MillenniumPost
Nation

National coalition to check child sexual abuse

Seeking to strengthen existing definitions of child sexual abuse, the recently formed National Coalition to Protect Our Children (NCPOC) has come up with an action plan for dealing with the issue. The coalition detailed a set of objectives that could help in reforming and restricting the incidence of sexual violence against children. 

The meeting, presided over by Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and attended by experts like Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal focussed on engaging the government on creating a policy framework to address child sexual abuse.

“It is best to have short term goals. The Delhi police use these terms. We asked the police about the number of FIRs registered. Of 11,000 cases, only 3,500 were charge-sheeted. In 97 per cent cases, the accused is known to the abused. Every week, we have cases in Delhi. There were only nine convictions in Delhi in 2014,” said Maliwal.

She added that the police are not filing charge-sheets timely. “They  (police) say forensics are just not coming. Forensics have expired samples. We were aghast when we saw and started issuing notices,” the DCW chairperson said.

Attempting to arrive at potential solutions to plug existing legal loopholes, Chandrasekhar stressed on the need to “define the obligation of the central and state government towards the safety of children.” He said: “The government is not doing enough. Obviously, the area is a vast subject...Things which are criminal should be the National Coalition to Protect Our Children’s focus. Why not define child sexual abuse?”
Next Story
Share it