Young School Children Indulging In Sexual Crimes, No Awareness: Kerala HC Directs Govt., CBSE To Stipulate Prevention-Oriented Curriculum

The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the State Government and the CBSE to issue necessary orders making it mandatory for every school in the state under their control to include a "Prevention-Oriented Program on Sexual Abuse" in the curriculum.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas expressing his anguish at the alarming rise in the number of sexual offences committed on school children and noticing that, in many instances, the perpetrators themselves were students, observed that the voice of the victims of sexual abuse should not be suppressed, and it is only through education that the victim can be empowered to speak out.

Issuing circulars which remain hidden to many will not serve any purpose nor achieve the desired results. Awareness of statutory provisions relating to sexual offences and other allied matters is to be made part of the curriculum, to be taught at regular intervals as a measure of prevention-based orientation. Continuous or repeated awareness sessions about the pernicious effects of sexual offences alone may achieve the desired objective of a drastic reduction in the commission of such crimes.

Even though the matter came before the court in relation to a bail application, taking a cue from the adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", the Court invoked Its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution for issuing directions to the State Government and CBSE, saying there is a lack of awareness among the youngsters on the consequences of sexual offences and their ramifications. 

The alarming rise in the number of sexual offences committed against school children requires introspection. Many a time, the perpetrators are youngsters. Young children indulge in such offending acts for manifold reasons varying from pre-planned crimes to natural inquisitiveness of adolescence and some arising out of amorous relationships. At times the sexual acts are committed with the belief that the consent of both partners is sufficient to absolve them from the crime. By the time they realize their assumptions to be mistaken notions, it is too late in the day, and the situation becomes destructive, leading to very inconvenient results and beyond any remedial measures.

The court in June 2022, the Court had suo moto impleaded the State of Kerala, the Central Board of Secondary Education and the Kerala State Legal Services Authority and declared its intention to invoke the jurisdiction under Article 226 to issue directions for paving the way for better awareness of the statutes relating to sexual offences in the schools in Kerala. Thereafter, two persons came forward requesting the court to implead them in the proceedings to put forth their suggestions in this regard. 

When the matter was taken up, Advocate Parvathy Menon, Counsel appearing for KELSA, submitted before the Court that KELSA has already issued a booklet of relevant laws, which includes lessons on POCSO, which are supplied to students of various schools and that they are conducting quiz competitions for students above 11 years. It was also pointed out that under the aegis of KELSA, a committee has been constituted for formulating guidelines and suggestions for providing awareness among adolescents and children. Further, it was submitted that the concepts of 'good touch' and 'bad touch' needs better elucidation to enable the children to distinguish between the two. KELSA, from their experience, submitted before the Court that it was imperative to create proper awareness amongst the children and that the present system is insufficient and deficient.

Advocate Nirmal S, Counsel appearing for CBSE, submitted that the Board had identified the need for imparting awareness on the provisions of POCSO and other similar statutes and had even issued a Circular in 2014 as well as in 2017, making it mandatory for every school to initiate steps to instil awareness on POCSO Act.

Public Prosecutor Advocate M. K. Pushpalatha submitted that a Circular was issued by the Government on 18.03.2015 stating that the schools must conduct awareness classes and should also discuss at the PTA meetings the provisions of the POCSO Act and provide drop boxes and therefore, the Government has already initiated appropriate steps.

Parvathy Nambiar, a law student, submitted her research and survey before the Court, which revealed that ignorance of the law is a major reason for the rise in the number of cases under the POCSO Act. She also pointed out that lack of awareness and proper orientation amongst the teachers are also hurdles in effective communication with the students. 

Considering the lack of appropriate measures to impart awareness on sexual crimes in the schools in Kerala, this Court is of the opinion that certain directions are required to be issued. The Court observed that the awareness of the consequences of sexual offences and their ramifications, if imparted timely in the proper manner can pave the way to prevent the commission of such offences.

Thus the concept of quality education can have meaning only if orientation on sexual offences and the means to prevent them are imparted at the school level itself. A prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse is, therefore, a facet of the right to education contemplated under Article 21A of the Constitution of India.

Referring to Erin's Law in the USA, which involves the teaching of students from pre-kindergarten to the twelfth grades with age-appropriate techniques to identify and recognise child sexual abuse, the Court opined that it can be used as a guideline by the State of Kerala and CBSE while formulating programmes which are to be included as a part of the curriculum. 

The Court has directed for the constitution of a Committee of Experts by the State of Kerala and the CBSE within an outer time limit of two months from today to identify the mode and methodology for imparting an age-appropriate prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse. The Committee shall submit its recommendations within six months from its formation, and appropriate orders shall thereafter be issued by the State and the CBSE in tune with the recommendation so as to implement the programme from the academic year 2023-24. 

On facts, the grant of bail application vide order dated 8 June was made absolute, thereby disposing of the application.

Case Title: Anoop v. State of Kerala & Ors.

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw(Ker) 452

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