Instill confidence in POCSO survivors to speak truth so that only guilty are punished: Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas

Kerala High Court judge Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas recently stressed on the need to instill confidence in a child-survivor under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) case so that the child can speak the truth, thereby ensuring that only the guilty will get punished..That is the intent and object behind a victim-centric approach under the POCSO Act, he said.“The intention of creating a victim-centric approach is not to convict the accused in all cases, but only to ensure that she has the confidence to speak the reality, truth, so that only the guilty get punished,” Justice Thomas said.Justice Thomas was speaking on the subject 'Victim Centric Approach in POCSO cases' at a colloquium recently organized by the Kerala High Court to sensitize different stakeholders in the justice delivery system who handle cases involving children.In his speech, the judge recounted an incident where the parents of a child did not believe or support her when she raised sexual abuse allegations against a staff member of a clinic, despite the mother of the victim being present during the said incident. “These predators, the manner and mode in which they commit this act (sexual abuse) is unimaginable. Those who have undergone this sexual abuse will only realize,” he said. .In his address, Justice Thomas said that the public should be informed and made aware of the various aspects of the POCSO Act.In this regard, he highlighted Section 43 of the POCSO Act on media publicity and suggested that the government could impose a condition on media houses to devote one minute to a sexual awareness campaign while granting licenses to public/private media, thereby spreading awareness to a large crowd.“Every media public/private has to get a license. Why not incorporate a condition that every day it denotes 1 minute for a sexual awareness campaign? This can have a far-reaching effect as it goes deep down in the villages. The illiterate... all watch Television, even though they cannot read and write. If a particular time is denoted for this in print, social media, TV, radio... The government has not given any concern for this,” Justice Thomas suggested..He also spoke about a judgments he had delivered in which he batted for implementing a program in schools for the prevention of sexual abuse and to raise awareness of the POCSO Act itself. “The provisions of the act have actually not infiltrated into those who are the real victims, the children. They are the ones to be aware. Boy or Girl regardless. Awareness is very important and it has to start from school," he said.However, he also lamented that the State was yet to implement the same. .Kerala High Court slams State for delay in framing, implementing sexual abuse prevention programme in schools