One thing that’s really affected me in the past week is the slew of judgements passed by the honourable Bombay High Court related to cases of sexual harassment, assault and abuse, which has not only irked many but has also made a lot of experts question whether the judgements are actually HONORABLE or not. It’s one thing to follow the rules of the land but when the SYSTEM responsible for ensuring JUSTICE itself is softening the blow when pertaining to a crime under the POCSO Act, it’s setting a really bad example!
What is the POCSO Act?
POCSO Act stands for the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) ACT, 2012. It came into force on November 14, 2012 and is a comprehensive law to protect children from all forms of sexual abuses, assaults, sexual harassment, pornography and so on, while safeguarding the child’s interest to the maximum extent at every stage of the judicial process. I take this opportunity to make you all aware and equip you to be able to report any such crimes.
Important points to
remember under the
POCSO ACT:
This act is gender neutral.
Any person can lodge a complaint under this act and it isn’t necessary that it has to be done by family or relatives.
The consent of the child isn’t required and is irrelevant. This is mainly intended to protect the child as in most cases the child might have been groomed to accept abuse as the NORM.
This act is applicable only in cases wherein the survivors are children and offenders are adults.
This act allows both men and women to be considered as offenders as in many cases it has been proved that the women were abettors and assisted the male offenders in the grooming process.
The reason why I explain the POCSO Act in such detail is to STOP anyone from HESITATING to file a complaint. Remember! Any such incident should be immediately informed to the nearest police station, ensuring that an FIR is registered. If anyone refuses to cooperate, just look for the nearest Ministry of Women and Child Welfare office and seek assistance from any officer. There are many NGOs, activists and helplines available. If nothing else works, just find a lawyer known to your family and inform them.
Points to remember
Never delay in filing the complaint.
Make a note or recording of all the details of the horrifying incident like date, time, place, how it happened and so on.
Don’t care what others think and find someone whom you can depend on.
Remember that it wasn’t your fault irrespective of what others tell you.
Be a fighter! Ensure that justice is served, do your best to use all your resources wisely as that is when these offenders will be caught.
But also ensure that you don’t make it your life’s primary objective! The world is beautiful out there and there’s a lot of it which you haven’t experienced! Focus on coming back to being the BEST YOU! Remember not to let the ONE THORN that hurt you make you STOP seeing, smelling or touching a rose, EVER!
With Regards,
Adarsh Benakappa Basavaraj
‘The Coach’
