reason, they usually give up the child to an adoption agent, who in turn sells the kid to someone else, who uses this child for forced labour, many a time in harsh workplaces, without caring about the child’s health. The purchased child is often offered only minimum nutrition and is refrained from being educated. 2. Sex Trafficking: Women are misinformed about job opportunities across the border and are supplied to other countries for prostitution. Meanwhile, the contractor keeps the salary of such prostitutes, to never lose his control on them. 3. Debt Bondage: People who are in debt, and are desperate to pay it off, often become victims of such debt bondage. In this, a person desperate to pay off his debt often gets influenced by employers offering good jobs across the border. They agree to the terms of the job and accompany the employers to the location of their expected employment. Still, after they are brought up to the location, the employees take all their all documents and make them work as housekeepers, and ensure that their movement remains restricted. 4. Child Sex Trafficking: Any child found helpless on the street roaming around, is often the first target for hunt. These children are often abducted and seduced and are coerced to participate in the prostitution ring, which generates a lot of profit. 5. Trafficking for removal of organs: In many countries, there is a long waiting list for organ transplantation, which is seemed as an opportunity by the offenders to exploit the desperation of patients. The health of victims is at risk as the operations are carried out in clandestine conditions without any proper medical follow up. The increased amount of people living with diabetes is likely to increase the requirement of organ transplantation, which may result in this crime becoming more lucrative. SITUATION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN INDIA According to reports of UNODC, India remains the top country in Human Trafficking in South Asia. As per National Crime Report Bureau (NCRB), In 2018, 2465 cases of Human Trafficking were reported pan India, while 5264 victims were rescued in 2018. Reports show that Boys (below 18 years) are trafficked more as compared to girls. India had acted diligently on this topic long back in 1956 by enacting the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITA), 1956. Certain punishment for offenders had also been defined under Section 370 and 370A of IPC. Besides this, India has responded to this problem with due diligence, as it has duly ratified the UN Convention, SAARC Convention and bilateral mechanism which deals with drafting of strong laws to prevent cross border transport of victims. To tackle this menace, the Home Ministry of India has taken several measures such as: 1. Setting up the Anti Traffic Cell (ATC): It was set up to improve the effectiveness of tackling the crime of Human Trafficking, and to increase enforcement of law machinery, MHA would also conduct meetings with Nodal Officers of Anti Human Trafficking Units, which are nominated in all states and Union Territories. 2. Release of Funds for establishment of Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTU): The introduction of AHTU in 270 districts would strengthen law enforcement. 3. Strengthening of capacity building: Various Training of Trainers (TOT) workshops for police officers, prosecutors at Regional, District, and State level would be set up on combating Trafficking in human beings by creating general awareness and enhancing capacity building of law enforcement agencies. 4. Judicial Colloquium: To train trial court judicial officers, Judicial Colloquium on Human Trafficking is held at a high court level. Such colloquium aims to sensitize judicial officers about various prevailing issues concerning to Human Trafficking and to ensure a speedy process of the court. Eleven such colloquiums have been set up at Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odessa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu till date. CONCLUSION Human Trafficking is a broad term that points out the flaws in intact and strong enforcement of the law. Human Trafficking has been the result of the illicit mindset of some people, which in turn causes life-threatening experience for other Human Beings. For this, a strong imposition and execution of the law play an essential role. Thus, there is a strict need for govt. to prepare action plans that can help the law in restricting human trafficking. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By Shrestha Banerjee & Rachit Agrawal, Law students at NLUJAA, Assam The gamut of Mental Health is highly ignored in our daily lives. Although the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 in India defines ‘mental illness’ as a disordered way of thought, exclusive of mental retardation.[1], mental illness is still misconceived as permanent mental disorders and retardation, while the question of psychological illness like stress, depression, and trauma resides in background. Mental health is the first thing that gets affected in children victimised by any form of online molestation. Contemporary Internet and ‘Cyberspace’ has expanded into what is known as ‘Internet of Things’, where the boundaries between ‘offline’ and ‘online’ are gradually thinning. Therefore, children’s right to privacy and safety often gets abused in cyber maze before they can make sense of it psychologically. Emerging cyber-centric crimes like cyberbullying, online child trafficking, prostitution and pornography deserve to be brought to exposure. ‘Child pornography’ is defined as ‘a visual depiction of either a real child or any person in appearance of a child, involved in sexually explicit conduct, exhibiting the private or the public areas of a child or realistic images of a non-existent child involved or engaged in the conduct aforementioned;’[2]primarily for sexual purposes[3]. The POCSO Act, 2012, the guardian legislation on Sexual Violence against children, has duly enlisted child pornography as a crime. Section 15 of the Act makes the wrongful possession, production or transmission of child pornographic material a punishable offence with fine up to ten thousand rupees and imprisonment up to seven years.