Priyank Nandan, B.A.LL.B (Hons.), School of Law, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES)
ABSTRACT
Many of us feel overwhelmed while handling a child abuse case in a busy outpatient unit. Though ‘The Protection of children from sexual offences act, 2012’ is strictly in action now, it possesses a lot of imperfections which challenges its effective implementation. This article highlights the strengths of the act and at the same time, reflects the ethical and legal dilemmas we usually encounter in our day-to-day practice. Children have only seldom been spared from the humiliations, violence, and atrocities that people have inflicted upon one another throughout human history. Several children have experienced torture, hunger, beatings, confinement, sexual assault, and execution at various points in time and in various locations. Child abuse has become a significant social concern in certain countries, despite the fact that it is still uncommon or nonexistent in many other countries. Although there is no clear set of prognostic indicators, it appears that child abuse increases in contexts with rapid socio-cultural change, urban migration, family dissolution, and similar circumstances.
Keywords: Child abuse, POCSO Act, children, Protection, Care
