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Editorial Comment by PVCHR on the Blog

“From Worship to Wounds: The Hypocrisy India Must Confront”

The PVCHR Editorial Board deeply commends this bold, compassionate, and powerfully articulated blog that dares to confront one of India’s most painful hypocrisies—the reverence for children in religious symbolism, starkly contrasted with the epidemic of child sexual abuse that festers in silence across the nation.

This is not just a blog—it is a wake-up call.

Authored by Khushi Yadav and Aditya Mishra, both committed legal minds and human rights defenders, this blog brings together legal insight, personal reflection, and a call for collective accountability. It moves beyond sterile statistics to pierce the heart of our societal complicity—revealing that most perpetrators are not strangers but individuals within our own homes, families, schools, and trusted circles.

The authors skillfully unpack the transformative significance of the POCSO Act, 2012, not as a mere legal statute but as a moral commitment to listen, protect, and respond to the most vulnerable—our children. Their analysis of mandatory reporting, special POCSO courts, and child-sensitive procedures shows a deep understanding of both the strengths and limitations of the justice system.

But what sets this blog apart is its courageous insistence that real accountability begins at home. It is a reminder that laws are only effective when backed by community vigilance, parental awareness, and societal refusal to normalize silence. The blog humanizes the law, calling on every reader to become the first line of defense against abuse.

In keeping with PVCHR’s mission of dismantling impunity and building a rights-based, dignity-driven society, this blog honors the spirit of child-centric justice and echoes our core belief: that human rights must begin where silence ends.

We recommend this piece be circulated among legal educators, CSOs, parents, educators, and policymakers. It is not just educational—it is transformational.

—PVCHR Editorial Board

People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights

From Worship to Wounds: The Hypocrisy India Must Confront

In a country like India, where children are worshipped as divine—celebrated as Bal Gopal in homes and as Kanjaks during Navratri—it is a tragic contradiction that India also ranks among the highest globally in child sexual abuse cases.

This isn’t just a contradiction.

It is hypocrisy.

We light lamps before child-like deities, yet turn away when a child next door silently suffers. We chant mantras in temples, but silence the whispers of children trying to speak out. We celebrate childhood in festivals, yet fail to protect it in our homes, schools, and communities.

For every 15 minutes that pass in this country, one child becomes a victim of sexual abuse (NCRB, 2022). Behind each statistic is a name, a face, a life forever altered. That’s why the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, is not just a law—it is a critical milestone in India's legislative history, offering long-overdue legal protection to those too young to protect themselves.

I still remember the feeling.

When someone you trust, someone close—perhaps a family member, a teacher, or a neighbour—touches you not with care, but with cruelty, it’s not just your body that trembles. It’s your inner world that collapses.

No matter how strong or bold you grow up to be, that one moment leaves behind a shadow that walks beside you for years. It changes the way you see yourself. It silences you. It confuses your innocence with guilt.

You don’t even know how to talk about it—because how do you explain a fear that was never your fault?

The Silent Trauma: Why the Law Was Needed

Before 2012, Indian law treated child sexual abuse as a footnote in broader legal provisions. Sections under the Indian Penal Code (like 376, 354, or 377) failed to recognize the complex, varied, and psychologically devastating forms of abuse that children suffer.

What about non-penetrative assault?

Or forced exposure to pornography?

Or abuse that leaves no physical evidence, but causes lasting psychological harm?

For such acts, the law had no answers—and often, no justice.

Even when cases reached the courtroom, they frequently re-traumatized survivors through harsh questioning, lack of privacy, and insensitivity. The burden of proof rested heavily on the child. Many never reported. Others withdrew mid-way. And justice—if it came at all—was often too late.

 

What the POCSO Act Changed

The POCSO Act, 2012, created a robust, child-centric legal framework to define, prevent, and punish sexual offences against children under 18 years. Its strengths lie in:

Gender-Neutral Protection

• Every child, regardless of gender, is protected.
• Section 2(d) defines a child as any person below 18 years.

Comprehensive Definitions

• Section 3 & 5: Penetrative and aggravated penetrative sexual assault
• Section 7 & 9: Sexual and aggravated sexual assault (non-penetrative)
• Section 11: Sexual harassment (including gestures, stalking, pornography)

Mandatory Reporting

• Section 19 & 21: Every individual—parent, teacher, doctor—is legally obliged to report suspected abuse. Failure to do so is punishable.

