[POCSO] Families should be encouraged to report child sexual abuse even if perpetrator is family member: CJI DY Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Saturday said that families should be encouraged to report instances of child sexual abuse even when the perpetrator is a family member. .He said that there exists a culture of silence which comes from shame and conceptions of family honour and this deters families from reporting cases of child sexual abuse.However, it must be ensured that the so-called honour of the family is not prioritized over the best interest of the child, and the State must encourage families to report cases of abuse even where the perpetrator is a family member, he said.He also highlighted two harmful stereotypes which lead to this culture of silence:"The first stereotype is only the girl child is likely to be sexually abused and the second is that the perpetrator is a stranger. Research shows boys are at equal risk of sexual abuse and that the perpetrator is known to the victim in an overwhelming number of cases and may be an immediate family member could be the one or the caretaker or neighbour.".The CJI was delivering the keynote address at a two-day national consultation on the POCSO Act organized by the Supreme Court Committee on Juvenile Justice, in association with UNICEF.In his speech, the CJI also cautioned against entrusting excessive powers to the police in cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), 2012, as it could lead to re-victimization of child victims."The world over, children are the worst sufferers of emotional, physical, mental, and sexual violence...India is no exception to this," he said, adding,"POCSO is a gender-neutral legislation, has in camera trial and protects the identity of the child. Enactment of the POCSO is, however, a first step in the long journey. Families of child victims are immensely hesitant to file a complaint with the police and so we must be very careful in entrusting excessive powers to the police.".Noting that re-victimization takes place at every step of our criminal justice administration, the CJI said that we must be wary of,"...entrusting too great a power to the police to decide whether a crime has or has not been committed or should a cognizable be or be not registered, because re-victimization can take place at the stage of investigation and also at the stage of trial due to the practice we follow during examination or cross examination.".He went on to say that re-victimization also takes place during the ambient environment created during such trials, and during the course of rehabilitation if the techniques are not geared to be sensitive enough."Re-victimization also takes place due to the delay involved in the process. We must think of innovative means and move away from conventional methods. Schools, curriculum of police and judicial academies must be evolved and we must have a national model for the state judicial academies. Child psychology and communication should be focused upon when we train our own judges.".It must be ensured that the so-called honour of the family is not prioritized over the best interest of the child, and the State must encourage families to report cases of abuse even where the perpetrator is a family member, he said..The CJI further expressed regret that the manner in which the criminal justice system functions sometimes compounds the victim's trauma. Highlighting infrastructural deficiencies, he said,"The executive must therefore join hands with judiciary to prevent this from happening. Research by NLU Delhi shows that judges assigned to POCSO courts reported insufficient infrastructure and low availability of trained support personnel. Many FIRs which were evaluated in the research project invoked the incorrect provisions of the POCSO which concerned less serious offences than the ones complained of.".He added that judges must always remember that children may not have the same vocabulary that adults do, and may not discuss details of abuse the same away as adults do. "But this does not mean they do not know what the perpetrator has done to them...Children of different ages may express themselves differently, but the essence of what they are communicating must be understood, especially during examination and cross-examination. Their encounter with the criminal justice system must suit their needs as a vulnerable class of people."Making a reference to child-friendly courts deploying mechanisms such as one-way mirrors, separate entrances for the child and child-friendly waiting rooms, he expressed the hope that one day, "every court in this country becomes a child friendly court.".CJI Chandrachud also stated that the increase in POCSO courts public prosecutors must be supplemented with specialized training and adequate court infrastructure."Very often, we have special legislation and we increase the number of courts, but that in itself will not help in areas as sensitive as these, unless we have psychological support etc within the precincts of the courtroom," he concluded..Read what CJI said about age of consent under POCSO here. Read what Justice S Ravindra Bhat said about POCSO here.Read what Justice BV Nagarathna said about POCSO courts here.Read what Union Minister Smriti Irani said here.