Lok Sabha Question No. 126 (STARRED), answered on 2023-07-28
Subject: Rehabilitation of Sexual Assault Victims
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Manne Srinivas Reddy, Y. S. Avinash Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO 126

TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.07.2023

## REHABILITATION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS

126.    SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY SHRI Y. S. AVINASH REDDY:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Union Government has decided to provide medical, financial and infrastructure support to victims in cases where the sexual assault results in pregnancies and would operate under the aegis of the Nirbhaya Fund and has also allocated amount therefor;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has additionally leveraged the administrative structure of Mission Vatsalya in collaboration with State Governments and Child Care Institutions (CCIs) to actualise this support to minor victims and if so, the details thereof and progress made thereunder;
- (d) whether the scheme aims to provide integrated support to girl child victims who have  mental  health  concerns,  which  are  further  aggravated  when  they  are disowned/abandoned or are orphans, under one roof to facilitate immediate, emergency and non-emergency access to a range of services; and
- (e) if so, the details and the present status thereof in Telangana?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a)  to (e)    A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

******

## Statement referred to in reply to part (a) to (e) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 126 for answer on 28.07.2023 raised by SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY and SHRI Y. S. AVINASH REDDY regarding Rehabilitation of Sexual Assault Victims

(a) to (e) The  Government  of  India  has  enacted  the  Protection  of  Children from  Sexual  Offences  (POCSO)  Act,  2012  to  provide  safeguards  for  children  against sexual abuse. The Act defines a child as any person below the age of 18 years. The POCSO  Act,  2012  provides  for  establishment  of  Special  Courts  for  the  purpose  of ensuring  speedy  trial.  The  Act  was  amended  in  2019  to  introduce  more  stringent punishment including death penalty for committing sexual crimes on children, with a view to deter the perpetrators & prevent such crimes against children.

The Government of India has also notified the POCSO Rules, 2020. Rule-9 of the POCSO Rules provides that the Special Court may, in appropriate cases, on its own or on an application filed by or on behalf of the child, pass an order for interim compensation to meet the needs of the child for relief or rehabilitation at any stage after registration of the First Information Report (FIR). Such interim compensation paid to the child shall be adjusted against the final compensation, if any.

Further, the POCSO Rules also provide that for special relief, if any, to be provided for contingencies such as food, clothes, transport and other essential needs, Child Welfare Committee (CWC) may recommend immediate payment of such amount as it may assess to be required at that stage, to any of the following:

- i. the DLSA under Section 357A; or;
- ii. the DCPU, out of such funds placed at their disposal by state or;
- iii. funds maintained under section 105 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,2015 (2 of 2016);

Such immediate payment is made within a week of receipt of recommendation from the CWC.

The  Ministry  is  implementing  a  centrally  sponsored  scheme  namely  Mission Vatsalya  Scheme  (erstwhile  Child  Protection  Services  (CPS)  Scheme)  under  which support is provided to State and UT Governments for delivering services for children in difficult circumstances including minor victims universally across the country.  The Child Care Institutions (CCIs) established under the scheme support inter-alia age-appropriate education,  access  to  vocational  training,  recreation,  health  care,  counselling  etc.  and covers  both  rural  and  urban  children.  Further,  the  Ministry  regularly  engages  with  all State/UTs  and  from  time  to  time  has  shared  various  advisories  and  guidelines  for continued and uninterrupted delivery of services and also for effective implementation of the scheme. 57 CCIs for Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) children are supported in State of Telangana as on 31.03.2023 under the Scheme.

Besides  above  provisions  of  POCSO  Act,  2012  and  POCSO  Rules,  2020,  the Empowered Committee constituted under the Framework of Nirbhaya Fund also approved the Scheme for critical care and support for accessing justice to rape/gang-rape survivors and minor girls who get pregnant at the total outlay of Rs. 74.10 crores and to place funds at  the  disposal of each DM/DC of Districts of the country for the purpose of providing shelter, food & daily needs, safe transportation for attending court hearings and legal aid to the minor girls who have been abandoned by the family due to forced pregnancy either due to rape/ gang rape or due to any other reasons and have no other means to support themselves.

The details and the present status of projects undertaken under Nirbhaya Fund in the State of Telangana is given in Annexure-I.

*******

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 126 for answer on 28.07.2023 regarding 'Utilization of Nirbhaya Fund in Telangana'

|   Sl. No. | Projects                                                                                                                                                  | Implemented by                               | Approved   | Current Status                                         |
|-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Emergency Response Support system (ERSS)                                                                                                                  | Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)               | Yes        | Functional                                             |
|         2 | Creation of Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF)                                                                                                       | MHA                                          | Yes        | Financial assistance as one time grant released by MHA |
|         3 | Cyber Crime Prevention against Women & Children (CCPWC)                                                                                                   | MHA                                          | Yes        | 1440 personnel trained Rs. 4.34 crore released         |
|         4 | Setting up and strengthening Anti- Human Trafficking Units in all districts of States & UTs.                                                              | MHA                                          | 31         | 30                                                     |
|         5 | Setting up/ strengthening Women Help Desks (WHDs) in Police Stations in all States &UTsin all Police Stations).                                           | MHA                                          | Yes        | 650 WHDs set up                                        |
|         6 | Proposal for procurement of Forensic Kits for sexual Assault cases                                                                                        | MHA                                          | Yes        | 415 Kits distributed                                   |
|         7 | Proposal for training of Investigation Officers (IOs)/ Prosecution Officers (POs) through Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) for three years | MHA                                          | Yes        | Yes                                                    |
|         8 | Setting up Fast Track Special Courts to dispose off cases pending trial under Rape & POCSO Act                                                            | DOJ                                          | 36         | 34                                                     |
|         9 | One Stop Centre (OSC)                                                                                                                                     | Ministry of Women & Child Development (MWCD) | 36         | 33                                                     |
|        10 | Universalisation of Women Helpline (WHL)                                                                                                                  | MWCD                                         | Yes        | Functional                                             |
|        11 | Safe City Proposal for 8 Cities including Hyderabad                                                                                                       | MHA                                          | Yes        | Rs.160.97 cr. Released                                 |

*****