[4] The International Labour Organisation cites child pornography as one of the worst forms of child labor.[5] It constitutes a menace that not only victimises the child directly involved, but also several others who get addicted to it, leading to detachment from their regular social life. Children introduce and share these contents among themselves and help spreading the addiction. The gap between the age of majority, and the age of consent keeps on widening owing to the fake age entries in adult websites. Before the advent of POCSO there was no archaic law to address these crimes. In the case of State vs Pankaj Choudhary[6] the Delhi High Court in 2011 prosecuted the accused under ‘outraging the modesty of a woman’[7] for digital penetration of a 5 year old child. Kamlesh Vaswani v.Union of India[8] held that even if the right to privately view pornography comes under one’s Personal Liberty (Article 21) and Freedom of Expression [Article 19(1) (a)], child pornography is absolutely prohibited in lieu of not making the children vulnerable to sexual violence in the society. Child bullying and cyber bullying are domains that are yet largely neglected in India. Extensive exposure to social media has increased the scope of cyberbullying children based on their introvert nature, weight, looks, and gender and sexual orientations. This culminates into psychological depression and lower self esteem. Cyberbullying is defined as an “aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend himself or herself.”[10] Calls, text messages, offensive comments, pictures, or any form of electronic media exponentially empowers the predators to abuse children before a huge public audience. It becomes impossible to track the anonymity of the offenders without the help of experts. Worse, there is no escape as cyberbullying can persist as long as one is connected with technology. The Information Technology Act, 2008 addresses cyberbullying by making the sending of any offensive electronic messages for causing annoyance punishable upto three years.[11] The study conducted by Intel Security Teens, Tweens and Technology in 2015 presented 81% of the children between 8 to 16 years of age group are active on social media.[12] Almost 22% of these children, that is, one in five children, face online abuse.[13] Mary Aiken’s book ‘The Cybereffect’ highlighted the phenomena of “The Diffusion of Responsibility” or the “The Bystander Effect”[14], showing that in most cases of cybercrimes, people become a silent witness. The larger the number of people acquainted with it, the lesser is tendency to respond. The victims of child pornography, online and offline bullying, remain largely unheard. Dropping internet prices, increased access and vehement propaganda for ‘Digital India’[16] have bolstered a toxic cyber environment for children. Internet usage has become much more privatized with personal gadgets replacing erstwhile system of shared family computers. This makes it easier for children to engage in all forms of cyber addiction and crimes, but at the same time, hinders the monitoring the mental health of the ones exploited. Sometimes the affect of cybercrimes on mental health lasts till adulthood inducing eating disorders, weight distortions, or trust issues. There is a dire need to shift the onus from sympathizing with the victim, to vindication of the offender. We need to educate children about the cyber-ethics, and their right to legal remedies. Social Media Companies should have explicit age monitoring and parental consent mechanisms for sensitive websites. Schools should have effective monitoring mechanisms for children under psycho-therapists and experts. Adolescent peer groups should be surveyed and baptized of the culture of bullying, or pornographic addiction. Technology being double edged sword, parents can use software that connects their gadgets to that of their wards, keeping them updated of their browsing history. Sexually explicit content directed at young people in popular media should be censored. Most importantly, parents should abstain from equipping their wards technologically from tender ages. The socio-cultural stigma and the ‘conspiracy of silence’ that revolves around CSA[18] cases make them go unreported in large numbers. Effective social implementation of the laws can’t be secured unless we become more approachable to children regarding such issues. References [1] S. 2(s). Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 : “mental illness” means a substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behaviour, capacity to recognise reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life, mental conditions associated with the abuse of alcohol and drugs, but does not include mental retardation which is a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind of a person, specially characterised by subnormality of intelligence. [2] Article 1, EU COUNCIL FRAMEWORK DECISION, Official Journal of the European Union, 2004/68/JHA, 2 (22.12.2003) [3] Council of Europe, Article 20, Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse(Lanzarote), CETS No. 201, 7(25.10.2007), available at: https://rm.coe.int/1680084822, last accessed 18.11.2019 [4] S. 2(s), Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 [5] United Nations