The stringent provisions of the POCSO Act and efforts to raise public awareness about the need to ensure the safety of children have had only a limited impact.
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It is a matter of concern that sexual offences against schoolchildren are increasingly coming into focus despite the fact that more and more legal and other safeguards are available to protect children from abuse. According to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, there was an increase in sexual offences against children over five years from 2017. Most of these are offences directed against school-going children, though they may not have occurred on school premises. A study conducted by an NGO some years ago in some states had found that over 50% of girls have experienced leering and unwanted physical contact on way to school and home. About 23% of the girls said the harassment took place within the premises of schools or colleges. The survey covered Karnataka, too. In the recent past also, there have been frequent reports of sexual harassment of school girls from many parts of the country.
Two incidents reported in the past few weeks from Haryana are shocking and they attracted national attention. In one case, as many as 142 girl students of a school in Jind complained of sexual misdemeanour and harassment by the principal. The charges were made in a letter that the girls wrote to the President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), and the Haryana State Women’s Commission. An investigation found that the principal was guilty, and action, including arrest and dismissal from service, has been taken against him. Soon after that, there was another case in which some students raised similar complaints against the principal of a school in Kaithal. He was also arrested, but there are complaints about the police investigation in both cases. It has also been found that the accused had faced similar charges in other schools but no action had been taken.
The incidents in Haryana may be unusual and extreme cases, but reports show that harassment is common in other places, too. The stringent provisions of the POCSO Act and efforts to raise public awareness about the need to ensure the safety of children have had only a limited impact. There are often complaints about investigation and prosecution of cases. Even in the Haryana cases, there are apprehensions that witnesses may not be supportive and even the victims may come under pressure from society and parents to not press the complaints “for the sake of the girls’ own future.” But sexual harassment inflicts much suffering on children and causes great trauma which scars them for life. It is the duty of the society and State to ensure that they have a safe environment, conducive to their physical and mental health.