CHILD SEXUAL

ABUSE IN
MAHARASHTRA

A Report
 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

CHI
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA
A Report

Efforts By

HARSHIT GOYAL

Intern in

RED DOT FOUNDATION (AUG.-OCT. 2019)

October 20, 2019

Any part of Child Sexual Abuse in Maharashtra – A Report may be freely quoted or reprinted
with appropriate acknowledgement. Requests for permission to reproduce or translate the
publication shall be addressed to the Red Dot Foundation.

Author’s information:
Harshit Goyal
III Year, B.A. LL. B (Hons.)
National Law School of India University, Bangalore
E-mail: harshitgoyal@nls.ac.in

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1

II. Laws and Rights .................................................................................................. 2

III. Data ..................................................................................................................... 4

IV. Effects of sexual abuse on child ........................................................................... 9

V. Factors hindering the justice to victims .............................................................. 11

VI. Recommendations.............................................................................................. 13

VII. Conclusion......................................................................................................... 16

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

INTRODUCTION
“What distresses me at times is that I meet a lot of people in their 40's, 50's, 60's, who still say they're
a victim of child abuse.”
-- Dave Pelzer

There are many aspects of life which are arranged in sequence by nature. Not only the order,
but the intensity of involvement in these aspects and the manner of such indulgence is also
guided by nature. Any attempt to change these brings one in conflict with nature, which is a
path leading towards severe consequences. One such aspect of life is sexual intercourse and
related desires.

Excessive indulgence in sexual desires has started creating havoc lately. Gruesome rapes,
widespread molestations, human trafficking and sexual abuse against children are some of the
consequences of such disturbances in desires. Sexual offences against children bring this aspect
in their life earlier when they are mentally and physically ready for it. This change of sequence
results in mental problems like low self-esteem, anxiety, body image concerns, cognitive
impairment, inappropriate sexual behaviour etc. and physical problems like genital injuries,
chronic abdominal pain etc.

To counter such offences, the parliament of India enacted Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act 2012 with fairly strong provisions. But still, these offences remain on a rising
trend. This allows an insinuation regarding the inefficiency of at least some of the stakeholders.
The report is purposed to surface this inefficiency. After laying down a theoretical base by
elucidating various laws which provide rights to the children, I will endeavour to provide the
data regarding the child sexual abuse in Maharashtra. I will then support the data with other
reasons as to why the recommended reforms should be brought in by the Maharashtrian
government.

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

LAWS AND RIGHTS

“Child abuse and neglect offend the basic values of our state. We have a responsibility to provide safe
settings for at-risk children…”
– Matt Blunt

There are various legal provisions which seek to enforce the rights of the child. To start with,
Article 15(3) of the Indian constitution allows the state to discriminate positively for the
children. Article 21A and 45 mandate the government to provide free primary education while
article 24 prohibits the employment of children in hazardous activities. Article 39(e) directs the
state to undertake measures so as to prevent the abuse of children and article 39(f) gives a
direction to provide children the opportunities and facilities for healthy development. Article
243G read with item 25 in the 11th schedule empowers the Panchayat government to implement
the schemes related to child development.

Though there are a plethora of statutes which uphold these rights, directly and indirectly, the
two most relevant for the present study are the Prevention of Child Sexual Offenses Act
(POCSO Act), 2012 and The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

The POCSO Act was formed with the motive to protect children of both the sexes from various
kinds of sexual abuse. Other than segregating the sexual abuse in the form of penetrative, non-
penetrative, harassment, pornography etc., it also defined the aggravated form of sexual abuse
and prescribed more punishment for it. These aggravated form included an offence committed
by a person in trust or authority over the child. 1 Even after this explicit and specific provision,
Maharashtra still tops in terms of incest rapes.2

POCSO Act is significant also because it lays down the roles of police very clearly. As per
section 19 of the act, the report made by police must be in the language which is easily
understood by the child. If it is not practically possible to make the recording in that language,
a translator or interpretation should be appointed who makes the child understand the same.
Further, the police are mandated to report the matter to Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and
the Special Court (or Court of Session in case the Special Court is not there) within 24 hours