International Labor Organisation, Article 3, Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 , Convention C182, 2(17.6.1999)available at: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C182 , accessed on 20.11.2019, see also, United Nations Human Rights Commission, Article 34, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1990 , res. 44/25, 10(20.11.1989), available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx , last accessed 18.11.2019 [6] State v. Pankaj Kumar, Criminal Appeal No813/2011 [7] S. 354, The Indian Penal Code,1860 [8] Kamlesh Vaswani v.Union of India, (2016) 7 SCC 592 [9] Ellen Delera, Consequences of Childhood Bullying on Mental Health and Relationships for Young Adults, Journal of Child and Family Studies 1, 2 (2018), available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326961037_Consequences_of_Childhood_Bullying_on_Mental_Health_and_Relationships_for_Young_Adults , last accessed: 18.11.2019 , [10] Smith PK, Del Barrio C, Tokunaga RS., Definitions of bullying and cyberbullying: How useful are the terms 26-40, in Principles of Cyberbullying Research: Definitions, Measures, and Methodology. (Sherry Bauman, Dona Cross, Jenny Walker, Routledge, 2013). [11] S.66A, Information Technology Act, 2008 [12] Supra Note 9 [13] More Kids are Online. But Indian Parents are Finally Taking Stock: Intel Study. The Indian Express, 2015. Available at: http://www.indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/more-kids-are-online-but-indian- Bullying parents-are-finally-taking-stock-intel-study/, last accessed on 2018 Mar 22. [14] [15] T. S. Sathyanarayana Rao, Deepali Bansal, and Suhas Chandran, Cyberbullying: A virtual offense with real consequences, Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 1,3 (2018), available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5914259/ , last seen on 20.11.2019 [16] Ibid. at 2 [17] Evelina Landstedt, Susanne Persson, Bullying, cyberbullying and ental health in young people, Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 393, 398 (2014), available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260645245_Bullying_cyberbullying_and_mental_health_in_young_people , last seen on 20.11. 2019 [18] CSA:Child Sexual Offences [19] David K. Carson, Nishi Tripathy, Jennifer M Foster, Child Sexual Abuse in India: Current Issues and Research, National Academy of Psychology(NAOP), Researchgate Publications(2013), available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271951215_Child_Sexual_Abuse_in_India_Current_Issues_and_Research, last seen on 21.11.2019 (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By- Ananya Singh, Law student at NLU Jodhpur A country’s strength lies in having healthy, protected and well-developed children and Indian land is home to almost 19% of the world’s children population.[1] But a prominent yet overlooked issue among children is being ignored by law makers here. From being pushed on playing grounds or hearing comments on one’s physical appearance, a child faces many such events in his early age. Generally, we tend to ignore such instances but then we forget the detrimental effects, in short or long term, they have on a child and how they hamper his personality development. ‘Bullying’ means when a superior living entity exercises influence or force of any kind over the other to dominate and make him do things which he would not have otherwise done. It could be by using physical force, making verbal derogatory comments, stalking or through electronic devices like computers-social media etc. A bully repeats his unwanted actions over time and bullied feels difficult to defend him/herself.[2] There exists a real or perceived power imbalance and it creates serious problems for the bullied. A UNESCO report[3], published recently, highlighted that school violence and bullying is a major global issue. The data revealed that one out of every third student in the world is being bullied at his school at least once in a month and the proportion is same for other forms of violence like physical (common among male students), psychological (common among female students) and sexual violence. The reasons for bullying vary from one’s belonging to a particular race or nationality to having different physical appearances or colour. The outcomes of such negative actions are that children miss schools, experience depression, anxiety, loneliness, their quality of life deteriorates etc. With the developing era, the modes of bullying have been changing- from doing it within the victim’s physical presence to using internet through text messages, e-mails, hacking the victim’s account or threats of child pornography and the bully conveniently hides behind the garb of a fake identity. In a survey[4] conducted by Assocham Social Development Foundation in 2015, it was revealed that 95% of teenagers between 13-17 years of age have Youtube accounts, 81% have access to social networking sites and 51% have a smartphone. The fact that minors lack the experience and judgement making ability at such a tender age, they easily get exposed to cyber bullying and online sexual abuse. Shri RK Raghavan Committee, formed by the Supreme Court of India[5] in 2006, in its report[6] described ragging as an act of human rights abuse and suggested means and methods of prevention of ragging at senior secondary and college level. It suggested for increasing awareness, need for strong ragging laws, setting up of toll-helpline and counselling sessions in colleges, confidentiality and secrecy of complainant’s identity etc. but very few of them have been implemented in reality. In India, UGC has stringent anti-ragging laws[7] in higher educational institutions but the same is missing for school and societal level even when