Lok Sabha Question No. 2453 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-03
Subject: Crimes against Children
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: T.N. Prathapan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2453

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 3 RD  DECEMBER, 2019/ AGRAHAYANA 12, 1941 (SAKA)

CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN

2453.     SHRI T.N. PRATHAPAN:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether the Government has any data regarding crimes against children in the country and if so, the details thereof during the last five years;
- (b)  the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  the  crimes  against children along with the achievements after implementation of the said measures;
- (c)  whether  the  Government has any data regarding  sexual abuses of children and if so, the details thereof during the said period;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  the  details  regarding  the  places  where  these crimes had taken place like schools, peer groups, home, public places etc. and if so, the details thereof; and

(e) whether the POCSO Act is adequate to prevent such cases, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reaction of the Government thereto?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a): National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes information on crimes in its publication 'Crime in India'. The Published reports are available till the year 2017.

The  details  regarding  number  of  cases  registered  under  'Total  Crimes against Children' during 2013-2017 are given below:

|   Year |   Number of Cases Registered |
|--------|------------------------------|
|   2013 |                        58224 |
|   2014 |                        89423 |
|   2015 |                        94172 |
|   2016 |                       106958 |
|   2017 |                       129032 |

(b): 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the  Constitution  of  India.  The  responsibilities  to  maintain  law  and  order, protection of life and property of the citizens including children in distress rest with the respective State Governments. The State Governments are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws.

However, Government accords utmost priority to the safety of children. The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Women and Child Development have issued  various  advisories  from  time  to  time  on  steps  to  be  taken  for  effective prevention,  detection,  registration,  investigation  and  prosecution  of  all  crimes against Children, measures needed to prevent trafficking and to trace children, filing of FIR in case of missing children, kidnapping of minors, tackling of cybercrime relating to obscene content against women and children.

Government has also taken a number of initiatives for prevention of cases of crime against children, which are given below:

- i. The  Criminal  Law  (Amendments),  Act  2013  was  enacted  for  effective deterrence against sexual offences. Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment)  Act,  2018  was  enacted  to  prescribe  even  more  stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years. The Act also inter-alia mandates completion of investigation and trials within 2 months each.
- ii. The  Government  of  India  has  amended  the  Protection  of  Children  from Sexual  Offences  Act,  2012  through  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual Offences  (Amendment)  Act,  2019  effective  from  16.08.2019  in  order  to

make  it  more  effective  in  dealing  with  cases  of  child  sexual  abuse  in  the country.

- iii. Emergency Response Support System provides a Pan-India, single, internationally recognized number (112) based system for all emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress.
- iv. Using technology to aid smart policing and safety management, Safe City Projects  have  been  sanctioned  in  first  Phase  in  8  cities  (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai).
- v. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a cyber-crime portal on 20 th  September 2018 for citizens to report obscene content.
- vi. MHA has launched the 'National Database on Sexual Offenders' (NDSO) on 20 th   September  2018  to  facilitate  investigation  and  tracking  of  sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies.
- vii. In order to facilitate States/UTs, MHA has launched an online analytic tool for police on 19 th  February 2019 called 'Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences' to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases in accordance with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018.
- viii. In order to improve investigation, MHA has taken steps to strengthen DNA analysis  units  in  Central  and  State  Forensic  Science  Laboratories.  This includes  setting  up  of  a  State-of-the-Art  DNA  Analysis  Unit  in  Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh. MHA has also sanctioned settingup and  upgrading  of DNA  Analysis  units in  State  Forensic  Science Laboratories in 13 States/ UTs.

(c): Data of the total number of cases registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 is available from the year 2014 onwards and the details in this regard during the period 2014 to 2017 are as below:

|   Years |   Number of Cases Registered Under POCSO Act 2012 |
|---------|---------------------------------------------------|
|    2014 |                                             34449 |
|    2015 |                                             34505 |
|    2016 |                                             36022 |
|    2017 |                                             32608 |

(d): No such data is maintained by NCRB.

(e): The  Government  has  enacted  the  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual Offences  Act  (POCSO),  2012  as  a  special  law  to  protect  children  from  sexual abuse and exploitation. Further, the POCSO Act has been amended with effect from 16.08.2019 in order to make it more effective in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse in the country. The Act is a comprehensive law to provide for the protection  of  children  from  the  offences  of  sexual  assault,  sexual  harassment and pornography, while safeguarding the interests of the child at every stage of judicial process  by  incorporating child friendly mechanisms  for  reporting, recording  of  evidence,  investigation  and  speedy  trial  of  offences  through designated Special Courts.

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