1
The Prevention of Child Sexual Offences Act 2012, s. 5.
2
Prashant Chaugule, ‘Maharashtra tops the list of incest crimes as saviours turn predators’ DNA (4 July 2013)
Available at <https://kractivist.org/maharashtra-tops-the-list-of-incest-crimes-as-saviours-turn-predators/>
accessed 4 October 2019

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

of filing the report.3 The police must also regularly inform the parents or guardians of the child
regarding the status of the case.4

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 is another important act which
lays down the procedure for various stakeholders. For instance, chapter VI of the act is the key
provision which prescribes as to how should a Child Welfare Committee shall approach a case
of abuse. The act is important also because it prescribes the legal proceedings to be in the best
interest of the child 5 and for codifying the principle of family responsibility of care. 6

Finally, in terms of international law, the UN Convention on the Rights of Child is the most
significant one. As held in Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. UOI,7 this convention prescribes
standards for India and it shall be adhered by all state parties in securing the best interests of
the child. This convention mandates that every child shall be allowed the right to live with
dignity. The convention also mandates the state parties to take appropriate means to protect the
child from physical, mental and sexual abuse. 8

In addition to these laws, various scholars around the globe have analysed the intricacies and
have contributed a lot in legal development. The prime example for such contribution is in the
area of the evidential value of child witness, which was earlier thought to be less reliable. 9 But
because of sustained studies of various scholars, 10 this position has been changed recently. 11

3
POCSO Act 2012, s. 19: POCSO Rules 2012, r. 4(3)
4
POCSO Rules 2012, r. 4.
5
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, s. 3(iv).
6
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, s. 3(v).
7
Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. UOI, (2011) 5 SCC 1
8
The UN Convention on the Rights of Child 1990, a. 19, 34.
9
Nivrutti Pandurang Kokate v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 2008 SC 1460
10
C.J. Brainerd & V.F. Reyna, ‘Reliability of children’s testimony in the era of developmental reversals’ (2012)
32(3) Developmental Review 224.
11
Satish Kumar Gupta v. State of Haryana, Crim. App. 757-58 of 2016, Decided on 26 May 2017.

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

DATA
“incest is unfortunately commonplace, but that recognition of this is less so”
― Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

The previous section shows the diverse set of laws which seek to uphold the rights of the
children. But when this is juxtaposed with actual numbers, the reality seems to belie the
position aimed by law. As per a recent study, 53% of the total number of children in India are
sexually abused. 12 To gauge from the data published by the National Crime Records Bureau,13
The increasing number of crimes can be reflected with the help of following graph:

Number of cases of crime against children (Maharashtra)

16000 14559
13921
14000

12000

10000
8115
8000

6000

4000

2000

0
2014 2015 2016

Number of cases

Maharashtra ranks seconds in India in terms of the total crime against children. In terms of
sexual crimes against children, Maharashtra ranks third in India. 14 The figures have been on a
continuous increase for many years.15 To illustrate the same graphically:

12
Vidya Kulkarni, ‘Addressing child abuse in Mumbai’ UNICEF, Available at
<http://unicef.in/Story/513/Addressing-child-abuse-in-Mumbai> accessed 3 October 2019
13
‘Crime in India- Statistics’ National Crime Records Bureau (2016) Available at <
http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2016/pdfs/Crime%20Statistics%20-%202016.pdf> accessed 29
September 2019
14
PE Behere and A Mulmule, ‘Sexual abuse in children’ (2013) 18(1) J MGIMS 6.
15
Jyoti Belur, ‘Child Sexual Abuse and the Law in India’ (2015) 4(1) BB Crime Sci. 26.

