Victims Of Intra Familial Child Sexual Abuse Deserve Support And Understanding, Necessary To Adopt Comprehensive Approach: Justice Hima Kohli

Supreme Court judge, Justice Hima Kohli on Saturday said that the victims of intra familial child sexual abuse deserve complete support and understanding, adding that it is necessary to adopt a “coordinated and comprehensive approach” to effectively address such abuse.

“It requires raising awareness, improving sex education, encouraging reporting with engaging with communities and holding the perpetrators accountable,” the judge said.

Justice Kohli was giving keynote address at the release of Delhi Commission For Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) journal’s third issue on "Children First: Journal on Children's Lives.” The theme of the journal is “Moving on- pandemic and beyond.”

The judge said that intra familial child sexual abuse is “deplorable violation of a child's trust and an unpardonable betrayal of the family bond”, having a long lasting effects such as anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress disorder.

“The unfortunate part is that many times in the name of family honour, such incidents are brushed under the carpet or go unreported. The victim who is already facing a trauma is made to feel guilty when the innocent child is not to be blamed for the situation in any manner. It is necessary to adopt a coordinated and comprehensive approach to effectively address intra familial child sexual abuse,” she said.

Justice Kohli emphasised that a safer and more supportive environment can be created for children by working together, so as to help them to heal and recover from the ordeal of the distressful experience.

“Though they carry the scars for a long time thereafter,” she added.

Justice Kohli also said that intra familial child sexual abuse is a sensitive topic that is often shrouded in taboo and silence.

“Childhood is a critical phase of a person's life characterized by growth by development and the formation of one's self identity. Children are dependent on their families for their basic needs and overall development. And it is their parents and other immediate family members who have the most social interaction with the child. A healthy and a supportive family environment, provide children with a sense of security, a sense of self esteem and self resilience as they grow,” she said.

The judge began her address by saying that child abuse manifests in a multitude of ways such as child marriage, child labor, sexual violence, domestic abuse, trafficking, denial of education and denial of health and nutrition.

“In our country, there are about 1.32 Crore child laborers between the age of 5 to 14 years and 3.3 crore working children between the age of 5 to 18. Over 45 lakh girls below the age of 15 are married and have born children. For all these reasons, children deserve laws that focus on their well being and their protection,” she said.

Justice Kohli added that the real challenge lies in enforcement of child specific legislations. She said that the focus in case of juvenile delinquents needs to be on exploring the reasons as to why the juvenile committed the crime.

“In such cases, reform needs to be prioritized over retribution,” she said.

On the effect of COVID-19 in the lives of children and the plight that they have went through, the judge said that the pandemic has brought a complex area of challenges which had mental health repercussions for everyone, including children and adolescents.

“Grief, fear, uncertainty, social isolation, increased screen time, and parental fatigue have negatively affected the mental health of children. Friendships and family support are strong stabilizing forces for children but the pandemic has disrupted all of that too. Unattended mental health problems can seriously impact the functioning of children, be it at home, or at school or even within the community. The effects of lockdown have had a profound impact on the well being of children, particularly in the urban settings,” she said.

Justice Kohli emphasized that it is important for parents and teachers to be adequately equipped to detect and deal with early signs of mental health problems among children, as they are the first ones who notice these changes in a child's emotional pattern or behavior related changes.

“Early intervention is known to prevent long term mental health consequences. Physical closure of schools has been spoken about and most of us know that shifting to online learning have disturbed basic need of stability of routine in the lives of children in urban settings, which is critical for their overall well being. The lockdown has become a defining moment for many children influencing their experiences and shaping their perception of life,” she said.

She added: “In our country, closure of 1.5 million schools due to pandemic and lockdown in 2020 had impacted to 47 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools. During the COVID 19 pandemic 1.9 Crore children dropped out of school. There are over 6 million girls and boys who were already out of school before the crisis began.”

The judge said that girls were more affected due to the COVID 19 pandemic and that it is estimated that about 10 million secondary school girls in the country would have dropped out of school due to the pandemic, putting them at risk of early marriage, early pregnancy, poverty, trafficking and violence.

Justice Kohli also referred to the scheme launched in October 2019 by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, for setting up 1023 fast track special courts for expeditious trial, and disposal of cases related to rape and POCSO Act.

“Delhi has 29 POCSO courts with over 9000 cases pending trial. Additional courts and manpower unnecessary for proper implementation of the scheme. A special feature of the POCSO courts is the vulnerable witness deposition scheme formulated by the Delhi High Court for creating a barrier free environment where depositions of the child witnesses and victims can be recorded freely,” she said.