Compensation fund for victims under Pocso Act created

According to the GO, the state government provides compensation to the victims ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh based on the crime committed. For the purpose, the state government has allotted Rs 2 crore and Rs 14.96 crore as recurring expenditure for the fund.

There were reports that the sexual crime against children had increased by 20 percentage across India and in Tamil Nadu, according to the report of Child Rights and You (CRY), the crime against children has increased by 18 per cent.

While political parties were demanding the government agencies to speed up the investigation of Pocso cases, social activists urged the state government to give compensation for the victims of Pocso cases. Based on the demands, the state government had created a corpus for compensation fund.

According to the newly formed fund, crime against children had been divided into six categories. The first deals with child pornography for which the government will give compensation ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

In the second category, compensation of Rs 1 to 2 lakh will be given to victims who had suffered grievous physical injury or mental injury, requiring rehabilitation, and for victims who had lost any limb or any part of the body resulting in damage below 40 per cent.

In the third category, compensation of Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh would be given for victims if they suffer a loss of foetus as a result of the assault. Compensation of Rs 2 to Rs 4 lakh will be given to victims who had suffered aggravated sexual assault, victims who had lost a limb or any body part resulting in damage between 40 to 80 percentage and compensation of Rs 2 to 5 lakh would be given for victims who had suffered body damage over 80 per cent.

Compensation of Rs 3 to 4 lakh would be given to victims who had become pregnant on account of sexual assault and compensation of Rs 4 to 7 lakh would be given to victims who had suffered penetrative sexual assault.

Compensation of Rs 5 to 10 lakh would be given to victims who had suffered aggravated penetrative sexual assault and for victims who had died as a result of sexual assault.