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

Number of child rape cases in Maharashtra

6000
5281

5000

3858
4000

3000

2000 1546
947 917
1000 634
367

0
2001 2005 2010 2012 2013 2014 2016

Number of child rape cases

In total, 22,964 cases were pending for investigation in 2016. Of these, 42% of the cases were
still left to be pending for the subsequent years. The pendency of cases for POCSO cases yet
more lamentable. Out of 1,01,326 cases in India, 89% of the cases were left to be pending in
the courts.16 In Maharashtra alone, the pendency rate was as high as 94.7%.

Cases Pending

90180
Decided cases
Pending cases
11146

16
The government of India had already set up 597 fast track special courts to deal with the dispose of the cases
quickly. Even then if the pendency rate is so high, there is a need for a sustained study and deep analysis in the
reasons.: See Sushmita, ‘Child sexual abuse’ CJP (26 March 2018) Available at < https://cjp.org.in/child-sexual-
abuse-95-pc-cases-still-pending/> accessed 7 October 2019

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

Out of the total pending cases, the number of cases pending in Maharashtra is the highest in
India.17 This is illustrated from the following graph:

Cases Pending (State-Wise)

Maharashtra 17,338

Uttar Pradesh 15,938

Madhya Pradesh 10,950

Kerala 5,637

Delhi 4,769

West Bengal 4,316

Rajasthan 4,011

Gujarat 3,606

Karnataka 3,529

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 20,000

The analysis of the number of POCSO cases in Maharashtra is done with the help of the
following figures:

Heads Total Cases Number of Victims Crime Rate

Total 5281 5441 14.0
POCSO
Cases
Cases of 2370 2396 6.3
penetrative
sexual
assault
Cases of 86 87 0.2
Sexual
harassment
Cases of 1 1 0.0
Child
pornography

17
‘State has most child abuse cases that are pending trial’ Times News Network (14 February 2018) Available at
<https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIPU%2F2018%2F
02%2F14&entity=Ar01024&sk=C4F41B02&mode=text#> accessed 5 October 2019

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

Cases under 66 68 0.2

other
sections of
POCSO Act

The figures indicate that the cases of child pornography are almost negligible. This comes in
conflict with the recurrent busting of rackets involved in soliciting children for child
pornography in India. 18 Assuming that the data provided by the NCRB is true, this implies that
though there have been a number of cases of child pornography, only one case has been
registered with the police. This shows conspicuously as to how the agencies of the state have
failed in their purpose. Not only have they failed in taking the suo motu action on the cases,
but they have also failed to depose the confidence in the mind of people. Hence, there is an
immediate need to take immediate remedial actions after scrutinizing the reasons behind the
disparity in numbers.

One ray of hope amidst this is that the Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards and
Special Juvenile Police Units have been established in all the districts of Maharashtra. 19 But
even then, the total capacity of social homes in Maharashtra (including those provided by the
NGOs) is significantly less from the total number of victims every year. 20 This is reflected in
the data presented in the following table:

Types of Institutions Number of Institutions Capacity

Govt. NGO Total Govt. NGO Total
Observation Homes 12 48 60 600 4,275 4,875
Children’s Homes 33 1039 1072 3,425 84,229 87,724
After-Care Homes 1 3 4 100 110 210
Special Needs Children - 22 22 - 975 975
Homes

Hence, it is suggested that the government set up proper homes with adequate amenities so as
to give effect to the purpose of the laws. In the case of shelter homes, this need is all the more

18
Tanvi Patel, ‘Thane Cops Crack Child Porn Ring’ The Better India (28 August 2018) Available at <
https://www.thebetterindia.com/157453/maharashtra-police-child-porn-racket-case/> accessed 28 September
2019
19
‘Child Protection’ Mahades, Available at
<https://mahades.maharashtra.gov.in/files/publication/unicef_rpt/chap8.pdf> accessed 2 October 2019
20
Ibid.