Child-Friendly Procedures

• Statements must be recorded in non-threatening environments.
• Trials are in-camera to protect identity (Section 23).
• No aggressive cross-examination or repeated court appearances.

Special POCSO Courts

• Section 28: Dedicated courts for speedy, sensitive trials.
• Section 35: Aims to complete trials within one year.
• Section 33 & 37: Protect the child from further trauma during trial through supportive procedures.

 Presumption of Guilt

• Section 29–30: If the child testifies, the court presumes the accused is guilty—shifting the burden of proof.

This Act was not just a legal reform—it was a psychological shift, demanding that the law acknowledge the vulnerability, silence, and trauma of children.

Why Special Courts Matter

A regular courtroom can feel intimidating even for adults. For a child survivor, it can be terrifying.

Special POCSO Courts are not just about legal efficiency—they are about justice with empathy. Judges and staff trained in child psychology, the option for video testimonies, restricted public access, and the presence of support persons—all combine to ensure that the child feels safe and respected.

These courts are essential in every district—not as luxury, but as necessity.

When Voices Rise, Laws Change: The Role of Civil Society

The POCSO Act didn’t just appear overnight. It was born out of years of pressure from civil society, activists, survivors, and child rights groups who saw, heard, and lived the everyday horrors that the legal system ignored. These organisations fought not only for recognition of the abuse, but for a legal system that could truly understand the psychological trauma a child goes through. They challenged the narrow definitions of sexual violence under the Indian Penal Code, demanded that all forms of abuse—touch and non-touch, physical and psychological—be acknowledged. They highlighted how courtrooms often retraumatized children, and how justice delayed was justice denied.

It was these collective voices—of lawyers, psychologists, survivors, and social workers—that pushed the system to stop treating children like adults in legal procedures. Their advocacy and tireless petitions became the backbone of the POCSO Act, making it one of India’s most progressive and child-sensitive law

My Final Call: Accountability Begins at Home

There may be countless strategies to prevent and address child abuse—legal reforms, awareness drives, school programs—but let me speak from the reality we know as a member of civil society in Uttar Pradesh, a state of over 241 million people with significant rural and underserved areas

In 2022 alone, 162,449 crimes against children were registered nationwide—an 8.7% rise over the previous year—and offences under the POCSO Act jumped to 63,414 (a 94.5% surge since 2017). In Uttar Pradesh, 7,955 POCSO cases topped the charts, and almost 97% of offenders were known to the victims.

These numbers reflect more than statistics—they tell us where the danger lurks:

• High population density and large families, often unplanned, can leave parents stretched too thin to watch every child.
• In tight-knit communities, it’s tragically common for trusted relatives or neighbours to be the perpetrators.

NCRB data shows nationwide trends that amplify the urgency:

• Among penetrative sexual assault cases under POCSO in 2022, a staggering 96.8% of perpetrators were known to the victim; of those, 3,276 out of 36,682 cases involved a family member
• These chilling statistics echo in Uttar Pradesh and across India—when abuse occurs, it is almost always from within the home or our trusted circles.

What You Can Do: Responsibility Begins at Home

Legal protection can only do so much. True change starts in the home:

• Talk to your children about body safety—good touch, bad touch.

• Believe them when they express discomfort.

• Observe the people around them—often, predators are those we trust.

• Report—even suspicion can save a life. Dial 1098 for the Childline Helpline.

Parents, teachers, neighbours—we are the first line of defense.

You are the gatekeeper to your child’s world.

You decide who cares for them. You decide who touches them. No court, no special judge can replace the vigilance and love of a parent, guardian, or community member at the very first line of defense.

Laws like POCSO and Special Courts matter, but they are only one part of the solution. Real protection begins at home—with parents who listen, communities that watch out for one another, schools that educate, and each one of us who refuses to look away.

Take responsibility now—because when we choose silence or negligence, we hand the keys of our children’s safety to those who wish them harm. And when we choose awareness, accountability, and care, we save lives.

🔹 Key authenticity from NCRB (Crime in India 2022):

• 162,449 crimes against children (up 8.7%)
• 39.7% under POCSO, 45.7% kidnapping/abduction
• 96.8% of penetrative assaults by someone known

These figures aren’t just numbers—they’re a clarion call for us to act within our own homes and neighbourhoods.