Sex crimes against children are among the most barbaric crimes against humanity. Sex crimes are increasing at an alarming rate around the world today. India is one of the five countries in the world with the highest rates of sex crimes involving children. About 53% of children in India have been subjected to some form of child sexual abuse. This percentage is increasing by the day and the existing laws make it difficult to administer justice against these heinous crimes. It does not provide any form of deterrence.

Introduction
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on 14th November 2012 brought the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act into place to protect children from offenses like child pornography, sexual assault, harassment, etc. This statute involves 9 chapters and 46 sections.

Throughout the reporting, recording, investigation, and testimony processes, POCSO emphasizes a child friendly environment. Children are not required to report any abuse to authorities. Here it defines a child as any person under the age of 18 and places the welfare and well-being of the child at all stages as a paramount concern to ensure their healthy physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development.

The need for this act was for the speedy delivery of justice to children who undergo these heinous crimes, hence the case must be completed within one year of reporting the crime. Some of its salient features include it being gender-neutral, reporting and recording sexual abuse, and mandatory, including all lists of sexual offenses against minors, not only this but it also provides for the protection of minors during the trial of the case. Child sexual abuse was previously dealt with under IPC Sections 354, 375, 377, and 509.6.

All of these legal provisions helped protect female victims. Especially when the victims were men, they often neglected to serve the children of the victims. Disclosure of the identity of child victims by the media is also punishable. During the investigation, the police officer who took the child's statement was not wearing a uniform. They will first check to see if the child's situation is safe; if not, they will be placed under government control. During that time, he or she will undergo a medical examination. [1]

Analysis:
The scenario pre-POCSO:

• Various forms of sexual abuse went unrecognized
• The burden of proof lay on the victims, here in the case of children instilled fear in their minds.
• Marital Rape was not considered Rape.

After the establishment of POCSO:

• Section 4 of the Act punishes Penetrative sexual assault for a term not less than 7 years which can sometimes also extend to life imprisonment.
• Section 6 provides that "aggravated sexual assault" will be rigorous imprisonment not less than a term of 10 years.
• Section 13 provides for use of children for pornographic material is punishable under section 14.
• Section 15 punishes those who store any pornographic material involving a child.
• Sections 16 and 17 deal with the abatement of an offense. [2]

Limitations:
Under the POCSO act, any form of sexual intercourse with a minor is considered to be Rape, despite consent is involved or not. This means that people in this age group can be beaten together regardless of the legal 18-year-old line. This constituted the court's view that the relationship between the minor "victim" and the accused defendant was affectionate rather than abusive. [3] At times, the treatment cost can get really expensive for the victim's family, and therefore the state might have to bear it.

When it comes to the marriage of minors, then it is illegal under the POCSO Act, this goes against the existence of personal laws which consider the marriage of minors to be legal. It is also important everyone involved in the implication of this Act is well-trained and knows all of its clauses and procedures. Mental health professionals must be present at every point because any issue involving an abused child needs to be treated with utmost sensitivity and care. If not done in the right way, then it can lead to traumatic experiences for the child.

Conclusion:
When we analyze Indian Criminal Law, we can safely conclude that the present law even after all the amendments still has a lot of limitations and hence needs to be worked upon. The police need to ensure the whole investigation takes place smoothly and thoroughly; this includes collecting forensic samples to be stored properly so that it doesn't get damaged.

The government needs to make sure that the punishment for such heinous offenses is more severe and scary so that it prevents people from committing crimes of this nature. Lastly, everyone should have access to resources that spread awareness about acts of this sort, so that more people are benefitted. It is up to all of us to make sure every child knows their rights and they are not afraid to speak up in case they come across any incident of this sort.

References:

1. Statutes
   
   • The Indian Evidence Act, 1872
   • The Indian Penal Code. 1860
   • POCSO Act, 2012
2. Websites:
   
   • https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-limits-of-pocso/article34076957.ece
   • https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335916674_The_Protection_of_Children_from_Sexual_Offences_Act_POCSO_2012'_in_Clinical_Settings

End-Notes:

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335916674_The_Protection_of_Children_from_Sexual_Offences_Act_POCSO_2012'_in_Clinical_Settings
2. Section 27, Chapter III, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
3. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-limits-of-pocso/article34076957.ece

Written By: Lochana Hegde - First Year BA LLB student at Christ University, Pune