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

felt. Out of 36 districts, 20 districts do not have a single shelter home. Even those districts
which have the shelter homes, the staff is not trained and there is a lack of proper health care
facilities. Rather than facilitating rehabilitation of the victims, the shelter homes have become
a breeding ground of sexual harassments. 21 Further, except for the legal aid, the caseworkers
are not institutionalised in Maharashtra. 22

Similarly, though there exist 60,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers in
Maharashtra, only 2,070 of them have been allotted state-sponsored gadgets. This is starkly
different from other states like Andhra Pradesh, where every ASHA worker is allotted such a
gadget.23 ASHA workers are undervalued, unassisted and unprotected. A lot of times ASHA
workers have to face resistance by the public agencies. Since these workers are not given any
formal training, they are not able to help the victim beyond a point.24

The lack of training expands to other stakeholders too. The police are not trained as to how to
ask information from the child victims during the investigation. The officers tend to interrogate
the victims in their official uniform, and thus fail to provide a comfortable environment.25
Similarly, the judges also tend to be ignorant of the laws and thus are casual regarding the
segregating of the accused by putting a screen in front of him. 26

But, to end this section on a positive note, it is important to mention that the government of
Maharashtra has been implementing a lot of schemes to help such female victims. For example,
as a part of Manodhariya Scheme, the government endeavours to rehabilitate such victims by
providing them financial assistance.27 It is imperative that the government brings up more
schemes like this to provide holistic assistance to such victims.

21
Tabassum Baranagarwala, ‘Sexual Abuse, lack of trained staff, but no regular audits at Mumbai Shelter Homes’
The Indian Express (10 September 2018) Available at <https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/sexual-
abuse-lack-of-trained-staff-but-no-regular-audits-at-mumbai-shelter-homes-5347709/> accessed 14 October
2019
22
Ibid.
23
Chaitanya Deshpande, ‘ASHA workers 60,000, Maharashtra to buy 2,070 smartphones’ The Times of India (23
February 2019) Available at <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/asha-workers-60k-maha-to-buy-
2070-smart-phones/articleshow/68118360.cms> accessed 14 October, 2019
24
Padma Deoshthali et al, ‘Role of the Health Sector in addressing the intimate partner violence in India’ ICRW
(2018) Available at <https://www.icrw.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Role-of-the-Health-Sector-in-
Addressing-IPV-in-India_rev.pdf> accessed 14 October 2019
25
‘Maharashtra State Consultation to Review POCSO Act 2012’ Government of Maharashtra, Available at
<http://www.esocialsciences.org/Download/Download.aspx?fname=A2015312618_19.pdf&fcategory=Articles
&aid=6550> accessed 15 October, 2019
26
Ibid.
27
‘Manodhariya Shashan Nirnay’ Women and Child Development Department, Available at <
https://womenchild.maharashtra.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/manodheryashasanNirnay.pdf> accessed 14
October 2019

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

EFFECTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE ON A CHILD

“Without realizing it, I fought to keep my two worlds separated. Without ever knowing why, I made
sure, whenever possible that nothing passed between the compartmentalization I had created between
the day child and the night child.”
― Marilyn Van Derbur

There have been a number of movements in favour of paedophilia. By invoking the abstract
concept of liberty and fairness, there has been a sustained endorsement of sexual intercourse
with a child. 28 Though there may be a number of complex arguments against this, one counter
which puts forth the point simply is that offered by direct consequentialism. As per this, the
fairness of any action shall be adjudged by the direct consequences of the act itself. 29 This
section of the report aims to throw some light on the excessively pernicious consequences of
sexual abuse for the child. This section will show that when judged from the results of a
paedophilic act, no ground, i.e. neither an abstract concept of liberty30 nor the lackadaisical
attitude of the government, can be used to condone any act of abuse.

