The Foundation to Safer Childhoods: Strengthening the POCSO Act in Panchkula
“Children are like wet cement; whatever falls on them makes an impression.” — Haim Ginott, Child Psychologist
Children form one of the most vulnerable groups in the country. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports, crime against children has increased fourfold over two years, from 89,423 in 2014 to 1, 05,785 in 2016. The Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) was formulated in 2012 to protect children from offences of assault, sexual harassment and pornography. The Act also provides for the establishment of special courts for the trials of such offences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Being considered a heinous offence, such acts of crime are cognizable and non-bail-able. However, the reality is different. Reports suggest that the conviction rate in the national capital for the year 2016 was less than 20%. Haryana on the other hand, had a conviction rate of 15% in the first half of 2017.
During the first week as CMGGA in Panchkula, the Deputy Commissioner asked me to focus on the implementation of POCSO in the district. Having worked on cases of child sexual abuse during my Masters Degree at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, it was an opportunity I welcomed graciously. In July 2017, the pilot called Neev: Surakshit Bachpan, Surakshit Desh (Foundation: Safe Childhood, Safe Country) was initiated in Panchkula.
To gain more clarity on the failures of implementing POCSO, I began gathering data on the current status of the POCSO Act in the state of Haryana. The nodal officer for POCSO cases in the state is District Child Protection Officer from Department of Women and Child Development. The First Information Report (FIR) is registered in the police station where the statement of the child is noted. Post the investigation and counselling of victim, the legalities are handled by the prosecution (District Attorney Office). The probability of conviction in these cases is highly dependent on the flow of information between these departments i.e. WCD, police and prosecution.
In a majority of POCSO cases, the accused is known to the victim. The long and arduous investigation process, often means that the victim is pressurized by the accused to drop the case. Since the investigation procedure involves convergence of three departments, any loophole is an opportunity for the accused to force the victim to take the complaint back or simply deny the incident in court (become hostile). Post investigation of the case, the judgement can either go in the favour of the victim or the accused can be acquitted of all charges against him/her. If the accused is not convicted, the DCPO can take the opinion of the District Attorney and an appeal against the judgement can be filed in higher court.
The hostile victim or the disapproval of the parents to fight the case does not matter in such circumstances. If the case is found fit for appeal, the judgement can be challenged. The poor coordination between the departments has resulted in not only poor conviction rates but also poor rates of appeal. Till the month of July 2017, the conviction rate for the state of Haryana in POCSO cases was merely 15% whereas appeal rate was only 10%.
Through several meetings with the DCPO, we identified improved documentation and inter-departmental coordination as essential to improving conviction rates within the POCSO Act.
The first step was to develop a standard of documentation, or performa, for all cases and maintain individual case files with all necessary documents; which made it easier for the DCPO to follow up on cases in Panchkula. To develop the performa, I sought help from the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (B3P) cell at the state government, whose mandate it is to ensure the implementation of all schemes and programs that benefit the girl child. The next step was to have a meeting with all three departments present to discuss the various issues around implementation of POCSO Act. Many questions were raised, numbers were exchanged and roles were discussed. What worked in my favour was the initiation of a dialogue between the three departments which was clearly missing before. All the proceedings of these meetings were shared with the Deputy Commissioner who provided valuable feedback on future course of action. As a result, this restructuring of the system allowed the DCPO to lower the acquittal rate in the district. In the two months after we began, there was not a single acquittal in the POCSO cases in Panchkula.
With the initial success, demonstrated in Panchkula district, the pilot was gradually scaled up in other districts. The performas were shared and workshops were held between the three departments. A crucial role was played here by the CMGGAs, continuously following up and raising any issues to the Deputy Commissioners. By the month of February 2018, a total of 10 districts were covered and the efforts were finally showing fruitful results. The conviction rate for the state of Haryana had increased from 15% in July to 34% in February while the acquittal rate had risen from 2% in July to 21% in February.
This has proven to be a big accomplishment for the state for it is often marred by a negative image of women safety; even as the POCSO Act pertains to both genders however, girls are particularly vulnerable. Given the mandate of the B3P Campaign, the pilot did not meet any resistance by departments or districts. It was rather surprising to see how some districts were doing exceptionally well whereas the others were absolutely clueless about the procedure to be followed. I was extremely fortunate to have received the support needed from the districts as well as my fellow colleagues in order to make this possible. There are 12 more districts to cover and ensure that uniformity is maintained across the state.
Neev has enabled me to drive and implement changes at the ground level in a very strategic manner. It served as a reminder of the opportunity given to us as CMGGAs to be a catalyst in the system. It would have taken me years to fetch the same results from a bottom up approach. It is indeed a privilege to be able to choose, design, implement and steer a project at such a grand scale particularly in the field of my interest. I often hear the youth questioning the system and terming it as redundant; hopefully this project serves as an example of how there is always hope, one merely needs the right approach.
