Education on sexual offences and means to prevent them facets of right to education under Article 21A: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the State government and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to take steps to ensure mandatory prevention-oriented programmes on sexual abuse at every school [Anoop v State of Kerala & Ors.].Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas opined that educating children about sexual offences in a prevention-oriented manner is a necessary facet of the right to education under Article 21 of the Constitution of India."Empowering each child to prevent or report abuses and liberating each child from conservative and narrow-minded thoughts are also part of education. The voice of the victim of sexual abuse should not be suppressed, and it is only through education that the victim can be empowered to speak out. Similarly, it is education on the punishments for sexual abuse that can prevent or deter possible abusers from indulging in such heinous acts. Thus the concept of quality education can have meaning only if orientation on sexual offences and the means to prevent them are imparted at the school level itself. A prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse is therefore a facet of the right to education contemplated under Article 21A of the Constitution of India," the Court said in its order..A prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse is therefore a facet of the right to education contemplated under Article 21A of the Constitution of India.Kerala High Court.In this regard, the Court referred to the legislation that was passed in 37 states of the United States of America, called Erin's Law and suggested that a similar system be implemented by the schools run by State of Kerala and the Central Board of Secondary Education. "The programme involves the teaching of students from pre-kindergarten to the twelfth grades age-appropriate techniques to identify and recognise child sexual abuse. The programme also includes the requirement to teach the school personnel, including the teachers, all about child sexual abuse and also the parents and guardians about the warning signs of child sexual abuse, needed assistance or resource information to support sexually abused children and their families. The legislation is called ‘Erins Law’ named after Erin Merryn - a child abuse survivor" the Court said..In view of the above, in the exercise of the powers of the Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Court issued the following directions:The State of Kerala and the CBSE shall issue necessary and appropriate orders making it mandatory for every School under its control and within the territory of Kerala to include a prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse as a mandatory part of the curriculum;A committee of experts shall be formed by the State of Kerala and the CBSE within an outer time limit of two months from today to identify the mode and methodology for imparting an age-appropriate prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse;The committee shall submit its recommendations within an outer period of six months from its formation, and appropriate orders shall, thereafter, be issued by the State of Kerala and the CBSE in tune with the recommendation so as to implement the programme from the academic year 2023-24;The Secretary/ Secretary General of the respondents and all other officers concerned under the respective respondents shall be bound to comply with the above directions..The Court was considering the bail application in a crime alleging rape of a 15-year-old girl who gave a statement to the police that she was in a relationship with the petitioner and that they intended to marry each other. The minor girl also declined to terminate the pregnancy which arose as a result of the relationship and alleged rape.The Court had previously expressed its anguish at the alarming rise in the number of sexual offences committed on school children and called for raising awareness in schools about the POCSO Act and the consequences of their actions..Teenagers indulge in sex unaware of POCSO Act; imperative to raise awareness in schools: Kerala High Court.During most recent hearing, the CBSE, Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA), and the State government all informed the Court of the measures they have already taken which by and large consisted of awareness classes. However, the general consensus was that more steps would be needed, the kind which can adapt to changing times. The Court concurred with the parties and further said that the usual "bad touch/good touch" needs to be updated to a more nuanced version to actually be effective."The procedure to impart awareness on sexual crimes, presently in vogue, has not yielded the desired results as it falls woefully short of the requirements. Even the terms “good touch” and “bad touch”, which are informed as being taught in some schools, are noticed to be too wide and ambiguous. These wide terms may require better categorisation like “safe touch”, “unsafe touch”, “unwanted touch”, etc., not only to identify abuses but also to avoid false or wrong accusations," the Court said.It underscored that awareness of statutory provisions relating to sexual offences and other allied matters is to be made part of the curriculum, to be taught at regular intervals as a measure of prevention-based orientation so as to prevent commission of such offences.In the instant case, the Court confirmed the grant of bail to the petitioner and closed the case..Advocate Nireesh Mathew appeared for the petitioner and Public Prosecutor Pushpalatha MK appeared for the State government.Advocate Parvathy Menon appeared for KELSA, advocate Nirmal S for CBSE, advocate Reshmi KV for NGO Dil Se and law student Parvathy Nambiar appeared as party-in-person..[Read Order]