Below are Listed Various Views on The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill of 2019 expressed by various Member of Parliament

Hon'ble Member of Parliament Shri Vivek K. Tankha debate on The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019:

The parent Act was made on the basis of the U.N. Convention on rights of the child. Three points were outlined in that U.N. Convention. The first one is, inducement or coercion of a child to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The second is exploitative use of children in prostitution or unlawful sexual practices. The third is exploitative use of children in pomography performances and matters.

According to the NCRB, the cases of rape with children have doubled in 2016 compared to 2015. It is a matter of great regret that after 2016, NCRB has~n0t released any figures on this subject. The country has no information about how many children have been affected after 2016 and how many cases of children have been redressed. State wise figures are also only up to 2016.

In some states, cases of sexual assault towards children have increased by up to 100 percent. The govemment has stopped giving these figures after 2016.

This is mockery with the knowledge of the country because the issue of children is a very big issue. We should think about our children properly because they are the future of the country. 'The purpose of this amendment is to make punishment more stringent. There is no harm in it, because this is the need of the hour. In the Section (4), In the case of penetrative sexual assault against a child, the sentence has been increased up to minimum 20 years or life imprisonment. In the Section (5), the involvement of policemen has been mentioned in the c'ase of crime against children.

The involvement of the police in this crime is the worst thing. A common citizen is afraid of going to the police station in this country because he does not know how he will be behaved there. The experience of public about the police is very bad. Section (14) relates to punishment for making pornographic films of children and posting them on social media.

Section (15) relates to imposing fines in case of storing of pomographic material and posting it on social media. It should be discouraged. This amendment is singularly focussed on punishment but it is quiet on protecting children from sexual crime before it happens. As a society, community, nation, we need to start thinking about prevention. We should prevent the exploitation of those thousands and lakhs of children who are exploited every day in the homes, at workplaces, and in the educational institutes. Every second child is being subjected to this exploitation. In the most of cases, children are exploited by their closed relatives. Till 2016, l,04,976 cases were registered for trial under this Act. As per the NCRB, trial, has been completed only in ten per cent of these cases and out of them, conviction rate is only 30 percent. We are talking about prevention, but we are not talking about protection and sensitization. We just bring the amendments and demand life imprisonment or death sentence but these are not going to prevent rapes and murders. We must focus on the real issue.

A guideline issued in 2013 says that in case of a child with special needs, there must be a trained person right from FIR to medical examination. It is appreciable that we are bringing such amendments but this is only a small initiative, much more is required to be done. We cannot allow our daughters to go outside. Unless and until we improve our law and order such crimes are not going to be stopped.
 

Hon'ble Member of Parliament Shri Abir Ranjan Biswas debate on The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019:

Our children today are not safe. The Sqlum Comt registered a PIL seeking a concrete response by the nation wards zero tolerance of sexual assault on children. 24,212 cases of child sexual abuse have been registered from lst January to 30th June this year.But only four per cent cases have been decided.

The intention of the Bill is to curb sexual abuse against children by introducing stringent punishment. The Bill introduces a defination for ‘child pornography’ to fill the lacunae that existed in the law till now. Besides, there are flaws in certain provisions of the Bill. First, the drafiingof the Bill is ambiguous at certain instances. The Bill falls flat in is promise of strict punishment for child pornography. In some instances, the perpetrator may just walk away with a paltry fine.

Secondly, the Bill prescribes different punishments for the similar offence of strring pornographic material with the intention of transmitting child pornography.

It is very confusing for us. Under the bill, child pornography has to be reported to a designated authority. The Bill delegates the rule-making power regarding manner of reporting ht! not regarding the designation of such an authority. l would like tn seek a clarification from the Minister in this regard. The Bill lays dawn that fine imposed on the perpetrator shall be transferred to the survivor.

It would have been more prudent to have a fund from which this fine could be given to the victim. The POCSO is often misused to cover up cases of elopement or inter-caste marriages. This Bill should also look into the fact that any harassment under the POCSO should be avoided. Studies have shown that higher punishments do not have a deterrent effect on the rate of crimes committed. Year after year, the punishments prescribed for sexual

assault on children and women" have increased, but the rate of offences of this nature has shown a steep rise. Most trials are delayed or the perpetrators are often acquitted on grounds of insufficient evidences. This Bill needs to look into -it. The Courts are overburdened with cases and although a timeline has been set for deciding cases under POCSO, it is mostly not met. Until and unless it is met, it"is of no value. We should have dedicated courts for this purpose. Once we have dedicated courts, it will become much easier to handle such cases. So, I would like the Minister to take note of it.

The atmosphere of dedicated courts should be completely different.

They should be placed somewhere other than the courts in which these hard criminals are trailed. Workshops should be conducted for children to create a safe space for them to speak about the issues of abuse. There his a big issue about the treatment cost. The law casts a legal obligation on medical fraternity and establishment to provide free medical care to the survivors. If there are no proper facilities, and if the procedures are costly, then the State should step in to bear the cost; otherwise, hospitals may provide substandard medical treatment or we may see them depriving the survivor from comprehensive treatment. Also there are many cases of consensual sex among adolescents between the age of 16 years and 18 years. It is proposed that any consensual sexual act should not be an offence.

If both of them are consenting and yet they are under the age of 18, both of them are charged with rape. Here, we are stressing upon, reporting, if we stress upon reporting in such cases, and this goes on, what will happen is that we will register the highest number of rape cases in the world.

Though the POCSO Act, 2012 is an excellent piece of legislation, yeta few challenges remain to be answered. A multi-dimensional, multi-agency team. and multi-tier approach including access to psychological support is to be made available to deliver holistic and comprehensive care under one roof for victims of child sexual abuse.

Larger societal changes are brought not just by amending the written words, but by affecting and appealing to the psyche of the people.

 

Hon'ble Member of Parliament Dr. Amee Yajnik debate on The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019:

I urge the Minister to send the bill to a Select Committee. It has dealt with only the punishment part of the Act. The POCSO Act was brought and enacted to see that children are protected from child abuse, children get best welfare. This Act was enacted in 2012. I do support the amendment. Many of the Members have suggested that trial should be in-camera, child should be protected. All this is already there in the main Act and there is a need to bring in more amendments for these particular sections.

From 2014 to 2016, there has been a record by NCRB, which says that there are almost one lakh and odd cases registered. Supreme Court in this month itself suo motu took up the issue of rising child cases across the country. It does speak about the psyche of our society. Law has to be taken to its logical end in a court which will give justice. The purpose of these trials and inquiries is to elicit truth. If we are talking about children and child abuse, we are not giving them anything and they have got a life ahead. Many times, the cases are under-reported.

The first thing in a rape case is that the victim is to be taken to the medical fraternity. There should be a medical team or a team of psychiatrists to console the victim. So, an amendment is required that there should be a particular frame of timeline to wind up the case. Justice is barely 20 per cent. The Amendment Bill talks about punishment. But what are we going to do for these children because the Act is mainly meant for the welfare and to give dignity to these children. We are not doing anything for rehabilitation. No protection is being provided to the children.

These components should be incorporated along with this Amendment. I would request the hon. Minister to put it before a Select Committee so that inputs from various sections of the country can be taken to make this bill more effective and a justice delivery Bill for
the children.