While a massive hue and cry is raised every time a child is abused or raped in India, the truth is nothing really happens after that. Many times the government takes a lot of time to decide on the punishment for child rapists. And, what usually happens is that the cases are forgotten after a couple of weeks, sometimes days.
Karnataka takes a stance of punishment for child rapists
However, after Madhya Pradesh, the Karnataka government has decided to follow suit. The state's home minister Ramalinga Reddy has said that it the government is considering death sentence as punishment for child rapists.
The law would be applicable for children below the age of 12 years. He also said that the government arrived at the decision following the Madhya Pradesh legislation.
Karanataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy (Pic courtesy: India.com)
"Based on the MP act, we are also considering the death penalty for the rapists of children. I have secured the copy of the legislation from MP. We would be scrutinising the same," the minister told the Times of India.
We must tell you that the Madhya Pradesh legislature had passed a strict law on December 4, 2017 against child rape. The government stated that it was seriously worried about the safety of kids considering the rising cases of child rapes in that state.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act
We must say that the Karnataka government decision is a step is in the right direction. There are actually no concrete laws when it comes to protecting children from rape.
Of course, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POSCO) is there but it covers a variety of offences.
The POCSO Act of 2012 was formulated in order to effectively address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. Here's what it recognises:
1. The act covers a child as any person under the age of 18. It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
2. It deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the crime is committed by a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor.
4. The Act also defines the role of the police as child protectors, which means that the officials investigating a sexual abuse case of the child are responsible for making urgent arrangements for the care and protection of the child.
5. The Act provides that the special courts must conduct the trial in-camera and without revealing the identity of the child, in a manner that is as child-friendly as possible.
6. Above all, the Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.
However, the Act has been criticized as its provisions seem to criminalize consensual sexual intercourse between two people below the age of 18.
Read: 8-month-old baby raped by her cousin in Delhi
