Zero convictions in child porn cases despite six-fold increase this year

Child pornography cases have seen a six-fold increase in 2020, shows government data, but despite stringent laws, conviction remains abysmally low.

In reply to a parliament question, the women and child development ministry has said that of the 738 cases filed in 2020, there was no conviction in any case.

The WCD ministry, replying to a question by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, has said that in 2020, the Centre received 738 complaints of child sex abuse material (CSAM). That is a massive six-fold jump from 103 cases in 2019. In 2018, there were 44 cases of CSAM filed.

The data set shows that of the 738 cases filed in 2020, chargesheets were filed in only 272 cases, which is a little over a third of cases. The trial was completed in only one case, and the conviction rate was zero.

In the previous year, in 2019, chargesheets were filed in 58 of the 108 cases, and the trial was completed in only two cases. In 2018, of the 44 cases filed, chargesheets were filed in 22 cases, and trials were completed in one case.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state in the IT Ministry, told DH that the low rate of convictions and high rate of acquittal is “very worrying”.

“It means child sexual offenders who are almost always repeated offenders are out roaming around and remaining threats to the safety of children. State governments must do more to ensure better prosecution of these crimes,” said Chandrasekhar.

Also read: OPINION | Child porn: An emerging threat

In his question, Tharoor asked the government to list the steps it has taken to curb CSAM cases. Incidentally, Tharoor heads the Parliamentary committee on information technology.

The WCD ministry, in reply, said that it periodically blocks websites containing extreme CSAM based on INTERPOL’s “worst of list” received through the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In addition, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 provides strict punishment for CSAM. Additionally, Section 67B of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 as well as The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 are instrumental in checking CSAM, the government said.

The WCD ministry further said that it has issued an order to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to implement Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), UK or Project Arachnid, Canada list of CSAM websites and block access to them. However, barring one provider, major ISPs have not yet joined.

An ad hoc parliamentary committee formed in 2020 to study the alarming rise of CSAM on social media, among 40 recommendations, suggested that mandatory APPs to monitor access to pornography on all devices sold in India, permission to break end-to-end encryption to trace distributors of such content and penal provisions for cyber grooming.

Also read: Rajya Sabha panel suggests mandatory app to monitor porn access, broadening definition of child pornography

Rajeev Gowda, a former Congress Rajya Sabha MP who was a member of the panel, told DH that the reported data points to the lacunae in the law and order machinery.

“Effective enforcement of criminal laws is possible only when Acts are accompanied by forceful actions on the investigation and prosecution front. The government must wake up and realise that its inaction and incompetence is perpetuating an unsafe environment for our children,” said Gowda.

Vidya Reddy of the Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse (CPHCSA) says that India is lacking in its larger international commitment to address CSAM.

“Why is India not a part of global alliances like WeProtect and Virtual Global TaskForce. Conviction is woefully low because trial takes a lot of time, and filing cases under cybercrime is no easy task,” said Reddy. She had filed a case in 2015 in a matter pertaining to CSAM; the trial for which began just recently.

The International Association of Internet Hotlines’s 2020 report shows that 93% of CSAM feature girls, and 77% of cases depicted children below the age of 13. In some cases, CSAM involving children below two years, too, were found.

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