Sex abuse in childhood may leave an everlasting mark on the personality of the child. The
victims adopt a sense of worthlessness and guilt, which leads to chronic depression and
negative thoughts.31 The victims develop a self-image of being dirty and thus tend to have
eating disorders.32 A trauma from such abuse may be similar or even more powerful than war-
related trauma in soldiers.33 Other than nightmares and flashbacks, the victims usually
experience a disassociation in which they feel unsafe and threatened by everybody. 34 Abuse
may also lead to post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidality. As per one of the studies, up to
90 per cent of the patients suffering from addiction have been victims of child sexual abuse. 35

28
Tm De Castella and Tom Heyden, ‘How did the pro-paedophile group PIE exist openly for 10 years?’ BBC (27
February 2014) Available at <https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26352378> accessed 2 October 2019.
29
‘Consequentialism’ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (20 May 2003) Available at
<https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/> accessed 1 October 2019
30
There lies a grey area regarding the presence of the consent of the child. In any case, as per the definition
provided by the WHO, if the sexual act is such that the child does not comprehend its nature and effect fully, it
will still count as a sexual abuse: ‘Child Sexual Abuse’ WHO, Available at
<https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/resources/publications/en/guidelines_chap7.pdf> accessed 28
September 2019
31
M. Hartmann, ‘Sexual Abuse experiences in clinical population’ (1987) 24(2) Psychotherapy: Theory, Research
32
K Ratican, ‘Sexual abuse survivors: Identifying symptoms and special treatment considerations’ (2001) 71(1)
Journal of Counselling and Development 33.
33
N. Abell et al, ‘Posttraumatic stress symptomatology’ (1995) 40(1) Social Work 115.
34
BM King, Human Sexuality Today (6th edn, Pearson 2009) 77.
35
Susanne Babbel, ‘Trauma: Childhood Sexual Abuse’ Psychology Today (12 March 2013) Available at
<https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/somatic-psychology/201303/trauma-childhood-sexual-abuse>
accessed 3 October 2019

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

A victim of such abuse may develop concentration problems, which meddles with his or her
career and thus, starts a vicious cycle of stress and anxiety. 36 The feeling of stigmatization and
powerlessness may make the victim overly silent and under-confident.37 More than these, the
most dangerous consequence is the abnormalization of sexuality, which makes the victim
repeat the same acts of abuse on someone else.

In terms of physical problems, the victims may face permanent pelvic pain and headaches. 38
The victims usually face sexual malfunctioning because of which they experience pain and
orgasmic disorders.39 Scientific studies have also found the relationship between sexual abuse
in childhood and ischemic heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome and chronic lung diseases.40
Abuse may lead to gestational problems and premature births. 41 Change in appetite,
bedwetting, hypochondria and chronic stomach-aches are also commonplace in the victims. 42

Hence, it can be concluded that a child sexual abuse leaves wounds which become more deep
and destructive with time. The data shown in the previous section of report shows the number
of people who are already undergoing or are under the risk of facing all of these consequences.
It is anybody’s guess that when such a significant amount of population, and that too the most
innocuous of the lot, is facing such dire consequences, it implies that the state and the society
have failed collectively.

36
‘Effects of Child Sexual Abuse on Victims’ The National Centre for Victims of Crime, Available at
<https://victimsofcrime.org/media/reporting-on-child-sexual-abuse/effects-of-csa-on-the-victim> accessed 3
October 2019
37
CM Cleland et al, ‘Childhood Sexual Abuse, Stigmatization, Internalising Symptoms and the development of
sexual difficulties and Dating Aggression’ (2009) 77(1) Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 127.
38
P. Pearce et al, ‘Childhood sexual abuse and medical complaints in adult women’ (1988) 3(1) Journal of
Interpersonal Violence 131.
39
W. Maltz ‘Treating the sexual intimacy concerns of sexual abuse survivors’ (2002) 17(4) Sexual and
Relationship Therapy 321.
40
L. Ramiro et al, ‘Child abuse and neglect by parents and other caregivers’ in R. Lozano et al (eds.) World Report
on violence and health (1st edn, WHO 2002) 65.
41
‘Consequences’ Institut Natioal de Sante Publique Quebec, Available at <https://www.inspq.qc.ca/en/sexual-
assault/understanding-sexual-assault/consequences> accessed 4 October 2019
42
Debra Whitcomb, When the victim is the child (2nd edn, US Department of Justice 1992) 32.

