Online Child Sexual Abuse & The Role Of Intermediaries
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 16
- 2 min read
Vatika Chaudhary, Advocate, New Delhi
ABSTRACT
As the world seemingly moves forward, it makes us question the growth we have made as a society and as a legal system, given- the direction we are headed towards as an entire species when it comes to ever increasing abuse rates against the supposedly weaker parts of the society. Children and women are most vulnerable to all kinds of sexual abuse as they are perceived as easy victims. There have been increasing instances of children being subjected to sexual abuse even in the vicinity of family environment and the virtual space is definitely not the safest place to be for a child without adult supervision. The offences against children which include online harassment have become more prevalent with the advent of artificial intelligence and longer presence on social media. This paper focuses on the existing legal framework in the country with respect to the offences of online abuse committed against children. The research talks about the developments in laws and expansion in their interpretations to align them with the emerging technologies, their changed usages and misuses to commit offences which were implausible some time ago. It also highlights the shortcomings in the system that proves to work against an effective and timely action oriented approach and suggests the possible solutions including effective prevention strategies. The information we make available online, especially in case of kids and teenagers with their whole life ahead, needs to be maintained and put out very carefully as we are not aware of the places it can end up in. The sensitivity of the terms casually used in context of material containing sexual content involving children can be a matter of concern as it can diminish its nature to mere erotica available online and can devalue it as a criminal offence. The paper centers upon the fact that while keeping in mind the sensitivity of the topic, appropriate preventive techniques and remedial actions including deterrent penal measures, are very crucial without leaving room for loopholes.
Keywords: Sexual Abuse, CSEAM (Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material), Intermediaries.
