Chennai, October 24: Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Government to take immediate steps to prevent child abuse and form a separate legal cells for handling child sexual abuse cases in coordination with Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) in all the districts.
Dismissing a bail application filed by a person accused of raping his 15-year-old daughter, Justice K N Basha said ”children are the weakest and most vulnerable section of human population. One cannot be sure that all cases of sexual abuse against them are reported to the police.” ”Children have been declared national assets. Hence, it is a legal as well as moral obligation to take care of their welfare and protect them against all sorts of exploitation – social, moral, religious or otherwise. It is high time the government takes steps as directed by this court,” Mr Justice Basha observed.
Police officers were directed to depute women personnel to interrogate the victims of sexual abuse through in-camera proceedings with the assistance of CWCs. Repeated medical examination of such victims should be avoided. Women doctors should be engaged, wherever necessary.
Providing police protection to the victims and complainants during the course of investigation and expeditious completion of trial were the other directions. Judicial officers were asked to conduct such cases on a day-to-day basis in respect of examination of victims and witnesses. He recalled that a study conducted by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development along with UNICEF had found out that 70 per cent of children did not complain to anyone. Two out of three children had been physically abused. Persons in trust and authority were found to be the major abusers.
Results of another study conducted in 2007 revealed that 53.22 per cent of children faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. Children on the streets, at work and under institutional care reported the highest incidence of sexual assault.
—Agencies