Victims of Child Sexual Abuse in India: A Socio-Legal Analysis

Child sexual abuse is a widespread global problem that negatively affects victims, families, communities  and  society.   Sexual abuse against girl child has added fuel to the fire and it had made its place in one of the hot topic for debate and research in India. Sexual abuse including  sexual  assault  or  rape  of  children  and  adolescence is a violation of human rights, and has many consequences in the short and the long  term.   Sexual violence against children has been recording an alarming rise in India. It is to be noted that according to National Crimes Records Bureau Report, 2021, in India across various States, Child Victims below 6 years of age comes to 648, below 6 to 12 years comes 3163, and whereas Victims 12 to 16 years of age comes to 12,754.     In the majority of cases, it involves younger individuals who are more vulnerable to victimization. Social and cultural factors are also considered to play a pivotal role in sexual assault  offences.  It is pertinent to mention that in order to effectively address the heinous crimes of child sexual abuse, the Parliament of India had passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.   The researcher not only tries to identify the factors that have led to the low level of convictions under the POCSO Act and also offers recommendations for strengthening the prosecution and investigation in dealing with POCSO cases. This article also analyses the rights of the survivors and victims of child sexual abuse and the impact of the crime in the society.