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

FACTORS HINDERING JUSTICE TO VICTIMS

“After researching, reviewing, considering, and contemplating with continued attention; I have
concluded that the beast is among us.”
― A.K. Kuykendall

There are a number of complex factors which restrict the state agencies for the effective
implementation of law. In a training programme conducted by various legal scholars and the
Ministry of Women and Child Development, the trial court and the high court judges
highlighted the following problems while dealing with the child sexual abuse cases: 43 First, the
judges highlighted the problems in recording the evidence of child witnesses. They said that a
child tends to get intimidated by the setting of the courtroom and thus refrains to unravel
everything. In addition to this, the children lack the vocabulary to describe sexual abuse aptly.
Hence, there is a need for sex education in schools.

Secondly, the judges said that the uncooperative attitude of various stakeholders involved in
the proceedings also prevents a just outcome. The defence advocates refuse to give questions
in writing and ask pointed questions directly from the child in the witness box. This prevents
filtering of the questions and the judges are left with a sole option to take reactionary measures
after the child has already been intimidated. The police do a bad investigation by leaving too
many gaps in it. This coupled with the secretive nature of the crime vitiate the chances of
conviction.

Finally, the snail-paced recruitment procedure of the judges also overburdens these judges to
deal with a lot of other matters than the POCSO cases. These prevent the judges to pay focussed
attention to the intriguing factual matrix of every case.

Other than these, there are a number of issues faced by the other agencies. In an interview with
the researcher, the magistrate in District Legal Services Authority highlighted that most of the
people do not want to take the recourse of the legal aid because of the fear of red-tapism. The
victims or their representatives feel exhausted in the long procedure, which requires recurrent
visits to the court and the police station. They lose hope and confidence from the judicial
machinery. On account of this, even when the authorities of legal services approach the victims
themselves, they are reluctant to apply for any compensation.

43
‘Capacity Building for Judges of Special Courts’ CCL (14-15 March 2015) Available at
<https://www.nls.ac.in/ccl/posco.zip> accessed 29 September 2019

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

Finally, the researcher enquired about the problems faced by the Child Welfare Committees
from the CWC members. The officer lamented about a number of points regarding the
ineffectiveness of police authorities. Police authorities keep on coming in their usual uniform
during the counselling sessions, which prevents a child to disclose the details fully. Further,
the police don’t apply correct sections of POCSO and when given guidelines to correct the
same, they don’t update regarding the status of sections applied. This results in the discrepancy
in records of CWC and Police authorities. Similarly, the Investigating officer doesn’t come
before CWC and sends the constable instead, which usually results in an unnecessary delay on
account of lack of knowledge with the constable. In the nutshell, police don’t take procedure
seriously and usually proceed as per their whims and fancies.

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

RECOMMENDATIONS
“Child abuse does not go away, but 90 per cent of child abuse is preventable.”
– Karen Adams

Based on the problems highlighted above, the change needed the most is the change in the
setting of the court. The government of Maharashtra has taken note of this and has planned to
form courts in which the child does not come face to face with the accused. 44 It is submitted
that though this transition is for good, it falls short of what is ideally needed to be a child-
friendly court.

The UN guidelines have suggested that for upholding the right to be heard of a child, the court
proceedings shall be child-friendly. 45 The term ‘child-friendly’ has been defined in section
2(15) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. As per this, the
overall conduct, practice, process and the environment of the court shall be humane, empathetic
and in the best interest of the child. The term ‘best interest of the child’ has been defined by
the section 2(9) of the act, as per which, the procedure shall uphold the rights of the child along
with ensuring the social well-being and physical, emotional and intellectual needs of the child.