these areas have equal number of reported cases. Apart from guidelines[8] given by CBSE in 2015 and a decision on formation of a high-powered panel[9] taken recently to give suggestions to deal with the rearing problem of bullying and ragging at school level, nothing concrete has been done so far. Moreover, in India, there is no specific anti-bullying law yet certain provisions of IPC,1860- wrongful restraint, confinement, causing voluntary hurt, grievous injury etc., Information Technology Act,2000 provides punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material and POCSO Act,2012 try to fill the lacuna in law indirectly but they do not apply on minor offenders and Juvenile Justice(Care and Protection of Children)Act,2000 though applies but covers only few serious offences of bullying. Hence, instead of scattered law, the need of the hour is a uniform, single and strong anti-bullying law. To term it as ‘school violence’[10] is correct only to a certain extent as it is a universal menace that a child can face anywhere even within the four walls inside his home. Therefore, the solution lies at three levels- home, school and society. At homes, parents should maintain a conducive environment for children to share such problems and children should be made aware-how to deal with such situations. In schools, the classroom environment should be safe, protective and positive for children, teachers and staff should be considerate and benevolent and presence of effective monitoring and grievance redressal system so that a bullied child can fearlessly raise his concern. Moreover, bystanders or people who witness incidents of bullying should inform requisite authorities to constrain such actions to grow in our society. Children are ‘human resource’ for a country and their welfare and protection should be given utmost priority. Thus, the social violence of bullying must end. References [1] Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, Annual Report 2015-2016, available at https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/annual-report-2015-16.pdf, last seen on 15/11/2019. [2]Definition of bullying, International Bureau of Education-UNESCO, available at: http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/geqaf/annexes/technical-notes/definition-bullying, last seen on 16/11/2019. [3]UNESCO[50503] 2019, Behind the numbers: ending school violence and bullying, available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000366483, last seen on 13/11/2019; School violence and bullying a major global issue, new UNESCO publication finds, UNESCO News, available at:https://en.unesco.org/news/school-violence-and-bullying-major-global-issue-new-unesco-publication-finds,last seen on 16/11/2019. [4]Youtube used by 76 percent minors under age of 13: ASSOCHAM, Business Standard, available at: https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/youtube-used-by-76-percent-minors-under-age-of-13-assocham-115122200206_1.html, last seen on 17/11/19. [5] University of Kerela v. Councils of Principals of Colleges, Special Leave Petition No. 24295 of 2006 (Supreme Court, 05/12/2006) [6] Report of the Committee constituted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India In SLP No. 24295 of 2006, The menace of ragging in educational institutions and measures to curb it, available at: http://dos.iitd.ac.in/anti-ragging/menace.pdf, last seen on 16/11/2019. [7]See https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=120009. [8] Central Board of Secondary Education, Guidelines for prevention of bullying and ragging in schools, Reg: (D.O. No. 12-19/2012-RMSA-I), available at: http://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/Circulars/2015/17_Prevention%20of%20Bullying%20&%20Ragging%20in%20Schools.pdf, last seen on 17/11/2019. [9] Amandeep Shukla, UGC plans panel to shape anti-bullying policy, Hindustan Times (29/08/2019), available at: https://sol.du.ac.in/library/enewsportal/get1.php?id=2408, last seen on 14/11/2019. [10] Supra 3. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)

By Abhay Anand & Kumar Sanjeev, Law students at CNLU, PATNA It is the responsibility of society to help children to thrive as children are of paramount importance to society. Around 120 million children in the world suffer violence[1] and ‘Violence against children takes many forms, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and may involve neglect or deprivation. Violence occurs in many settings, including the home, school, community, and over the Internet’[2]. The children deserve a positive future which is free from the peril of child sexual abuse and if children suffer from sexual abuse then its impacts are long-lasting and often devastating.[3] In India ‘Prevention of Child from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012’ describes various forms of sexual offences which are penetrative or non-penetrative: sexual harassment, child pornography, penetrative sexual offence, aggravated penetrative assault. A recent medical study mentions that Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in America, Europe, and Asia is 10.1%, 9.2%, and 23.2% respectively.[4] In India around 72.1% of penetrative sexual assault is not reported, a study report published by the Ministry of Women & Child.