Opinion: Making world a better place for our children is now

It is expected that in a gated community there will be better interaction and cooperation among residents as the responsibility of maintenance within the campus rests on the residents.

Any happening within the campus should immediately attract attention. It is therefore shocking that how in one such gated community in Chennai an incident of sexual assault on a girl went on for seven months but surfaced belatedly. However, during police investigation there was the startling revelation that not less than 17 people-security guards, plumbers, lift operators and such other casual workers-had ravished the hapless 12-year-old hearing impaired girl.

The gruesome incident took place in 2018, was charge-sheeted by police under the Pocso Act and now the trial court has given life imprisonment to 15 of the 17 accused, one of whom died during trial and one acquitted.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act is a potent law enacted in 2012 by Parliament in response to growing incidence of sexual abuse against children. And now for the heinous offences and for aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a person in a position of authority which includes police officers, members of armed forces and public servants, with children below the age of 16 years, death penalty has been prescribed in the amendment to Pocso Act passed by Parliament. This was consequent to the public furore over two incidents of rape at Kathua in Kashmir and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. Enhanced punishment would also apply where the offender is a relative of the child or if the assault injures the sexual organs of the child. Activists, however, have raised apprehension that capital punishment may result in murder of the victims or lead to suppression of crime.

There is growing concern internationally on the sexual harassment faced by children who are victims of human trafficking-a global crime no country is immune to.

It was in 1948, 72 years ago that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that all human beings are born free and equal and that no one shall be held in slavery and servitude. However, the ground reality is different. Thousands are being held in servitude, stripped off their dignity and denied their rights. Human trafficking has multi-dimensional implications and transcends national borders.  

To focus attention of the international community and different stakeholders to this colossal crime, a Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) was formed and events were held throughout the world to gather information on the extent and nature of this crime. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has estimated that since 2003, around 2,25,000 victims of trafficking have been detected worldwide.

Horrid revelation in this heinous crime is that the victims of trafficking are mostly women and children, primarily girls. Nearly 35 percent of trafficked victims for forced labour are females. Many are forced into flesh trade and girls are victims in child pornography.     

In India, according to the 2016 national crime record statistics, 23,117 trafficked people were rescued, of which 10,509 were into forced labour, 4980 into prostitution, and 7628 in the ‘other’ category.

The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime took place in the year 2000 at Palermo, Italy in which the protocol to prevent and punish trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, was formulated.  

The Palermo protocol also defines “trafficking in persons” to mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, for sexual exploitation or forced labour, slavery, servitude or removal of organs. The protocol came into effect in 2003 and over 150 countries are signatories.

137 countries have been identified as destination centres for trafficking, mainly west Europe, western Asia, Turkey and America. Analysis of reported cases reveal that crime syndicates in this racket operate from Asia, central and south east Europe. The victims are lured with promise of employment and ultimately, get caught in forced bonded labour and sexual exploitation.

The International Labour Organization has estimated that the minimum number of trafficked persons in forced labour and sexual exploitation could be 25 lakhs and according to one study, in US alone, annually about eight lakhs are trafficked across national borders. In India, there is inverse internal trafficking of people from Nepal and Bangladesh that is a huge transnational problem.

Child pornography has assumed monstrous proportions. In 2001, there were 24,000 child pornography related sites which grew to 48,20,000 sites by 2010 and now the devil is stalking the entire world. A very disconcerting fact is that the age of the child in such sites is getting younger ranging from 3 years to 7 years, a horrific reflection on the level of perversion in the society.

The Tamil Nadu government which has always been quick to respond to crime challenges has constituted a special wing headed by an officer of the rank of Additional Director General of Police. This special wing will monitor Crime against Women and Children (CWC). Each district has an officer of the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police for supervising investigation.

41 Anti-Human Trafficking (AHT) units, seven special investigation teams and 43 Anti-Child Trafficking units have been created.

Another significant feature is the creation of child-friendly corners in 194 police stations at a cost of Rs 2.44 crore. Apart from this, 39 Juvenile Police units are functioning in districts. Further, Amma Pink Patrol vehicles have been deployed exclusively to prevent crime against women and children. This integrated action has resulted in the rescue of a significant number of women and children from bonded labour, begging and sexual exploitation. This special wing has also created much-needed awareness on crime against children, on viewing pornographic content in internet with stern warning of action under Pocso Act. This special Act has important features like time-bound completion of investigation within 60 days, constitution of special courts to dispose of the cases within a year, child friendly recording of evidence, punishment for failure to report offences and stringent punishment against offenders who are in position of authority with relation to the child like a family member, police officer, warden, etc.  Child pornography has international ramifications. Interpol’s organisation for transnational police cooperation has 186 member countries and has a global database on human trafficking and other crime syndicates. ‘Project Childhood’, an Interpol initiative, addresses the issues of sex tourism from the victim’s perspective and aims to develop partnerships with police authorities. The Interpol has a huge database of stolen and lost travel documents, DNA profile and fingerprints and has expertise in dealing with money laundering cases which could be of immense help to member police organisations.

Enforcement on such sensitive matters can never succeed without active cooperation from society and other stakeholders. The sensitisation of police, prison and judicial officers on Pocso Act, crime against women and children is essential. It is gratifying that the Madras High Court has formed monitoring committees for Pocso Act cases.As Professor Paulo Pinheiro said, no violence against children is justifiable and all crime against children is preventable. To succeed in this endeavor, four ‘Ps’ are important: Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership.