Deterrence for sexual violence

Recently, while addressing a crowd at the New Indian Youth Conclave, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "When a woman is raped, it remains in headlines for several days, rarely does a punishment of death penalty maintains its highlights in the news." When the leader of a nation comments about the criticality of shaming culprits who sexually violate the daughters of a nation, it certainly is a ray of hope for everyone who envisions a new India with zero tolerance for crimes of sexual violence against children. He also highlighted that if the news of the day highlights the stringent punishments, swift convictions and death penalties, potential offenders will definitely be deterred from committing such crimes.

About 6-9 million women and girls are estimated to be victims of sex trafficking. A 350 billion dollar industry has become a lucrative 'business' for perpetrators who trade children, only to be sold to men who demand the vulnerable for their entertainment. These figures would embarrass any emerging power. Hasn't the time come when we start protecting these vulnerable children by the force of the law against 'real culprits' who fuel this crime?

Martin Luther King Jr. once famously remarked, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." It's perhaps ironical that this famous remark by a man inspired by our very own Mahatma rings true for India today. As a nation, we have kept silent about something that we should have been vocal about from the dawn of Independence- commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).

CSEC is a menace which has flourished because of men who demand children for commercial sex with impunity. We need to stand up and save our children from becoming a victim of this heinous crime.

How can we work towards deterring men from purchasing sex from minors?

As a young Police Chief of Palamu district (which is now in the State of Jharkhand), in the early '80s, I recall having arrested customers caught in the act of having sex with minors. I distinctly remember stating in the case diary at the time that "they have been caught red-handed, having been found in a compromising posture." However, in due course, for reasons unknown, this practice has changed, and the customers now have come to be treated as 'witnesses' in the 'crime of prostitution with minors'.

The Union Cabinet approved amending the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), to introduce the death penalty as a punishment for offences of penetrative sexual assault and aggravated penetrative sexual assault (Sections 4, 5 and 6) in 2018. The Ordinance was enacted to deter the offenders of child sexual abuse. The amendment wasn't successful in deterring crimes of CSEC, where minors are gravely oppressed for the entertainment of men who pay for having sex with them.

Stringent law but systemic gaps in law enforcement proliferate

While the issue of capital punishment has varied opinions from different segments of society, we can certainly agree that higher arrests and swifter convictions under the right legal provisions could deter the flourishing flesh trade. The real systemic gap in police enforcement has led to a state of inability to achieve higher convictions, publicly shaming the offenders and subsequently deterring the offenders.

Inefficiency in Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs)

AHTUs were formed as a pilot project with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes in 2007 in five states, but since their formalisation in the enforcement system, they haven't been provided with enough budgetary resources, trained personnel or even technology for combating this scourge. No wonder many in the police force view this almost as a demotion and punishment posting.

The second issue is the lack of awareness of the law itself. However, what compounds the problem is the system of internal incentives where officers are provided with enough incentives to crack a murder case or a rape case but there are literally no financial incentives for curbing trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

However, the most debilitating negative which staggers the entire enforcement process is the lack of political priority. Senior officers have often complained in private that though there is a keen desire on the part of the police force to root out this evil, low political importance, both at the central and the state levels, doesn't push the Police to take up the issue head-on.

Furthermore, there are also allegations in some quarters of an institutionalised nexus between some police officers and the perpetrators.

The way forward-operational best practices combined with concerted action

Despite a grim situation, there have been examples in the country which prove that the situation can change if a concerted action at policy and implementation levels is effectively taken. The state of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has been holding several police training programs to arrest the 'customers' for deterring demand of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).

The district of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh very recently came out with guidelines for Police Officers of the zone to prosecute 'customers' demanding children for commercial sexual exploitation under POCSO and other applicable laws. To deter customers of CSEC with the fear of being convicted and publicly shamed, it is imperative to create an ecosystem to use stringent laws, proactive policing and political resolve working towards a victim-sensitive justice delivery system.

Children being forced into prostitution for money is the most heinous violence perpetrated by a human being on fellow human beings. It is the manifestation of misplaced power and authority. Therefore, for a police officer like me, the mere mention of deterring offenders of sexual violence by the Prime Minister struck a chord deeply, making me realise that perhaps it is time that India can move towards a social reform not just on papers but mindsets as well.

(Dr PM Nair is a retired IPS officer, currently Chair Professor, TISS, Mumbai. He is an international expert on different aspects of anti-human trafficking. By the end of 2016, he carried out and facilitated the rescue of more than 50 thousand victims of trafficking and personally trained over 50 thousand stakeholders. The views expressed are strictly personal)