Hence, to form a ‘child-friendly court’, the lawmakers shall ensure that the procedure is fair as
well as emotionally conducive to the child. As a part of this, the child should be put in a waiting
room with his or her parents and the counsellor of the Child Welfare Committee, so that the
child accustomed to the surroundings before giving the testimony in the court. For this, the
government can follow the model of UNICEF Ghana, which made such waiting rooms with
brightly coloured walls with a lot of toys and children books.46 After this, when the child then
goes to the court, the setting should be such that the child could give his or her testimony freely
without undergoing any sort of trauma. 47

For this, the environment in the courtroom shall be made more comfortable for the child. 48 As
far as possible, the officers and counsels shall be dressed in informal clothes. For cross-

44
Shibu Thomas, ‘Maharashtra to get over 200 child-friendly courts soon’ Times of India (3 May 2019) Avaliable
at <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/maharashtra-to-get-over-200-child-friendly-courts-
soon/articleshow/69155380.cms> accessed 30 September 2019
45
‘General Comment No. 12 (2009): The right of the child to be heard’ UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
(20 July 2009) Available at <https://www.refworld.org/docid/4ae562c52.html> accessed 1 October 2019
46
‘A new child friendly court established in Accra’ UNICEF (4 December 2018) Available at <
https://www.unicef.org/ghana/press-releases/new-child-friendly-court-established-accra> accessed 28 September
2019
47
The need for such a law was also expressed in: State v. Rahul, Cri. L.P. 250 of 2012, Decided on 15 April 2013
48
The common law usually has no restrictions for changing the setting of the court: Allie Phillips and Susanne
Walters, ‘A Court room for all’ National District Attorney Association (May 2013) Available at <

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

examination, the German model shall be followed. As per this, instead of the aggressive
counsels, the cross-examination is done by the judge.49 If the counsels have any question, in
addition, they may ask it later through the judge. This will ensure that the child is not
intimidated by the defence counsel unnecessarily. 50 Also, rather than asking the pointed
questions, the judges shall ask questions which allow the child to express his or her feelings
more freely. 51

Further, other than giving oral testimony, a number of alternative means shall also be adopted.
For example, the child may be asked to draw a rough drawing about the relationship with the
accused. These when interpreted with the help of experts, may bring out the indications of
sexual abuse. 52 The recording of the testimony shall take place in a relaxed atmosphere where
the child is allowed to sit along with his or her parents53 and is allowed to take breaks in
between. The child shall be allowed to hold toys while giving the evidence to the court. 54 The
lawmakers should also consider the American way of recording the child testimony, as per
which the testimony is live-streamed in the court through videotapes.55 This allows the child to
give evidence from a comfortable setting of home without undergoing any inhibitions. 56

Another possible measure that can be taken to prevent sexual abuse is to spread awareness
about the means through which the abuse takes place. In the words of Chris Witty, one of the
means to prevent child sexual abuse is by not letting it be a secret.57 Spreading awareness in
the primary schools would help the children to identify and report any case of abuse properly.
The children should be made aware of their right to be silent or seek clarification regarding the

https://www.zeroabuseproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NCPTC-A-Courtroom-for-All.pdf#page=11>
accessed 1 October 2019
49
John Langbein, ‘The German Advantage in Civil Procedure’ (1985) 52(4) CLR 823, 834.
50
H. Hayne et al, ‘Asked and Answered: Questioning children in the courtroom’ (2003) 10(1) Psychiatry,
Psychology and Law 199.
51
L. Berliner and MK Barbieri, ‘Testimony of the child victim of sexual assault’ (1984) 40 Journal of Social
Issues 132; T. Lyon et al, ‘How do you feel?’ (2012) 36(5) Law and Human Behaviour 448.
52
J.M. Golding et al., ‘Big girls don’t cry’ (2003) 27(11) Child Abuse and Neglect 1311.
53
Scientific researches has shown that parental support tends to lessen the trauma from a sexual abuse and the
stress of testimony: KA Kendall Tacjett et al, ‘Impact of Sexual Abuse on Children’ (1993) 113(1) Psychological
Bulletin 172.
54
State v. Powell, 318 S.W. 3d 297 (2010)
55
Maryland v. Craig, 110 S. Ct. 3157 (1990). The same has been allowed in UK as well: JC Wilson and GM
Davies, ‘An evaluation of the use of videotaped evidence for juvenile witnesses in criminal courts in England and
Wales’ (1999) 7(1) European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 81.
56
See: Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on child-friendly justice (1st edn, Council
for Europe 2011) 22.
57
Cheryline Lawson, The Man in the Shadows: He touched me where it hurt (1st edn, CIPP 2014) 2.