[5] The study ‘Crime in India: 2016’ indicates that 94.8% of accused of the penetrative sexual offences under POCSO Act, 2012 is perpetrated by the “family members” or “known accused”[6] and due to this the parents of the child feel reluctant to report the incident because of social pressure & they think that it might demean the reputation of their family in the society. Introducing reform in mechanisms of police framework and reform in the judiciary to ensure free & fast trial will increase the conviction rate. By introducing fast track courts, awareness programs on CSA, ensuring the safety of witnesses & victims, advanced equipment for evidence collection and modern forensic gathering, establishing a child-friendly or safe environment and certainty of conviction rate will thereafter generate a deterrent effect in society thereby help in reducing the CSA. Implementation & enforcement of existing laws or statutes appropriately will also have a deterrent effect against CSA. The statistics say that it is “The certainty, uniformity of punishment & not severity of it and fast trial of proceeding will help in reducing the crime against a child”.[7] The study on “No Means No”, a campaign in Nairobi and Kenya shows that the cases of rape in both countries decreased by 50%. It is an anti-violence teaching program in which both girls and boys are taught ‘how to identify risk early, how to say “No” effectively, how to run away- if words fail and how to use physical self-defense’. The program also seeks to transform the patriarchal mentality. It also helps in creating awareness about CSA and helps in educating the society about its severity. [8] Also results of programs like “REAL Father Initiative” show that the violence against children decreases significantly in the post-conflict region of Northern-Uganda. The initiative aims at establishing positive partnership & parenting that should be practiced among young fathers (age 16-25) and to reduce intimate partner violence and physical punishment against children. Shreds of evidence show that the involvement of the father in initiatives has a significant positive outcome and risk factors of future perpetration and violence occurred in the family reduce significantly. [9] Parents or caregivers' support to the child helps in creating a safe environment. One of the prominent steps is to establish parenting training, especially for young parents. From the beginning of childhood, as one teaches the child name of body parts, they also have to teach them about their genitals and the privacy of the body parts that some body parts are private and nobody can touch them. Talking about this at an early age helps the child to talk about this clearly and the dread that they cannot talk about this will end. Creating a friendly relationship between the child and parents and ensuring that the child feels comfortable in sharing anything with his\her parents be it ‘good or bad’, ‘sad or fun’. Tell the child that the ‘body secrets’ is not okay and that they can never be in trouble if they share ‘body secrets’ with them. A clear distinction between ‘good touch’ or ‘bad touch’ is embedded at an early stage of the life but it is often confusing as the term bad touch sometimes don’t feel bad or hurt, so instead of using the term bad touch we should use the term ‘secret touch’[10] as it is an exact portrayal of what may occur. Create an environment at home in which sexual topics should be discussed comfortably. [11] We are not credulous enough to say that these discussions will help in preventing CSA but by making people aware of the violence against a child and arming children with the knowledge we can prevent them from being victimized. Violence can occur to any child at any point in time. Recognize it. Report it. Help #ENDviolence References [1] #ENDviolence, unicef| for every child (Nov. 19, 2019), https://www.unicef.org/end-violence. [2] Violence Against Children, unicef| for every child (Nov. 18, 2019), https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/violence/. [3]PREVENT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, OAK FOUNDATION (Nov. 18, 2019), http://oakfnd.org/prevent-child-sexual-abuse.html. [4] Wihbey J., Global Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse, Journalist’s Resource (Nov. 19, 2019), https://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/global-prevalence-child-sexual-abuse/. [5] Kacker Dr. L.; VARADAN S.; & Kumar Pravesh, Ministry of Women and Child Development – Government India, Study on Child Abuse in India: 2007, http://www.indianet.nl/docs/childabuseIndia.doc. [6] National Crime Records Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs) Government of India, Crime in India: 2016 (pp. 186–226), www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-website/search?utf8=✓&q=http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2016/pdfs/Crime%20Statistics%20-%202016.pdf. [7] Ghuge, P., Adenwalla, M., & Rao, N. (2018, April 27), Should those who rape minors get the death penalty? (Nov. 18, 2019), https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/should-those-who-rape-minors-get-the-death-penalty/article23686547.ece. [8] Rosenberg, T. (2018, June 12), A Worldwide Teaching Program to Stop Rape, New York Times (Nov. 18, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/opinion/a-worldwide-teaching-program-to-stop-rape.html?rref=collection/column/fixes&action=click&contentCollection=opinion®ion&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection. [9] REAL Fathers Initiative, Institute for Reproductive Health (Nov. 19, 2019), http://irh.org/projects/real-fathers-initiative/. [10] Daniels, N., & Hill Child Counseling, 10 Ways to Teach Your Child the Skills to Prevent Sexual Abuse, Child Mind Institute (Nov. 17, 2019), https://childmind.org/article/10-ways-to-teach-your-child-the-skills-to-prevent-sexual-abuse/. [11] Preventing and Identifying Child Sexual Abuse - Tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics (Nov. 19, 2019), https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/news-features-and-safety-tips/Pages/Parent-Tips-for-Preventing-and-Identifying-Child-Sexual-Abuse.aspx. (Disclaimer- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Child Rights Centre.)