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

confusing questions of the defence counsels. This is particularly needed in Maharashtra, where
even the authorities are unaware of various child-friendly provisions.58

The government shall also initiate training and sensitisation workshops. Though the
Maharashtrian government has undertaken such workshops before, these were concentrated on
the means through which the children can be prevented from watching pornography. 59 It is
submitted that the ambit of such workshops shall be widened to include the training for
handling of abuse cases. For this, inspiration can be drawn from the Educational Rights Project
of the USA, which seeks to train social workers for providing the sex education and to train
parents and teachers so as to increase the access to redressal mechanisms. 60

Other than these, there is a need to increase the accountability and responsibility of various
institutions involved in providing justice to the victim of child sexual abuse. The government
shall give the Child Welfare Committee more powers to summon the investigating officer and
to impose sanctions on those who tend to adopt dilatory measures in completing the procedure.
The significant gaps in the implementation of rules and guidelines are evident of the fact that
the state child rights commission is not functioning properly. Hence, the commission shall be
made accountable to the state legislature through presentation of annual reports.

The data issued by various agencies such as the National Crime Records Bureau shall be made
more comprehensive and shall include the number of cases in which the police did not send the
cases to the Child Welfare Committee, segregating the analysis of the cases as per the
individual police stations and the amount sanctioned to the legal aid cell. The victim
compensation scheme shall be monitored regularly and the audit reports of the same shall be
made public.

58
Bhavya Dore, ‘Maharashtra authorities lack awareness on child-friendly provisions in POCSO Act, finds study
by two non-profits’ Firstpost (7 May 2018) Available at <https://www.firstpost.com/india/maharashtra-
authorities-lack-awareness-on-child-friendly-provisions-in-pocso-act-finds-study-by-two-non-profits-
4459305.html> accessed 2 October 2019
59
Sanchita Das, ‘State moves to tackle sexual abuse among school students’ Times of India (31 May 2019)
Available at <https://punemirror.indiatimes.com/pune/cover-story/state-moves-to-tackle-sexual-abuse-among-
school-students/articleshow/69588350.cms> accessed 2 October 2019
60
‘Making the court system work better for children’ Judicial Council of California (January 2001)
<https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/25things.pdf> accessed 2 October 2019

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 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MAHARASHTRA

CONCLUSION
“Hear your feet climbing the stairs,
Opening the door walking to my bed
I held my breath, pretending I was asleep
Only to be scared wide awake
As you act out your sick desire
I screamed for mum as loud as I could
Only silence was to be”
- Anonymous
Childhood is usually said to be the golden period of anyone’s life, in which the insouciant mind
lays down the foundation for the years to come. In this period, any instance of abuse becomes
a permanent blemish in the mind, which only gets deeper and darker with time. To prevent this,
the Indian government has enacted a number of statutes, which purport to prevent any such
instance of abuse.

These laws, when compared with the actual data of child sexual abuse, give results which are
surprising, perplexing and distressing. From the last five years, the crime against children has
been on a continuous rise. This is particularly true for the sexual crimes in Maharashtra, which
have risen very steeply. This is further worsened by the lackadaisical attitude of the state
agencies, which keeps the cases struck in the courts for aeons. The police usually do not take
the procedure seriously, which affects the fairness of the decision. Similarly, the overburdening
of the judges and the peculiar setting of the courts makes a just outcome extremely quixotic.

Hence, the lawmakers are required to pay empathetic consideration to the issue and bring in
the necessary changes. Rather than enacting special laws, the need of the hour is to implement
the existing laws effectively. The NGOs and other social workers are also suggested to spread
the required awareness at the grass-root level so that each and every child and parent is
cognizant of the existing redressal mechanisms.

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